About Bohol

Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of 4,117.3 square kilometers (1,589.7 sq mi) and a coastline 261 kilometers (162 mi) long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.

The province is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formation, is the most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is famous for its diving locations and routinely listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Numerous tourist resorts dot the southern beaches and cater to divers from around the world. The Philippine Tarsier, considered the second-smallest primate in the world, is indigenous to the island.

Boholanos refer to their island homeland as the "Republic of Bohol" with both conviction and pride. A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol and both share a common language, but the Boholanos retain a conscious distinction from the Cebuanos. Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.

It is the home province of Carlos P. Garcia, the fourth president of the Republic of the Philippines (1957-1961) who was born in Talibon, Bohol.

According to the 2000 census:

* There are a total of 1,137,268 Boholanos or Bol-anon, as the residents of Bohol call themselves.

* Bohol has 209,588 households with an average household size of 5.41 persons, significantly higher than the national average of 4.99.

* The annual growth rate is 2.92%, higher than the national growth rate of 2.36%. With this growth rate, Bohol's population will double in 24 years.

* Life expectancy at birth is estimated at 68.19 for the males and 72.93 for the females for the period 2000–2005.

The main language spoken in Bohol is Boholano which is a dialect of Cebuano. Tagalog, Chinese, and English are also spoken by many of the residents. The minority Eskayan language is also taught in community schools in Biabas (Guindulman), Taytay (Duero) and Lundag (Pilar) but has no mother-tongue speakers.

Boholanos are predominantly Roman Catholic. Adherents of other Christian denominations like the Protestants and Iglesia ni Cristo account for a significant part of the remainder.

Bohol is an island province in the Visayas. It lies southeast from Cebu across Bohol Strait and southwest from Leyte, separated by the Camotes Sea and Canigao Channel. Bohol is also located north of Mindanao with Bohol Sea between them. The main island is surrounded by about 73 smaller islands, the largest of which are Panglao Island facing Tagbilaran City in the southwest and Lapinig Island in the northeast.

Near Carmen can be found the major tourist draw of the province, the Chocolate Hills. The more than 1,200 uniformly cone-shaped limestone hills were named that way because in the summer, the grass growing on the hills turn brown, making the landscape look like it had chocolate mounds all over. The Chocolate Hills are found on the provincial seal of Bohol.