Tubbattaha & Choc Hills rise up rankings

Tubbataha Reef

The Philippines' Tubbattaha Reef in the Sulu Sea and Bohol's Chocolate Hills have made major inroads in the latest rankings of the New Seven Wonders of Nature voting.

Tubbattaha Reef is now ranked 28th and Chocolate Hills is also fast catching up at 32nd, in online voting according to the New 7 Wonders website.

Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Philippines. It is now known as a marine sanctuary protected by government because of over 1,000 species, including endangered ones, found on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.

Bohol's Chocolate Hills is a unique geological formation composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers. The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, thus earning them the name "Chocolate Hills."

Chocolate Hills

As of March 19, three natural wonders in Vietnam occupy the top three spots: the Ha Long Bay, the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, and Fansipan Mountain also in Vietnam.

Online voters can choose from 77 official nominees fro the New Seven Wonders of Nature after they register in the website. The live ranking is updated twice a day.

Voting will end on December 31, 2008, then a panel of experts will short-list 21 candidates from which voters worldwide will select the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2009. The New Seven Wonders of Nature will be announced in 2010.