Chocolate Hills
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The Chocolate Hills (Template:Langx, Template:Langx, or Template:Lang) are a geological formation in the Philippine province of Bohol.<ref name="eye">Eye on the Philippines Template:Webarchive Global Eye Retrieved December 22, 2006.</ref> There is a minimum of 1,260 hills and possibly up to 1,776, spread over an area of more than Template:Convert.<ref name=wonders>Chocolate Hills Template:Webarchive Seven Natural Wonders. Retrieved December 10, 2011.</ref> They are covered in green grass that turns a chocolate-brown during the dry season, hence the name.
The Chocolate Hills are featured on the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attractions in the province.<ref>The Bohol Flag and Seal Template:Webarchive www.bohol.gov.ph Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref> The site is on the Philippine Tourism Authority's list of tourist destinations in the Philippines,<ref name="unesco"/> and it has been declared the country's third national geological monument, as well as being proposed for inclusion in UNESCO's World Heritage List.<ref name="unesco">Chocolate Hills Natural Monument Template:Webarchive UNESCO World Heritage Centre Retrieved November 14, 2006.</ref>
Description
The Chocolate Hills form a rolling terrain of haycock-shaped hills—mounds of a generally conical and almost symmetrical shape.<ref>Bohol: The Jewel Paradise of the Philippine Islands Template:Webarchive www.bohol.net Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref> With an estimated 1,268 to 1,776 individual mounds, these dome-shaped hills are actually made of grass-covered limestone. The domes vary in size from Template:Convert high, with the largest being Template:Convert in height.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One of Bohol's best-known tourist attractions, these unique hills are scattered by the hundreds throughout the towns of Carmen, Batuan, and Sagbayan.<ref>Bohol Template:Webarchive www.dotpcvc.gov.ph Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref>
Vegetation
During the dry season, the grass-covered hills dry up and turn chocolate-brown.<ref name="unesco" /> The vegetation is dominated by grass species such as Imperata cylindrica and Saccharum spontaneum. Several Compositae and ferns also grow on them. In between the hills, the flatlands are cultivated with rice and other cash crops. However, the natural vegetation on the Chocolate Hills is threatened by quarrying activities.<ref name="herbarium">Bohol Island Herbarium Template:Webarchive www.pnh.com.ph. Retrieved November 14, 2006.</ref>Template:Clear left
Origin
The Chocolate Hills are conical karst that consist of Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene, thin to medium-bedded, sandy to rubbly marine limestone. They contain abundant fossils of shallow marine foraminifera, coral, mollusks, and algae.<ref name="Hillmer1987">Hillmer, G., 1987, Zur geologie und morphologie der straandterrassen von Cebu und Bohol Philippinen. Berliner geographische Studien. v. 25, p. 363–376.</ref><ref name="Travaglia1987a">Travaglia, C., R. Peebles, E. Bate, and A. Ferrer, 1987, Reconnaissance groundwater appraisal of Bohol Island, Philippines, by satellite data analysis. RSC Series no. 38. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.</ref> These conical hills are geomorphological features called cockpit karst, which were created by a combination of the dissolution of limestone by rainfall, surface water, and groundwater, and their subaerial erosion by streams after they had been uplifted above sea level and fractured by tectonic processes. The hills are separated by flat plains and contain numerous caves and springs.<ref name="RestificarOthers2006">Restificar, S. D. F., M. J. Day, and P. B. Urlich, 2006, Protection of Karst in the Philippines (Varstvo Krasa na Filipinih). Template:Webarchive, 788 KB PDF version. Acta Carsologica. v. 35, no. 2, p. 121-130.</ref><ref name="UrlichOthers2001a">Urlich, P. B., M. J. Day, and F. Lynagh, 2001, Policy and practice in karst landscape protection: Bohol, the Philippines. Template:Webarchive The Geographical Journal. v. 167, no. 4, pp. 305-323.</ref><ref name="LemanOthers2008">Leman, S. L., A, Reedman, and C. S. Pei, 2008, Geoheritage of East and Southeast Asia. Template:Webarchive, 5.7 MB PDF version. The CCOP-Institute for Environment and Development, Universiti Kebangsaan, Bangi Selangor, Malaysia.</ref>
The origin of the conical karst of the Chocolate Hills is described on the bronze plaque at the viewing deck in Carmen. This plaque states that they are eroded formations of a type of marine limestone that sits on top of hardened clay.<ref name="vacation">Chocolate Hills: Philippines Vacation Template:Webarchive www.philippinesvacation.org Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref><ref>Bohol Template:Webarchive www.philippines.hvu.nl. Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref>
Self-published, popular web pages present a variety of fanciful and less credible explanations about how these hills formed. They include sub-oceanic volcanism; limestone-covered blocks created by the destruction of an active volcano in a cataclysmic eruption;<ref>Bohol Template:Webarchive www.tambuli.com. Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref> and tidal movements.<ref name="boracay">Template:Cite news</ref> The lack of any exposed or associated volcanic rocks in the Chocolate Hills refutes the popular theories involving volcanic eruptions, however. The theories involving either a sudden, massive geologic shift, coral reefs being erupted from the sea, or tidal movements lack any corroborating evidence or support among geologists.<ref name="Hillmer1987"/><ref name="Travaglia1987a"/>
Tourism
Two of the hills have been developed into tourist resorts.<ref>Bohol God's little Paradise Template:Webarchive library.thinkquest.org. Retrieved December 22, 2006</ref><ref name="peak">Template:Cite web</ref> The main viewing point of the Chocolate Hills is the government-owned Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen, about Template:Convert from the capital of Tagbilaran.<ref>Bohol Island Sightseeing Template:Webarchive Bohol Island Hotels Travel Guide. Retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref> The other main point to view the Chocolate Hills is at Sagbayan Peak, in Sagbayan, Template:Convert away from the complex, also in Carmen.<ref name="peak" />
Protection
Legislation
The National Committee on Geological Sciences declared the Chocolate Hills of Bohol a National Geological Monument on June 18, 1988, in recognition of its special characteristics, scientific importance, uniqueness, and high scenic value.<ref name="unesco" /> As such, this added the Chocolate Hills to the country's protected areas. More protection was provided by "Proclamation No. 1037", signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on July 1, 1997, which established the Chocolate Hills and the areas within, around, and surrounding them located in the municipalities of Carmen, Batuan, Sagbayan, Bilar, Valencia, and Sierra Bullones as a natural monument to protect and maintain its natural beauty and to provide restraining mechanisms for inappropriate exploitation.<ref name="GovPH-Proc1037">Template:Cite web Template:PD-notice</ref> They are thus covered under the National Integrated Protected Areas System, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the lead implementing agency for its protection.<ref name="hbchoco"/>
Land-use conflict prompted President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to sign an amendment to "Proclamation 468" on September 26, 1994, declaring the land around or in between the Chocolate Hills as no longer part of the national monument during the Sandugo celebration on July 17, 2002. This amendment allowed the tracts of land surrounding and within the famous tourist spot to be developed by the provincial government and other entities that have control over the area. Further, the amended proclamation ensured that the areas that have to be preserved are preserved, while those that could be developed would be excluded from the national monument area and classified as alienable and disposable by the government. The president initially decided on the issue during the joint meeting of the Regional Development Council–Regional Peace and Order Council of Region VII, which was conducted at the Bohol Tropics Resort.<ref name="GovPH-GMA">Template:Cite news Template:PD-notice</ref>
Bills have been filed aiming to strengthen protection of the hills. On July 6, 2004, the Philippine House of Representatives introduced "House Bill No. 01147", subtitled "an act declaring the Chocolate Hills as national patrimony and geological monuments, penalizing their plunder, destruction or defacement, and for other purposes". The bill was authored by Congressman Eladio "Boy" Jala and co-authored by congressmen Roilo Golez and Edgar Chatto.<ref name="hbchoco">Template:Cite web</ref> The bill has not been passed into law.
On May 16, 2006, the DENR submitted the Chocolate Hills to UNESCO for inclusion as a World Heritage Site on the list of natural monuments, because of its outstanding universal value.<ref name="unesco"/><ref name="guvbans">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Chocolate Hills was declared a national park under "Republic Act No. 11038 (Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018)", signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in July 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Issues
Balancing protection, resource utilization, and tourism are the challenges faced by the Chocolate Hills. Before they were designated national geological monuments, some of the hills (about Template:Convert) were classified as alienable and disposable<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or as private lands, such that they were titled to local residents. The declaration consequently caused some social unrest, resulting in almost simultaneous civil uprising, led by the New People's Army (generally described as Maoist guerrillas) establishing a new front, known as the Chocolate Hills Command.<ref name="UrlichOthers2001a"/> To some farmers, the proclamation is a government scheme that suppresses their right to own lands. As such, conflicts between the New People's Army group and government military forces escalated, culminating in two major engagements.<ref name="UrlichOthers2001a"/>
Being alienable and disposable lands, the Chocolate Hills are seen as quarrying assets and a source of income for small-scale miners as well as quarry materials for the province's construction projects. The challenge has been how national and local officials can harmonize the current needs of small-scale miners, the construction sector, and the tourism industry with the preservation of the Chocolate Hills.<ref>CV gh Context of PA 21 Template:Webarchive www.neda7.net.ph. Retrieved November 17, 2006.</ref> Even with their protected status, mining permits continue to be granted by DENR and local government units.<ref name="guvbans" /> Hence, mining and quarrying are still taking place. Because of this, the provincial government of Bohol has requested jurisdiction over the Chocolate Hills from the DENR.<ref name="UrlichOthers2001a" /> Meanwhile, the provincial government has suggested that the legislation defining the Natural Monument should be changed, which would require that the proclamation be redrafted and ratified by both the Philippine House and Senate. This is a cumbersome and costly process, on which no progress has been made to date.<ref name="UrlichOthers2001a" /> Future development and investment challenges within the Chocolate Hills area include: obtaining the national government's sanction for the project; persuading landowners to sell; convincing the Protected Areas Management Board, which has jurisdiction over the hills, not to use its veto power over any investment requiring physical facilities.<ref name="toontown">Toontown comes to Bohol's Nature Park Template:Webarchive www.newsflash.org. Retrieved November 14, 2006.</ref>
A resort was built between the Chocolate Hills, sparking controversy in March 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In response, Congress launched inquiries, which led to the resort being built despite the hills' protected status and a subsequent six-month suspension of 68 local officials, including Bohol governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Disasters
2013 Bohol earthquake
One of the largest earthquakes to hit Bohol struck the island at 8:12 a.m. (PHT) on October 15, 2013.<ref>"M7.1 – 2km NE of Catigbian, Philippines" Template:Webarchive. USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Retrieved October 15, 2013</ref> The center of the M7.2 earthquake was near Sagbayan, Bohol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to the earthquake, a portion of one of the hills gave way, and the Chocolate Hills' viewing deck was destroyed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2018, the Provincial Development Council's Executive Committee proposed Template:Philippine peso in funding for the repair work and restored the viewing deck and surrounding facilities, including pathways, parking space, water features, trellis, stairs, ramps, food court, museum, activity center, lamp posts, signage, and landscaping.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Grass fires
On April 30, 2024, two of the hills were burned in a grass fire in Carmen after Bohol's heat index reached Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Formation myths
The Chocolate Hills have inspired many geomyths, most of which revolve around their formation and figures of giants.<ref>The Chocolate Hills Template:Webarchive www.bohol.ph. Retrieved November 14, 2006</ref>
Battle between two giants
There were once two giants, dwelling in the northern and southern edges of the island, respectively. During a rainy day, when the ground became muddy, a hostile encounter between them prompted worried people to vacate to other parts of the island, and the giant from the north instigated a mud-throwing fight. After a while, the battle climaxed into a fistfight between the giants and ended with both knocking each other to the ground and dying. What was left of the thrown mud that landed on the ground became the hills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Romance of Arogo and Aloya
A young and powerful giant named Arogo once fell in love with a human named Aloya, and they lived together for some time, until Aloya became ill and died. Arogo mourned, and his tears fell to the ground, forming mounds that would later become the hills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mud cakes
The flatlands of Carmen were once a playground for giant children. One day, they initiated a contest on who could bake the most mud cakes, gathering mud and "baking" them under coconut half-shells laid flat on the ground. Before the contest could end, however, the children were called home. After a while, they returned to the area to witness their finished creations and left them undisturbed out of admiration—the baked cakes thus became the hills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Karst hill ranges outside of Bohol
Outside of Bohol, similar karst hill ranges are found throughout the Philippines, such as in the interiors of Siquijor and Cebu, southesternTemplate:Clarify Leyte, along the western coast of Guimaras, the northwestern tip of Masbate, and in the Bicol region, comprising southern Albay and western Sorsogon.
See also
References
External links
Articles
- Chocolate Hills Chocolate hills travel information
- The Chocolate Hills
- "Guv issues orders to protect Choco Hills, aid brgy workers", Bohol Sunday Post, 06/11/06
- House Bill 001147
Template:Protected areas in Central Visayas Template:World Heritage Sites in the Philippines