Chocolate Hills
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.
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.
