Philippines Travel Portal

Chocolate Hills and Tarsiers are synonymous to Bohol. No trip to the beautiful island of Bohol would be complete without seeing these to main attractions. I was so amazed when I saw the countless hills spreaded on the vast land of Carmen, Bohol; I can’t help but wonder how such beauty is created.

Chocolate hills are called such because of its stricking resemblance to Kisses chocolates when it is brown during summer. Majority of the year these hills are green because of the moss and grasses growing on them. At present counting, there are about 1268 of them scattered around more than 50 kilometers of land.

Going to the Chocolate Hills in the town of Carmen is a mere 30 to 40-minute drive from Tagbilaran City, Bohol’s Capital. It is difficult to find public transport in this place so it is advisable to rent a van or car at the airport along with a driver who would drive you to the place. This trip wouldn’t cost more than 1,000 pesos or you could rent the car for a whole day to visit other places for about 3,000 pesos. It is advisable to spend a whole day or at least half to visit all these places that Bohol is really proud of.

To get the magnificent view of this beautiful landmark, you need to go to an observation deck which happens to be one of the famous hills. You would need to pay 25 pesos as entrance fee to the place. A stairway towards the top of the hill will lead you to the main observation area. Once you reach the top, you would surely love the sight of so many hills all around you. As a bonus, you can have your picture taken as a souvenier you could treasure. Some people offer to take crerative digital photographs. They could make you look like you’re cupping the hills or flying on a broom on top of them.

Once you have enough of this magnificent place (but who ever would?), don’t forget to pass by the town of Corella where the Tarsier Sanctuary is. Meeting the infamous small creatures would surely be a great delight for everyone. They are just so cute. The Tarsier Sanctuary is only one of very few places where you can see tarsiers in captivity. The government of Bohol prohibits petting these animals and imposes a really big fine to those caught in possession of them. This place is free of charge although they are asking for voluntary donation to maintain the place. Touching the tarsiers in here is not really advisable. They are very sensitive creatures and kill themselves when they get stressed. Some of the people keeping the place would sometimes let you take pictures holding the tarsiers but they would ask for about 100 pesos in return as “donation”.

Visiting the Chocolate Hills and meeting tarsiers is a real must when visiting Bohol. I very much enjoyed my Bohol trip and it wouldn’t have been a lot of fun if I missed these places. I am sure you would love it here too!