The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol province, Philippines. There are at least 1,260 hills but there may be as much as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres. They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name.
The Chocolate Hills is a famous tourist attraction of Bohol. They are featured in the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attractions in the province. They have been declared the country's third National Geological Monument and proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Chocolate Hills form a rolling terrain of haycock hills - mounds of a generally conical and almost symmetrical shape. The domes vary in sizes from 30 to 50 metres high with the largest being 120 metres in height. During the dry season, the grass-covered hills dry up and turn chocolate brown. This transforms the area into seemingly endless rows of "chocolate kisses". The branded confection is the inspiration behind the name, Chocolate Hills.
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 a tale about a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl. After she died, the giant cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.
However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accepted theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay.
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