Pink beach of Sila

San Vicente – In the northwestern part of the province of Northern Samar, several nautical miles away from the province of Sorsogon and more than two hours boat ride from the town of San Isidro, Northern Samar there situated an island named Sila where the pink sand beach of Eastern Visayas can be found.

Sila is one of the islands part of San Vicente town, one of the four island towns of Northern Samar province.

The pink sand beach in this island had been attracting tourist said San Vicente Mayor Tito Luňeza.

Local and foreign tourist had been visiting the island since it was published over the web said Luňeza.

But there are still things to be taken care of in terms of promoting the island as aside from the problem to its accessibility, this beautiful island with pristine crystal clear water has no accommodation facilities for tourist who will wish to stay for overnight.

Going to the island is already an adventure that tourist must experience as they must brave the strong waves and current of San Bernardino Strait before reaching the island.

San Bernardino Strait or Embocadero de San Bernardino is the strait that connects Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea and it separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.

There is only one public transport vessel that operates in the town of San Vicente.

It leaves the island every 7 o’clock in the morning to the town of San Isidro and leaves the town of San Isidro at 2 o’clock in the afternoon from Monday to Saturday.

Upon reaching the town proper, tourist must travel again for 45 minutes boat ride to Sila where the pink sand beach is located.

But for those who know some locals in the island of Sila, they can ask operators to fetch them in the town of San Isidro and bring them to Sila immediately.

Only the portion of Sila facing the east is covered with pink sand that stretch to about a hundred meters.

This pink sand in the island of Sila gets its color from the red organ pipe coral, a coral that is bright red in color and the surf erosion has resulted in tiny red particles being mixed in the existing white coral sand.

Tourist who will visit the island aside from dipping in its crystal clear water can also do scuba diving and snorkeling may also includes island hooping to neighboring islands of Sila the islands of Tarnate, Sangputan, Pangauron, Maragat and Mahaba.

Camping will do for those who would want to have an overnight stay in the island.

There is no electricity yet in this portion of Sila since it is uninhabited which is why it is hard to convinced tourism players to invest for accommodation facilities in the island said Mayor Luňeza.

Although, there are no accommodation facilities in the island and it is far from the town proper, Mayor Luňeza said that tourist are safe to stay in the island as their town is one of the declared insurgency free and conflict-manageable areas in Northern Samar province by the provincial government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.