Another amazing tourist site in the Philippines is the Chocolate Hills in Bohol province.
At a glance, they look like endless giant scoops of chocolate ice cream that are all over the plain. That is how they got their name, from their chocolate-brown color during the summer season. During the rainy season, green plants cover the hills thus; they look like endless giant scoops of avocado green flavored ice cream. How I wish we could eat them!
According to www.bohol.ph, “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, there 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.”
Sadly, most of us do not believe in such legends. According to an article in the Manila Bulletin- “Tourism Buzz” (November 2, 2008 issue), scientists explain that these 1, 268 near identical hills, with sizes ranging from 40-120 meters, are the result of the uplifting of ancient coral reef deposits, followed by erosion and weathering. However, up to this day, geologists have not reached consensus on how the hills have come to form. The official theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of an impermeable layer of clay. You can read this information etched on a bronze plaque at the top of the 214-step observation hill near the complex.
I hope I can still get a chance to visit such a natural wonder…
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