The main attraction of Bohol Island are the Chocolate Hills. These mounds turn brown during the summer, resembling Hershey Kisses, hence the name.
The actual mounds are quite weird; if you go down to the base and have a look, these things simply rise from nowhere. Most normal hills usually have a gentle slope that starts them off, but these hills sit there on grounds which are completely flat, and they suddenly ‘exist’. I found that very interesting and forgot to take pictures.
It isn’t know how they’re formed, but they’re thought to be made of uplifted limestone containing lots of fossils, the surrounding area being flatter due to erosion over time.
I also hear it rains here…
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Local legends
(gratuitously
copied from
Wikipedia)
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Four legends explain the formation of the Chocolate Hills. The first tells the story of two feuding giants who hurled rocks, boulders, and sand at each other. The fighting lasted for days, and exhausted the two giants. In their exhaustion, they forgot about their feud and became friends, but when they left they forgot to clean up the mess they had made during their battle, hence the Chocolate Hills.[13][17]
A more romantic legend tells of a giant named Arogo who was extremely powerful and youthful. Arogo fell in love with Aloya, who was a simple mortal. Aloya’s death caused Arogo much pain and misery, and in his sorrow he could not stop crying. When his tears dried, the Chocolate Hills were formed.[18]
The third legend tells of a town being plagued by a giant carabao, who ate all of their crops. Finally having had enough, the townsfolk took all of their spoiled food and placed it in such a way that the carabao would not miss it. Sure enough, the carabao ate it, but his stomach couldn’t handle the spoiled food, so he defecated, leaving behind him a mound of feces, until he had emptied his stomach of the food. The feces then dried, forming the Chocolate Hills.
The last legend is about a gl