Chocolate Hills

Bohol, Philippines

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The Chocolate Hills are a unique geological formation in the central province of Bohol, Philippines, consisting of at least 1,260 and possibly up to 1,776 nearly identical cone-shaped hills spread across more than 50 square kilometers.

Covering elevations between 30 and 120 meters (100–390 feet) tall, these hemisymmetric mounds are covered in green grass during the wet season but turn a rich chocolate brown during the hot dry season, giving them their famous name. Formed from uplifted coral deposits that were later shaped by rainwater erosion and weathering at the start of or just before the last ice age, they are examples of mogotes found in tropical karst landscapes, with no other formation exactly like them in the world.

Declared a National Geological Monument in 1988 and a protected natural monument in 1997, the hills are Bohol’s premier tourist attraction, appearing on the province’s flag and seal, and visitors can view them from two main observation decks: the government-run Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen and the Sagbayan Peak viewpoint. Local legends attribute their origin to a fighting giant who left behind a mess of sand and stones, but the scientific explanation reveals them as a truly extraordinary natural wonder.