Chocolate Hills 2026: The ₱150 Fee Was Deferred, and What You Pay Now
The Chocolate Hills complex in Carmen is open, and the fee you will pay at the gate is less settled than most guides make it sound. Carmen’s Ordinance 27 of 2023 sets ₱150 for adults, but the mayor deferred it in September 2025 pending a joint review, and no new start date has been announced. Bring cash for either rate. The hills are green from about June and turn brown in the dry months, roughly March to May.
Chocolate Hills Complex · Carmen, Bohol · Fees and status checked 29 October 2026
Carmen · Bohol
What the gate charges
Tap a tab.
₱150 on paper
The fee
Carmen’s Ordinance 27 of 2023 sets ₱150 for non-Bohol adults, ₱75 for Bohol adults, ₱75 and ₱25 for children 6 to 12, free under six. It was due on 1 October 2025, but the mayor put it on hold in a 25 September 2025 letter pending a joint review. No later start date has been announced.
₱30, from 2022
The DENR fee
Separately, DENR began collecting a protected area fee at the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument in December 2022: ₱30 for Filipino adults, ₱15 for students, ₱100 for foreigners, valid for three days. Whether it is still charged separately in 2026 is unconfirmed.
Dry season, not January
When brown
The grass cures brown in the dry season, roughly March to May, and in a wet year it may not brown at all. For most of the year the hills are green.
1,776, a geopark
The hills
About 1,776 hills across Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan, declared a National Geological Monument by Proclamation 1037 in July 1997. Bohol became the first UNESCO Global Geopark in the Philippines in May 2023.
Closed since March 2024
Captain’s Peak
The resort built among the hills in Sagbayan lost its permit on 14 March 2024. In a decision reported in August 2025, the Ombudsman dismissed the Sagbayan mayor and other officials and reprimanded the governor.
Checked October 29, 2026.
Chocolate Hills entrance fee, 2026
| Category | Ordinance 27 s. 2023 (deferred) |
|---|---|
| Adult | ₱150 |
| Student | ₱75 |
| Senior or PWD | ₱75 |
| Child | ₱25 |
| Under 6 | Free |
On 25 September 2025 Carmen Mayor Conchita Toribio-Delos Reyes wrote to the governor that the town would hold off the new rates pending a review with the provincial tourism office, the DENR and the protected area board. The province and Carmen met again on 21 October 2026 about fee collection and revenue sharing; no amount was announced. Some 2026 guides print ₱150 as the gate price without a receipt or a dated visit, so treat it as possible, not confirmed.
Separately, the DENR began collecting a protected area fee at the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument in December 2022: ₱30 for Filipino adults, ₱15 for students, ₱100 for foreign visitors, with the receipt valid three days. Whether it is still collected on its own in 2026 is unknown.
The climb and the view
From the parking area it is 214 steps to the viewing deck on the hilltop, the reason for coming. The complex is usually given as open about 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, unconfirmed. Late afternoon light is softer, and the deck is crowded by mid-morning when the countryside tours arrive.
How many hills, and what they are
Proclamation 1037 of 1 July 1997 counts 1,776 hills across Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan and makes them a national geological monument. They have been on the UNESCO tentative list since 2006, and the area became part of a UNESCO Global Geopark in May 2023. They are limestone mounds shaped by water over a very long time; the giant and the carabao stories are folklore.
The Captain’s Peak case
In March 2024 a viral video showed a resort with pools built between the hills in Sagbayan. Captain’s Peak was closed on 14 March 2024. The Ombudsman’s decision of 12 March 2025, reported that August, dismissed the Sagbayan mayor and several environment officials, reprimanded the governor, and found probable cause to charge 96 officials. The province signed a tourism code in January 2026.
Getting there
Carmen is about 55 km from Tagbilaran, usually done as part of a countryside tour with the Loboc river, the Man-made Forest and a tarsier stop. Buses to Carmen leave the Dao terminal in Tagbilaran. See the Bohol travel guide and where to stay.
The hills are the picture everyone knows. The Bohol Icon tee carries it.
Suroy Wear · Island Series
Coming from Cebu? The Cebu to Bohol ferry guide covers the crossing to Tagbilaran.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Chocolate Hills entrance fee in 2026?
Carmen’s ordinance sets ₱150 for adults, but implementation was deferred in September 2025 and no new start date has been announced. Bring cash and check at the gate.
How many Chocolate Hills are there?
1,776, the figure in Proclamation 1037 of 1997.
When are the Chocolate Hills brown?
In the dry months, roughly March to May. They are green for most of the rest of the year.
How many steps to the Chocolate Hills viewing deck?
214.
Checked 29 October 2026.
