One of the world's most astonishing landscape

The Chocolate Hills is an unusually breath-taking geological formation located in Bohol, Philippines. These cone-shaped hills are made of limestone covered with lush grass. However, during the dry season, the hills dry up and their colour turns into chocolate brown, which are like giant “chocolate kisses”.

According to some estimates, there are about 1,268 hills to 1, 776 hills over the area, which is more than 50 sq. km. These thousands of hills are scattered throughout the towns of Carmen, Sagbayan and Batuan.

“Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt.” notes Photographer Salvador Andre.

The origin and formation of the hills has long been debated by geologists. Some of the most popular theories include limestone weathering, uplift of the seafloor, sub-oceanic volcanism and self-destruction of an ancient volcano.

The Chocolate Hills is no doubt one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines. The area has been declared as the Third National Geological Monument in the country. It has also been proposed that Chocolate Hills be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Viewing stations of the Chocolate Hills include the government-owned Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen and the mountain-resort Sagbayan Peak in Sagbayan. These two viewing stations also have other amenities like swimming pools, hotels, restaurants and others.

The Chocolate Hills is truly majestic. It is indeed a natural wonder!