During my elementary days, whenever my teacher asks for an example of a burol, we instantly think of Chocolate Hills in Bohol. I always see it on my History books, tagged as one of the major tourist attractions in the Philippines. Lucky enough, last year I had the chance to finally meet this well-known tourist spot in Bohol.

Bohol is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, with Tagbilaran City as its capital. Considered as the 10th largest province in my country with 75 surrounding islets.

How to get to Bohol

From Manila, it will only take less than an hour plane ride to Tagbilaran City. CebuPacific and AirAsia have the cheapest flights flying to and from Bohol. The other option is to take a ferry boat from Cebu. The trip takes around 2 hours, which costs 500php one way.

Chocolate Hills

Chocolate Hills is basically a terrain of bizarrely formed hills, comprised of more than a thousand individual grass-covered hills. It is called as such because they look like bulks of giant chocolate during summer season.

Albeit the pretty hard rain that showered when we took our visit, Chocolate Hills still left us in awe. One has to climb a high set of stairs to reach the top viewing point where tourists pose and do funny perspective shots with the hills in the background. Some poses like they're sitting or touching the top of the hill.

Tarsiers

Apart from the Chocolate Hills that made Bohol a major tourist spot, it is also home to the cute little endemic Philippine tarsier - a very peculiar small mammal. I was actually surprised to how small it is. They are like the size of my fist, some are even smaller! On the other hand, the dwarfish their body is, the enormous their eyes are. It was like their gonna fall from their head. They are really so cute and adorable.

Tarsiers are nocturnal animals. During our tour, we were warned not to make too much noise and camera flashes are not allowed. The reason for this is because tarsiers tend to commit suicide when exposed to stress and activities. The good thing is that they are well kept at the Philippine Tarsier Conservation Center in Loboc, Bohol.

Panglao Island

If you are on an island, then you would definitely think of beaches, right? Then Bohol won't fail you on this part! Bohol is gifted with white sandy beaches and seas abundant with fishes and creatures.

Panglao Island is the most visited and developed island in Bohol. You can go snorkeling or island hopping. I had fun playing in the white powdery sand and smooth sea floor. I was stunned at how the shore widens during low tide which means broader sand to play with!

We rented a banca that took us to the snorkeling spot and virgin island. There is nothing much to do at the virgin island, but just to relax and swim. There are buko juices for sale and even sea urchins! It was my first time eating such which tasted mostly like an oyster.

Powdery white sand

Other places to visit..

You may think that was enough, but there is still a lot of must see places in Bohol like the hundred year-old churches, butterfly conservation center, blood compact shrine and souvenir shops! Truly a major destination in the Philippines.

See my part 2 post here for the other attractions in Bohol!

A disclaimer: Some of the photos are taken by my friends :)