Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills are a formation of more than 1,200 conical, grass-covered limestone hills spread across roughly 50 square kilometers of Bohol Island in the Philippines, each rising between about 30 and 120 meters, formed from a marine limestone deposited millions of years ago and later uplifted above sea level. The hills' distinctive rounded, near-uniform conical shapes are the product of long-term chemical weathering and dissolution of the limestone by rainwater and groundwater, a karst process that etched deep, evenly spaced fissures into the uplifted limestone plateau, leaving isolated conical remnants standing between them. During the dry season the grass covering the hills turns brown, giving them their name and a resemblance to giant mounds of chocolate; local legend also attributes their creation to the tears of a heartbroken giant.