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CHOCOLATE HILLS

July 31, 2016 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Philippines

The Chocolate Hills of the Philippines is an incredible formation of hills that sprawl out over a huge area in the center of the island of Bohol.  Consisting of over a thousand nearly perfectly rounded grass covered hills, they get their name from the cocoa brown color they achieve during the area’s dry season.  The Chocolate Hills are tied to several of the island’s local legends.

The area of the Central Bohol was inhabited for centuries before the Spanish arrived in the colonial era.  According to one local tradition, the hills are the remnants of a great fight between two giants that hurled boulders at each other for days before calling a truce.  Two other tales involving giants claim the hills are the remnants of tears, or possibly feces.  Today portions of the hills are under the threat of development.

The Chocolate Hills, which number somewhere between 1,300 and 1,700 individual mounds, are actually the remains of an ancient limestone seabed, though there are other theories of how the hills were formed.  The mounds are almost all grass-covered and bare of treed, while much of the space between the mounds is thick with foliage.  During the dry season, the hills have been described as a field of giant Hershey kisses on a bed of greenery.

The Chocolate Hills are the most popular tourist destination on the island of Bohol.  To date only part of the hills have been developed (there are actually two hills with hotels on them), but there are efforts to prevent further human development in the area.  The hills are currently being considered for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Web: www.chocolatehills.net (official website).

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Australia/Pacific

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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