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 4,117.26 square kilometres (1,589.68 sq mi) and a coastline 261 kilometres (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. Panglao Island, 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 eighth president of the Republic of the Philippines (1957–1961)

who was born in Talibon, Bohol.

History

 Early history

The people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of the last group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines called pintados or ���tattooed ones. Boholanos already had a culture of their own as evidenced by the artifacts

dug at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, and in Dauis and Panglao.

Bohol is derived from the word Bo-ho or Bo-ol The island was the seat of the first international treaty of pe

ace

and unity between the native king Datu Sikatuna, and Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi, on

March 16, 1565 through a blood compact alliance known today by many Filipinos as the Sandugo.