A gigantic creature mourning out of disappointment in love. As his weeping tears fell into the ground, hills grew. Some believe that two giants went to war, threw muds at each other, and as the dispute was over, figures of small mountains formed. Locals of Bohol, specifically those settled in the Municipality of Carmen, have diverse myths on the origin of Chocolate Hills—two of those myths are mentioned above. For geologists, they based the creation of Chocolate Hills through scientific happening. According to them, the hills were formed through weathering carving marine limestone on top of a clay layer. Thus, the creation of these wonderful hills located one-after-another has always been a subject of curiosity among those people who have visited the place. Either caused by giants or created naturally, these hills caught the eyes of the people awed and wondered!
Thinking about how to go to Chocolate Hills?
Yes, you are. Positioned 54 kilometers away from the Capital City of Bohol—Tagbilaran, going to Chocolate Hills must be very easy for such a short drive. However, going there is made challenging by the snaky, not to mention mountainous, roads of Corella, Loboc, Batuan, and Bilar; don’t panic it is still safe! Traveling to this very beautiful view would cost you less than two hours for at least Php100. You can take a bus, drive your own vehicle, or even rent a car which, of course, will cost you more than the cost of taking a bus. Your journey to Chocolate Hills brings no boring time since the outside view of your car’s window is totally fascinating. The antique churches of Baclayon and Loboc, the Loboc River, and the enchanting Man-Made Forest of Bilar are bonuses of traveling to Chocolate Hills.
The moment you arrive at the entrance of the viewing area, the tourist guide will greet you and will offer help to make your visit memorable. For your safety, you are not allowed to drive your own vehicle going to the viewing area which is located at the top of one of the hills. Instead, one of the employees, trained for safe driving, will give a ride for you. The journey’s not yet over, not unless you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill. Such exercise! Prepare a strong knee before visiting the Chocolate Hills! Surely, completing 214 steps is just a piece of cake for you.
There are more than 1,500 symmetrical hills in a dome-shape.
Sometimes described as chocolates of Hershey Kisses shape, positioned not only in the land of Municipality of Carmen but also Municipalities of Batuan, Bilar, Sagbayan, and Sierra Bullones in Bohol. It just happened that the original Chocolate Hills Complex or the observation area is in Carmen.
Ideal dates to go to Chocolate Hills.
Well, it depends on you. Chocolate Hills changes its color depending on the climate. During summer, from March to May, the grasses around the hills die making its color turn to chocolate brown. While during rainy days, can be the rest of the year, the grasses will be watered and will start to change to green again. Thus, the ideal date to visit the place depends on your preference—you can choose to see the chocolate-colored hills or the green hills from June to January. Moreover, most people love going to Chocolate Hills during the ‘chocolate season’ since it looks more dramatic than the other.
Things to do around the Chocolate Hills
Site seeing is no boring when you come with your favorite people taking pictures with the Hills. But it is not the only thing that you can do in the vicinity. There are a lot of great things to do around the Chocolate Hills that will help you experience the place at its finest.
One of the favorite things most people do around the vicinity is “Wave Runner Surf Zipline”. Traveling from one hill to another wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt feels like surfing in the waves of Maui, Hawaii. You can also try ATV motorcycle riding which is cool because it will bring you to not just one hill but as many hills as you can, of course with a guide. You can also visit Serpentarium where you will find a few feared but friendly animals and insects. Then, you can also complete the rope challenges prepared for you if you want to or feed fishes and birds in the Serpentarium. All these amazing things can be found near the Chocolate Hills complex, just ask the right person!
Due to its magnificent view and sweet as chocolate characteristic, the Chocolate Hills was included in the list of the world’s seven wonders. Today, the hills are visited not mostly by Filipinos but by people around the world. They traveled and have gone a very long way just to see the beauty of Bohol’s pride. Well, long way not wasted since the place deserves to be visited and appreciated!
I fell in love with the place the first time I visit.
Its dramatic aura gave me an overwhelming realization. Life has lots of ‘surmountable mountains’ never unsurmountable. When you are at the top of one of your mountains and you take time to look back at the mountains you have previously surmounted, you will see not a tiring life but a wonderful life. How beautiful it is to conquer such mountains and living the life you did not imagine.
Travelers usually travel beyond the beauty of the place. For them, traveling is a time for reflection and contemplation—they find meaning in their travels. I hope we can be like travelers who view places not by their appearance but by their meaning. It is not about the ‘farness’ of your travel, the meaning is all that matters. If I am a traveler, I should include Chocolate Hills on my list of meaningful places. One cannot see giants, but he can see the fruit of tears out of love through hills and that is something a traveler must be looking forward to.
Thousand of hills in symmetrical form coming together to create a beautiful view. The same thing goes to life. Thousands of surmountable problems have come together to create a beautiful, stronger you!
Off we go to Chocolate Hills.
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