Photo: Lukas Faust · Pexels License
A 1.8-kilometre raised wooden walkway zigzagging through the heart of the Del Carmen Mangrove Reserve — the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the Philippines and a Ramsar-listed wetland. Herons, kingfishers, monitor lizards and armies of crabs go about their business below the planks, and the light at golden hour is extraordinary. It's Siargao's most peaceful major attraction, and one of its least visited.
A 300-metre wooden boardwalk striding out over the reef to a multi-storey viewing tower above Siargao's most famous wave. From the deck you watch surfers thread the barrelling right-hander that put the island on the map, with sunrise and sunset both spectacular. Destroyed by Typhoon Odette in 2021, it has been rebuilt sturdier with concrete posts, and a full tower renovation began in 2026.
A turquoise lagoon ringed by jungle-covered limestone hills, reached by a gorgeous 30–45 minute bangka ride through the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the Philippines. A two-storey pavilion floats in the middle with a jumping platform, kayaks and paddleboards for hire. The water shifts between blue and green depending on the light and is calm enough for even hesitant swimmers.
A roadside rise on the circumferential road where a green ocean of coconut palms rolls unbroken to the mountains — the single view that says 'Siargao' more than any other. It's really just a pull-off on the highway shoulder rather than a built deck, which makes the scale of the palm forest even more startling. Drone pilots and golden-hour photographers treat it as a pilgrimage site.
At the northernmost tip of Siargao, Alegria unfurls some of the whitest, softest sand on the island beside shallow, glass-clear water that's calm enough for proper swimming — a rarity on the reef-guarded east coast. The long ride up through rice paddies and palm forest is half the experience. Few tourists make it this far, so weekdays can feel private.