Bohol is the main island of Bohol Province together with 75 minor surrounding islands. The island lies southeast from Cebu Island and southwest of Leyte Island in Central Visayas region. This oval-shaped island is the tenth largest of the Philippine archipelago.
Another gem of the Visayas, Bohol is a tropical haven of natural beauty. The coastline of the island is skimmed by gentle coves and white sand beaches. Bohol is not as internationally famous as nearby Boracay, but is well-known locally as a paradise for divers and snorkelers. Dolphin watching and whale watching tours are popular with both residents and visiting tourists. The best season is from March to June, but dolphins can be seen year-round. In addition to white sand beaches and dive spots, Bohol is famous among others, for its Chocolate Hills, the Tarsier – arguably the world’s smallest primate, heritage sites and old stone churches.
Cities
* Tagbilaran – Capital of Bohol and the main point of entry to the island, including nearby Panglao Island.
* Loboc – Rivertown with historic church and idyllic falls. Home of the famous Loboc Children’s Choir. Also famous for its River Cruise including serenade and buffet lunch.
* Carmen – Launching point for tours of the Chocolate Hills
* Corella – The best place in the Philippines to spot a tarsier in the wild.
* Baclayon – Port with tours to Pamilacan Island and the town where the old Baclayon Church (established in 1727) is located. Elegant heritage houses line the main road.
* Bilar – Gateway to Bilar & Rajah Sikatuna National Park.
* Dauis – Historic Church with lovely seaside setting, pilgrimage site, and venue for heritage-themed dinners, exhibits, tours, cafe, craft shop featuring local jewelry
One can travel to Bohol by air, land, and sea.
By plane
At the moment, Bohol’s city airport in Tagbilaran services daily Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airline flights from Manila.
It is undergoing renovation to accommodate the B-737s of Philippine Airlines. Ramp area improvement and the construction of a modernized airport building will soon ensure bigger aircraft will allow direct flight into Bohol.
Most guests to Bohol enter the island either by land or sea via its island neighbor, Cebu.
By boat
The Tagbilaran City Tourist Pier handles more than 4,000 travelers on a daily basis. Nine daily ship calls from Cebu are processed efficiently, with other ships from Manila, Cagayan de Oro City, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Iligan City, Larena, Plaridel and Ozamiz City also welcomed on a regular basis. Another four port terminals cater specifically to Cebu and northern Mindanao routes. Additional berthing space for fastcraft ferries is currently under construction.
Get around
Bohol Island is a easily accessible by bus, private cars, taxi and rental cars. Many of the towns in Bohol have a bus terminal where one can get a ride to other towns. Tagbilaran City, the capital city of Bohol has an integrated bus terminal located in Dao, where you can get a bus ride to get in most towns in Bohol. Most bus lines operate follows daily schedules. To go the the Chocolate Hills, one had to take the interior-route like Carmen-Sierra Bullones.
Other ways, to get to different places in Bohol is to rent a car. There are several different transportation companies in Tagbilaran City where you can make arrangements to rent a car or van or jeepney. Taxis are also available, but usually you have to pay in pre-negotiated fare called Pakyaw.
Tarsier
For the past 45 million years, tarsiers have inhabited rainforests around the world, but now they only exist on a few islands in the Philippines, Borneo and Indonesia. In Bohol, the Philippine Tarsier was a common sight in the southern part of the island until the 1960’s. Since then, the number has dwindled to as few as an estimated 1000 still left in the wild. Once protected by the humid rainforests and mist-shrouded hills, these mysterious primates struggle to survive as their home is cleared for crop growing.
To date, the Philippine Tarsier Foundation has acquired 7.4 hectares of land in Corella, Bohol for a Tarsier sanctuary. With the Department of Environment and Natural Resources playing an oversight role, the foundation has asked other Bohol towns with Philippines Tarsier populations to donate 20 hectares (49.4 acres) of forestland for conservation.
It also runs a Tarsier Research and Development Center, which serves as a visitor center and venue for research, as well as a habitat preserve. At the sanctuary, a spacious net enclosure keeps 100 Philippine Tarsiers for feeding, captive breeding and display. Here, visitors can observe the Philippine Tarsier in their natural habitat. Within the sanctuary, the Philippine Tarsiers roam freely and all of them have got used to a seven-foot high fence that circumscribes the territory and which serves mainly to protect them from predators like feral cats. At night, tarsiers can be seen climbing out of the fence to forage for food farther into the forest. They return again before daybreak, as if observing a curfew.
Do not visit the caged Tarsiers which are elsewhere on the island (especially Loboc). These are often stolen from the sanctuary and are so traumatised they can no longer breed.
The Tarsier was used by Stephen Spielberg as the inspiration for E.T.
The Chocolate Hills
The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol’s most famous tourist attraction. The hills, which look like giant mole hill, are considered unusual geological formation that consists of at least 1,268 individual mounds that are scattered throughout the municipalities of Carmen, Batuan, and Sagbayan. The hills range from 30 to 50 meters high and are covered in green grass, which turns to brown during the dry season, making them look like chocolate mounds. ( Quoted from “Your Guide to Bohol” by Sanchez-Bronce, Loop and Carpentier)
Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.
However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay.