Bohol offers independent travellers a wealth of options both on and off the beaten track. This island province is promoted almost exclusively through images of cute bug-eyed tarsiers and the majestic Chocolate Hills, but there's much more to experience. Offshore there's superb diving, and when you throw in jungle-fringed rivers perfect for kayaking and paddle-boarding and pristine white-sand beaches it's easy to understand the Bohol appeal.
Boholanos still affectionately call their province the ‘Republic of Bohol’, in reference to the island’s short-lived independence at the turn of the 19th century. It's an appropriate appellation – today's successors of the republic are fierce protectors of Bohol's distinctive cultural heritage. The 7.2-magnitude 2013 earthquake killed more than 200 people and destroyed several of the island's majestic Spanish-era churches. Reconstruction is ongoing and is likely to continue for the next few years, but otherwise few obvious effects of the quake are visible.
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