The Samar Island Natural Park, in Samar, is the largest contiguous tract of old-growth forest in the Philippines. It is the country's largest terrestrial protected area, with an area of 333,300 hectares (824,000 acres). The buffer is spread north to south over the island's three provinces (Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar province) and totals 458,700 hectares (1,133,000 acres), about a third of the entire island of Samar.