The Chocolate Hills, Bohol

The Chocolate Hills are the surreal signature landscape of Bohol island, a vast field of over a thousand near-perfectly conical, grass-covered mounds spread across the countryside, so uniform they look almost man-made. In the dry season, when the grass covering them turns brown, they resemble giant chocolate drops, giving them their name. Bohol also charms visitors with the tiny, saucer-eyed tarsier, one of the world's smallest primates, and its river cruises and beaches.

What you actually see

• The Chocolate Hills - the field of over a thousand conical mounds.
• The main viewpoint - the platform overlooking the sea of hills.
• The tarsiers - the tiny, wide-eyed primates at the sanctuary.
• The Loboc River - the jungle river cruise nearby.

When to go

November to May, the dry season, for the best weather; the hills turn their famous chocolate-brown colour late in the dry season, around the height of summer, while in the wet season they are green. The green hills are lovely too, just less 'chocolate'.

Honest expectations

The hills are 'chocolate' brown only for part of the dry season and are green much of the year, which surprises those expecting the brown of the photos. It is a viewpoint rather than an activity, seen fairly quickly. At the tarsier sanctuary, choose the genuine conservation one and keep quiet, as the shy, stressed animals are easily disturbed by noise and flash.

Nearby

The Loboc River, the beaches of Panglao and diving are on Bohol; Cebu is a short hop away.