Chocolate Hills

Once upon a time, there were two giants who began to throw stones and sand against each other. Their fight lasted for several days. Finally, when they grew tired, they decided to become friends and leave the island where they fought. They also left behind the mess, which is now called the Chocolate Hills.

This story is just one of the legends of the most famous tourist attraction in the island of Bohol – the Chocolate Hills. How this group of hills was created has been the subject of many debates. Some proposed that, like the pyramids of Egypt, the Chocolate Hills were man-made, but this idea was immediately abandoned because creating these hills will be far more complicated than the pyramids. There are, in fact, 1,268 hills.

So far, the most acceptable geological theory that has been forwarded to explain the formation of such perfectly shaped hills is the one stating that the hills were the result of thousands of years of weathering of marine limestone. The details of this geological theory can be found on a bronze plaque placed on top of the observation hill, one of the Chocolate Hills that has been developed into a resort. To get to the top of this hill, a tourist must climb the 214 steps.

To get to the observation hill resort, the tourist will just choose from among the numerous tour operators in the city of Tagbilaran. Renting a van is the recommended method to go to the hill resort especially when one is traveling with a group. The rent ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 pesos. But, if one tourist chooses to be adventurous, he may go to the bus terminal in Dao and ride a bus that goes to Carmen. The drivers of such buses are most accommodating. All the tourist needs to do is to request the driver to drop him off the Chocolate Hills complex.

From the drop off point, the tourist can proceed towards the entrance of the complex by following the winding road. This is a mere ten-minute walk and excellent for those people seeking some exercise. Of course, one should do this in the early morning when the sun is not too hot. But the heat of the sun has never deterred tourists from climbing the steps up to the top of the observation hill.

At the top, one can view this unexplainable geological miracle that can only be found in Bohol. All the hills are similar in shape and their heights range between 30 to 50 meters. During the wet season, the hills are carpeted with grass and one will have a difficult time thinking of them as “chocolate”. But during the dry season, the grasses lose their green color and the hills are dyed chocolate.

After the climb, one can rest, refresh and eat at the restaurant of the hill resort. And if the tourist decides to know what these hills look like at dawn, he may stay at the half-completed hotel. Though half-completed, the tourist will find that the staff go out of their way to make the stay of tourists comfortable.