Chocolate Hills

Over 1,200 rounded grassy hills that turn chocolate-brown in the dry season.

In the rainy season the grass on the hills is green, but in the dry season it turns brown, so the hills look like rows of chocolate drops sitting on the land. They are one of the best-known natural sights in the Philippines. The hills were declared a National Geological Monument in 1988, and in 2023 UNESCO named Bohol Island the country's first UNESCO Global Geopark, with the Chocolate Hills as one of its stars.

How the hills formed

The hills are made of limestone, a rock formed in the sea. Roughly 2 to 5 million years ago, during a time called the Pliocene, this area was a shallow sea with coral reefs, and their remains built up into thick layers of limestone. Later the land was pushed up above sea level and cracked. Over a very long time, rain, streams and groundwater slowly dissolved the limestone, carving it into many cone-shaped hills. Scientists call this kind of landscape cone karst.

Legends of the hills

Long before scientists studied them, people in Bohol told stories to explain the hills. In one tale, two giants fought for days, throwing mud and rocks at each other, and simply left the mess behind. In another, a giant wept over a human he had loved and lost, and his tears dried into hills. A third story says giant children made mud cakes and left them out to dry. These are folk tales, not science, but they are a much-loved part of Bohol's culture.

Visiting and protecting the hills

The main viewpoint is the Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen, and another is at Sagbayan Peak. The hills are more fragile than they look: a strong earthquake in 2013 destroyed the viewing deck, and in April 2024 a grass fire burned two of the hills. Since 2018 the area has also been protected by law as a national park. In 2006 the Philippine government also put the hills forward to UNESCO for possible World Heritage status.

On the globe

The model shows a field of round, grassy hills on Bohol island in the Philippines. Zoom in and count the bumps: the real area has more than 1,200 of them.