FAR from the madding crowd of Manila, but just a short boat ride from the Philippine capital, lies Corregidor, an island of lush forests, sheer cliffs and a whole lot of history.

This small, tadpole-shaped island at the mouth of Manila Bay was used as a sentinel by all the foreign powers that occupied the Philippines for nearly four centuries.

Its gun batteries guarded the city from invaders and marauders.

But it was early in the Pacific War that Corregidor became the stuff of legend, when its beleaguered garrison of American troops and their Filipino allies made a heroic but hopeless last stand against the conquering Japanese army 65 years ago.

Today, the ruins of the former US garrison set in immaculately kept grounds surrounded by dense forests give the place a haunting beauty.

Because Corregidor is sheltered in a bay, the sea is usually calm, making it a pleasant one-hour trip from the CCP ferry terminal next to the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Roxas Boulevard, Manila's bayfront road.

Two Filipino soldiers in combat fatigues carrying assault rifles tag along - a reminder that although tourists rarely come to grief here, some hard lessons were learnt several years ago when the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group went on a kidnapping spree of foreign and local tourists.

After landing at Corregidor's North Dock, we are split into English and Japanese-speaking groups, a pragmatic but regrettable division given the island's history.

Their tour, explains Ramon Alfonso, our affable guide, tells the Corregidor story from the Japanese side.

The island was opened to visitors only 20 years ago. Ferdinand Marcos, who ran the Philippines as a dictatorship for most of his presidency, closed Corregidor in the mid-1960s to search for bullion said to have been left behind by the retreating Japanese.

It was later used by the military for jungle training.

Pre-war streetcars converted into buses take tour groups around the island.

Along the coast road overlooking the Bataan peninsula, scene of the ghastly Death March of American and Filipino POWs, we pass the first spectral ruins of the US garrison.

While vines and creepers are reclaiming some of them for the jungle, the imposing wreck of the Mile Long Barracks on the island's top side is a poignant reminder of the inferno of bombing and shelling that Corregidor's defenders endured for five months before the Japanese made an assault on May 5, 1942.

On the previous day, to soften up resistance, an estimated 16,000 shells were fired onto Corregidor.

Inside Malinta Tunnel, an 830-foot-long bombproof shelter hewn into a hill, a 30-minute sound-and-light show tells the island's wartime story, complete with loud bangs.

It was from here that General Douglas MacArthur set up his last headquarters as commander of the allied forces in the Philippines before being ordered off Corregidor to carry on the fight from Australia; where he made his famous 'I shall return' pledge.

Wartime bombing stripped Corregidor of much of its vegetation.

Nature, with a little help, has long reclaimed the island. After the war, ipil-ipil seeds were dropped from helicopters as part of a reforestation programme.

Monkeys and wild deer were later introduced but they stayed well hidden during my visit.

Workmen still find spent cartridges, tunic buttons and other harmless war detritus, which they sell to visitors.

The island has long been cleared of unexploded ordinance.

What was a green hell for the American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers caught in vicious combat is now a paradise regained of luxuriant tropical forests and an abundance of exotic flora and fauna.

Pink and magenta bougainvilleas have been planted along many of the paths to the main tourist sights, and are particularly lovely.

Over lunch on the balcony of the Corregidor Hotel, I chat to one of the few Americans in our mostly Filipino group.

Jim White's father was a US 7th Army signaller on Corregidor during the siege and spent the rest of the war in captivity after the island fell.

'I'm impressed by the way they have left things just as they are,' says White, a motivational speaker from Orange County, California.

'In the US, they'd have gift shops everywhere. This is a nice, respectful place.'

This highly recommended five-hour tour will have you back in Manila in time for afternoon tea if you take the first sailing.

GETTING THERE

SURE, Corregidor may be off the beaten track. But Sun Cruises runs daily guided tours, with sailings at 8 and 11am. Arrive to check in about 30 minutes before departure.

For reservations, call (00632) 831 8140 or 834 6857. Website: www.corregidorphilippines.com

The tour, which includes a buffet lunch at the pleasant Corregidor Hotel, costs $50. The Malinta Tunnel light-and-sound show costs an extra $4.

Overnight stays at the Corregidor Hotel cost around $75 and can be booked through Sun Cruises. The package includes ferry, accommodation, guided tour and a buffet lunch; other meals are extra.