As the old saying goes; monkey see, monkey do! In Jigokudani - literarily Hell's Valley - the monkeys have learned to enjoy bathing in the hot spring, and if you visit the valley you can see both young and elder monkeys monkeying around or just soaking in the hot water. Although these monkeys belong to a very common Japanese species called macaque, the monkeys living in the snowy areas of the country are more often referred to just as that - “snow monkeys” (スノーモンキー). You can find macaque monkeys all over Japan, but it is only the snow monkeys in Nagano's Jigokudani that are known to take hot spring-baths, a peculiar sight that attracts visitors from all over the world.

On our last day in Bohol Yuma and I had booked a cab for the day to take us on a trip around Bohol to see the most famous tourists spots of the island before leaving with a ferry in the afternoon.

Some of the memorable sights we visited on our trip. Made by Instaframe & Instagram

Some of the sights on our list included the so-called Chocolate Hills, and a nature reserve where one can see one of the world smallest monkey called the Tarsiers. From our hostel situated near the Alona beach in Panglao island it took us more than one and a half hour to reach the famous Chocolate Hills, and on our way we also passed the huge Human Made Forest, where we stopped for a couple of pictures.

The Chocolate Hills

Enjoying the view of the Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills do look very interesting with their special formation, which apparently have been formed over millions of years in the distant past when this part of the island lied under water. Although they look very mysterious with their three-less surface I noticed that one of the hill was only completely bare on the side that faced the tourist view-point, while the other side was covered with trees. This made me wonder if the trees on the Chocolate Hills have been cut down by purpose to make them look more mysterious than they actually are..
Anyway, the Chocolate Hills is an alright destination if you want to take a closer look at the wild nature in Bohol, but if you don't want to waste hours in the car then I don't think you miss that much by not going. On the other hand, the Tarsier reserve is not that far from the Chocolate Hills, and if you are going on a day trip to Bohol's famous tourist spots there are honestly not that much else to see anyway so why not..

On our way back to the main road we stopped by the reserve where one can see the cute Tansier monkeys, who apparently served as a model for the famous movie E.T. These small creatures are another of many species in the Philippines who unfortunately are facing a possible future extinction due to loss of habitat.

A cute little Tarsier monkey <3

Apparently the Tarsier can die from stress if kept in captivate under bad conditions, so it is important to avoid using flash. These monkeys are only active during the night, so their eyes are big and bright to enable them to see in the dark. No wonder they don't like to be flashed by the tourists' cameras. Another thing that should be avoided, is talking with load voices when near the monkeys. Lastly, one be conscious when choosing which monkey park to visit, as some places keep them under stressful conditions making them face an early death..

The tarsier is so small it could fit into your hand..

The park we went to looked nice and tidy, and I believe measures were taken to ensure that the monkeys were doing alright. I hope the staff treat the monkeys well in the evening too, when the tourists have gone home..

After our visit to the park our driver took us to another place where they were keeping various species of animals. I don't remember the name of the place, but is was dirty, the animals were kept in small cages directly on the concrete surface of the floor. They had a couple of ostrich there too, and both had lost nearly half of their feathers. Seeing animals captive like that makes me feel really sad and uncomfortable, so I couldn't stand being there for long. We just snapped a couple of pictures with the big pythons and left as soon as we could. Not a place I would recommend to anybody, unless it was as a recommendation for action by animal activists><

A big snake which luckily already had eaten lunch that day.

There is not much else to see on the island, so after a short stop at an old Spanish church we asked our driver to take us down to the harbor where we were able to catch an earlier ferry departing from Bohol. Our day trip had been interesting, with the best part being the park with the cute monkeys. The rest of the sightseeing was, to be honest, only so-so. I suppose beaches and diving is the best part of visiting Bohol;)

• All blogposts from Southeast Asia
• All blogposts from the Philippines
• Volunteering in the Philippines with Rise Above Cebu
• Volunteering with Rise Above in the Philippines: Dental Mission!
• Christmas at Ayala Shopping Center with the Rise Above Foundation
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob
• Sightseeing in Bohol: Day-trip to the Chocolate Hills & Tarsier Watching
• Diving in the Philippines: Balicasag - the Diver's Heaven and the Marine Sanctuary
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Weekend Trip to Iloilo!
• HumanHeartNature: Filipino Ecological Skincare!
• New Year Greeting from the Philippines!
• [Hotel Reviews] Philippines: A night at an aquarium - Hotel H2O

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

Today me and Dorte joined Gravity Bolivia on their trip down Yungas Road, better known as el Camino de la Muerte or the Death Road. This road is supposed to be the most dangerous road in the world, and every year there are somewhere between 200 and 300 travellers who end their life's here. Sounds like a fun place to go for sightseeing, right? :-/

So anyway, I persuaded Dorte into joining me for this trip (well, not really, she was actually just as excited as me..), and since Dorte lives downtown I spent the night at her place, and in the morning we walked into the city centre to one of the Alexander cafès which Gravity Bolivia use as their meeting spot. After a quick breakfast the guide picked us up, and the journey began.
After a 45 minute long drive we stopped by a small lake, and got to try out the bikes a little on the normal roads for an easy start. It was really cold, but like we had been told to we were using loads of layers, so it was fine. Luckily the travelling company helps you out a lot also; they have available trousers and jackets for those who want, and you also receive a buff that helps keep you warm.

Ready to hit the road!

Getting down the rest of the bikes for the ride

We started out nice and easy with some practice driving down the normal roads

But don't expect nice and flat pavement once you reach the Death Road..

Unfortunately we didn't get the best weather for the trip. In the start everything was fine, but just as we were getting closer to the Death Road itself it started to get both rainy and foggy, and we couldn't really see much of the view. Which of course was really disappointing.. If you look at the bright side though it might also have been a good thing, cause at least you don't get as frightened by the hight as you might have been if you could have seen it... Still, I would have preferred to see more. Some parts of the trail you could only see a couple of meters in front of you.

Going dooown!

Another group of cyclists posing for their camera. Not that easy to see because of the fog though..

You better be careful when biking on the Death Road, cause you never know what awaits you around the corner..

But even though we couldn't see what was below the road we were cycling at, we were still reminded about the dangers of the road by all the crosses placed by the roadside.

They might not always be that easy to see, but you do pass loads of small crosses going down the Death Road, which reminds you that a lot of fatal accidents occur along this road every year.

You better not be afraid of hights..

Taking a break to take a look at the nice view. At least we were supposed to be taking a look at the nice view, but the weather made that rather impossible.

One of the mountain bikes

After having biked a couple of hours the fog lifted though, and we got to see more of the view. Suddently it was a lot warmer also, and we got to enjoy the trip more. Sadly this was only for the last 30-40 minutes of the trip though:p..

The fog is lifting

After the fog had disappeared we could easily see why this road has been claimed to be the most dangerous road in the world..

Enjoying the view!

"Cozy" Death Road:p

Though this is a really dangerous road, the company we traveled with puts a lot of focus on security. The trip costed us 720 Bolivianos (+ a fee the government makes you pay, but that is not more than 25 boliviano and it goes to maintaining the road). Though you guaranteed can find the trips cheaper with other companies, there is still something odd about thinking "which I the cheapest one?" when you are in fact going down the worlds most dangerous road. Besides, most of the accidents among bikers here happens because the equipment isn't working as it should. Not to mention that some of the other companies drove like crazy today, and I'm really glad I wasn't travelling with one of those.
And although it is more expencive than if you travel with competeting companies, Gravity has a lot of things to offer you beside just the trip: you get free videos and photos from the trip as well as a short stay at the animal rescue shelter La Senda Verde at the end of the trip (for those who are interested, it is possible to work as a volunteer here as well!) where they also have buffet.

The last downhill of the trip, and the entrance to La Senda Verde

Crossing a bridge to the animal shealter

At La Senda Verde you have the chance to take a shower, swim in their swimming pool or simply just chilling out watching the monkeys, the parrots and the other animals enjoying the freedom of the shelter. In addition to all this you also get a free beer and a free t-shirt! And for those who are interesting in a little bit more action you have the chance to go woth a zip-liner at the end of the trip, which costs 160 if you buy it along with your bikecycle-trip, or 200 if you make up your mind at the trip.

A parrot from the animal shealter. ..The cage is actually for us visitors; it's a restaurant:) No animals are put in cage if it is not strictly necessary.

If I were to do the trip again I would not have had any doubts at all about which company to choose..
I have to say though, that the trip back by car was a little bit scarier than the bike trip, the driver was really fast, and there was less fog so we could see everything more clearly. Oh well, now I can say I survived the worlds most dangerous road!

Going back the Death Road by car

Related blogposts

Sightseeing in Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni

The Choro Trek 1: La Cumbre to Sandillani

Bolivia's National Day and Sightseeing in La Paz