Climbing the 'Chocolate Hills' of Southern Leyte

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte - Thanks to its one-of-a-kind and perfectly dome-shaped "Chocolate Hills," the Visayan island province of Bohol has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines. But who knew these sun-kissed mounds have a counterpart northeast of Bohol, in the neighboring Leyte island? The "Chocolate Hills" of Southern Leyte form part of the Nacolod Mountain Range, but have been locally baptized the "San Francisco Nature's Park," after the town's patron saint. More appropriately called mountains, their peaks rise above the sea level at exactly 580 meters, easily dwarfing Bohol's 30- to 50-meter hills, and cover at least five barangays (villages). While the Chocolate Hills can be viewed from the summit of one hill and easily reached by car through a winding paved road, the Southern Leyte version is accessible only on foot for now. This makes the steep climb more challenging and rewarding at the same time. The mountain range is best seen from a wooden view deck built on one of the peaks last February by a local village organization. Members of the group take turns in watching over the mountain range, looking for signs of illegal logging and slash-and-burn activities (kaingin) that have scraped the slopes bare. Thanks to the local forest crusaders, some 400 hectares of denuded land were recently replanted with seedlings through the help of the German aid agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The mountains have become alive again with a wide variety of native and exotic seedlings including acacia mangium, lauan, mahogany, sagimsiman, yakal, mayapis, and bagtikan. Click here to view full screen These new patches of forestland are among those classified by the government as community-based forest management areas, which local villagers in province have volunteered to protect. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources provides technical assistance, either by helping replant new seedlings in deforested areas or by maintaining natural forests that have remained untouched. Reaching the summit If you are the adventurous and fearless type of mountain climber, you can reach the watch tower by taking an hour-long and steep (almost 90-degree) ascent on one side of the mountain. But if you wish to get to the top quicker and easier, you can take a shorter (about 30 minutes of climbing) and less steep route on the other side. Unfortunately for us, we did it the hard way, taking the steeper ascent and going down the shorter route. I don't know if our travel guides did that on purpose, as we did not learn about the easier route until we were on our way down, but no matter. We still enjoyed the climb and I wouldn't have done it any other way. Once at the summit, there's a 360-degree view of picturesque and cone-shaped mountains, with the Sogod Bay greeting you northeast of the watch tower. With clouds hugging their peaks, the breath-taking mountains are beautifully crowned with perfectly aligned rows of seedlings. Soon, these will become full grown trees, bringing back the lush forest cover that some of the mountains have lost. One mountain in particular will surely catch the attention of every mountain climber. If Laguna's Mount Makiling is renowned for its contour, which is similar to that of a reclining woman, this particular mountain is characterized by a cone-shape mound with a small projection or bump at the peak that resembles a woman's bosom. Villagers have aptly named it the "Sexy Mountain." Canopy walk Southern Leyte's "Chocolate Hills" are only a few of the destinations that the province is offering in a recent bid to draw in tourists and boost its agro- and eco-tourism. For instance, the local government in the fourth-class coastal town of Silago - 172 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital of Maasin City and only two hours away from the Tacloban Airport - is planning to transform 39 hectares of its vast forest land area of more than 10,000 hectares into a "Canopy Walkway Park." "We want our town to become a future site of eco-tourism with climate resilient communities in a sustainable environment," Silago mayor Manuel Labrador Sr. tells a group of visiting journalists from Manila. The town, which is home to almost 13,000 people, rely heavily on coconut and rice farming for a living. An hour's walk from the highway leads trekkers into the deep end of its natural forest where the Tres Marias Falls, a series of three waterfalls along the length of a river, is found. Taking a refreshing dip in the cool waters of the river would have been perfect, especially after emerging from an hour-long hike in the woods. Sadly, we failed to bring extra clothes so we just ended up snapping photographs of the wonderful scenery. My photo editor at GMA News Online, Joe Galvez, however, got a feel of the frigid waters when he lost his footing on one of the moss-covered rocks. Thank God only his legs got soaked and his precious camera, which was hanging from his neck, was left unscathed. More daring tourists could also travel by boat to a huge outcrop in the waters off the shores of Silago town called the Pelada Rock, a well-known snake and bird sanctuary. In the town proper, the Silago government has also put on public display the gigantic skeleton of a 26-foot sperm whale that was washed ashore almost a decade ago. It's all these wonders and more that make the long, sometimes bumpy but fun nevertheless, trip to the deepest corners of Silago's forests and Maasin's mountain tops worth all the aching muscles. - Photos by Joe Galvez and Mark Merueñas/YA, GMA News RELATED STORIES: