Chocolate Hills' U.S Based Support Group

Chocolate Hills' campain to the New 7 Wonders of the World gained additional support from a U.S based group. The main purpose of the group is to boost Chocolate Hills' chances of securing a spot in the top 21 list of Finalists.

The group also intends to help promote this wonder of nature to gain more attention and attraction. Hon. Manuel Molina, heads the group, who is also Mayor of Carmen, the place where Chocolate Hills is located. With him are as follows:

Bob Galang - coordinator and assistant head
Camilo Alfarero - logistics in-charge
Agnes Culpa Nazareno - secretary-treasurer
Sylvia Dagami Fortich - head communications
Lino Chatto Jr. - project manager
Peter Dejaresco - official media coordinator

To learn more about the group, visit their official web site at:
http://www.chocolatehills.us/

To read more about the article, visit:
http://www.theboholchronicle.com/fpage.php?issue=344&s1=4574&s2=&s3=&s4=&s5=4578&s6=&s7=&s9=&s10=

Additional resource:
http://ourphil.blogspot.com/

Chocolate Hills

Chocolate Hills (Bohol, Philippines) - Rank 03 as of June 13, 2008

One of the most famous attractions in Bohol, Cholocate Hills are a collection of hills (no less than 1268 in number) that spreads at about 50 square kilometers throughout the Barangays of Sagbayan, Carmen and Sierra Bullones in the centre of Bohol Island itself.

The hills which are covered with grass are uniform in shape, and about 30 to 50 meters in height, the largest standing 120 meters high. During dry season, the color of the grass covering turns cholocate brown, thus, the name Chocolate Hills was derived from. On other seasons, the hills are green in color.

To this date, there has been no official explanation agreed upon on how the hills were formed. There different theories about the formation of the hills.
The most common belief is they were an ancient coral limestone reef that was shaped by many thousands of years erosion by both water and wind.

The hills also have a legend. The first legend tells of two feuding giants who in battling with each other hurled rocks, boulders and sand trying to destroy there foe, who in the end became friends. The mess of the battlefield which the two giants forgot to clean gave birth to the Chocolate Hills.

The second legend, which is romantic in nature, is again about a giant called Arogo who was extremely powerful and youthful. Arogo fell in love with Aloya who was a simple mortal. Aloya’s death caused Arogo much pain and misery. In his sorrow he could not stop crying, when his tears dried the Chocolate Hills were formed.

The Chocolate Hills is listed by Philippines by the Philippine Tourism Authority as one of the tourist destinations in the Philippine, and it has been declared the country's 3rd National Geological Monument. It is also proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The information featured here are from the following web references. You may check the links for additional information, including travel details and photo galleries.

http://www.bohol.ph/article.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Hills
http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com/bohol-chocolate-hills.html
http://www.polaris-dive.com/eng_nf/gallery06.htm

To vote for Chocolate Hills for the New 7 Wonders, visit:
http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/nominees/asia/c/ChocolateHills/

To vote for other nominees, and for current live ranking information, visit:
http://www.new7wonders.com/
or
http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/

The following images are from the web site:

http://www.polaris-dive.com/