#86 Peanut Kisses

If ever you are visiting Bohol province in the Visayas region, central Philippines, don’t fail to try Peanut Kisses.

Peanut Kisses are yummy peanut-based cookies that are unique to the province. Made in the shape of the iconic American candies ‘Chocolate Kisses,” the Bohol variety is a humble concoction of peanuts and egg white– simple ingredients but irresistably delicious. Just like a bag of M&Ms when one begins snacking on Peanut Kisses it’s simply hard to stop.

The Peanut Kisses are also made popular or ride on the fame of the Chocolate Hills park in Bohol, a favorite tourist destination. A bag of Peanut Kisses are available in various stores and retail outlets in the city. Or at the airport if one neglects to check out the local stores.

Mabuhay ang Peanut Kisses!

#26 Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills of Bohol Province in the Visayas region, Central Philippines, is a breathtaking landscape, a nearly unearthly geographical formation of small rounded limestone hills. A Wikipedia entry says that based on the latest survey, there are 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres (20 sq mi), located in the towns of Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan.

The best panoramic views are from Carmen where a view deck was built by the local tourism office. A small, modest guesthouse is also located near the view deck, but local tourism officials really need to work on better accommodations if  they intend to attract more visitors.

The hills, so-called conical karst hills in geologic terms, have a thin soil layer with green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name Chocolate Hills.  The limestone hills are formed or created by a combination of the dissolution of limestones by rainfall, surface water and groundwater.

Best viewed at sunrise when the dawn mist lingers and slowly lifts off, the sight of these uniformly odd-shaped hills stretching to the distance in the early morning light can be an ‘out-of-this-world’ experience, a natural wonder that is not only unique but also visually unforgettable. The area is listed in the Philippines National Geological Monuments and local authorities have proposed the inclusion of the park into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Mabuhay ang Chocolate Hills!