The Chocolate Hills

IJsselstein, Thursday, 17 May 2001 (updated: Sunday, 31 March 2002)

The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction.
They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind
us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of
this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made
artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely
surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The chocolate hills consist
of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number).
They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters high.
They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns
chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times,
the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make.

Enjoy your hot chocolate from this exclusive chocolate hills

mug, USD 14.50.

Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw
stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they
were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind
the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo,
a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl
called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then
turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.
However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how
they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the
weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable
layer of clay. If you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill
near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.

How to get there

Plenty of tourist guides and tour operators will be happy to bring you to the
chocolate hills, either as a separate trip or as part of a day tour. However, if
you want to go here on your own, from Tagbilaran, you will have to go the
integrated bus terminal in Dao and catch a bus going to Carmen. If you look
like a stranger, you will have a hard time not finding one. At the entrance of
the bus terminal people will point you to the right bus. Make sure it is the
first one to leave, and ask the driver to drop you off at the Chocolate Hills
complex, about 4 kilometers before the town of Carmen. From there it is a
10 minute walk along a road winding up to the complex.

To get back to Tagbilaran, you will have to walk back to the main road, and
wait for a bus to pass by. The last bus from Carmen to Tagbilaran leaves at
four P.M. Alternatively, you can use the services of the motorcyclists who
often wait here for tourist, and ride 'habal-habal,' or motorbike taxi.

If you're coming from Tubigon (arriving from Cebu by boat), a few buses go
to Carmen daily, but sometimes you'll have to wait for some time for the bus
to fill up. When you arrive in Carmen, you can catch the next bus or jeepney
in the direction of Bilar, Loay or Tagbilaran, or ask a 'habal-habal' driver to
bring you to the Chocolate Hills Complex.

Where to stay

If you would like to stay in the Chocolate Hills, you have very little choice.
The only facility is the Government run Chocolate Hills resort. Currently, this
hotel is undergoing renovation and extension, but, since funds have run out,
work on this is suspended, and you'll have to deal with the mess of a half-
completed resort. However, the staff are friendly, and if you stay here
overnight, seeing the sun rise over this bizarre landscape is worth the
inconvenience. The place also has a still functional and maintained swimming
pool, which is behind the unfinished building, a little bit downhill.