Tearing ourselves away from the magnificent Peacock Garden for the morning, we felt obliged to visit the famed Chocolate Hills during our visit to Bohol. Just an hour’s drive inland from Tagbilaran City, these geological wonders draw in the crowds from across the globe and stretch as far as the eye can see. En route, we pulled over into an unassuming patch of jungle, on the hunt for something a little more inconspicuous; the tiny tarsier.
You may struggle to spot these miniature marsupials amongst the sea of green. Their big bush-baby eyes are adapted to spot potential predators such as ourselves a mile off and so they are more likely to see you than for you to see them. After playing Where’s Wally? for a good hour or so, and with the crowds growing, we headed to the hills and further into the interior of Bohol.
The drive itself was a fantastic insight into Filipino life. Rice fields and water buffalo dominated the horizon with everyday life looking like a long day of manual labour. As our local driver informed us, rice is a diet staple here and you really felt that the local population gave their all to harvest the crop.
After snaking through the green canopy on a very long road, we arrived at our final destination. The Chocolate Hills are so-called due to their resemblance to Hershey’s Kisses in summer when the grass turns brown in the intense heat. I have to say, I don’t mind mine being green. Two-hundred steps to the summit isn’t too much of a struggle when Mother Nature puts on this calibre of display.
