Baguio City-The City of Pines

Baguio City-The City of Pines😍💕

The summer capital of the Philippines is Baguio, it is also the most visited place for tourists, maybe that’s because it maintains it’s coolness even if it’s summer.

Baguio is an urbanized city at the north of Luzon in the Cordillera Administrative Region, situated just along the borders of La Union and Benguet  is one of the greatly developed cities in the Philippines due to its increasing amount of tourists each other. Although the place isn’t as historical-looking and simple-bearing as it used to be but people are still aware of the many tourists spots located in Baguio.

The name Baguio conjures, for both the international and domestic traveler, a highland retreat in the Grand Cordillera in Northern Luzon, with pine trees, crisp cold breezes and low luxuriant knolls and hillocks. Through the numerous decades Baguio has morphed from what was once a grassy marshland into one of the cleanest and greenest, most highly developed cities in the country. It has made its mark as an opening tourist destination in the Northern part of the Philippines with its cool climate, foggy hills, panoramic views and lovely flowers. Being the ideal union zone of neighboring highland places, Baguio is the melting pot of different peoples and cultures and has enhanced its ability to provide a center for education for its neighbors. Its rich culture and countless resources have attracted numerous investments and business opportunities to the city.

My family and I always goes here whenever we decide to go on a vacation that’s not too far, it’s one of the best  place I’ve been too and I will never get tired to go there because it’s a very interesting place and you can enjoy many activities while having fun visiting their tourists spots.

Some of the tourist spots in Baguio are:

One of the interesting nature spots in Baguio is an urban park named after the American architect, Daniel H. Burnham, who laid plans for the city in the 1900’s.It is the oldest of all Baguio parks,It is also called the Igorot village, which used to feature native huts typical of Cordillera architecture. This village captures the ethnic spirit and cultural legacy of the Igorot dweller. The garden is also a site of cultural presentations and other tribal meetings. The park is a sprawling green space encompassing 32 hectares right in the city center. It is just a few minutes walk from City Hall. Here we enjoyed rowing our boat ,interacting with people who also take morning strolls, biking and eating their delicious strawberry taho.

Strawberries are sold cheaply and in abundance at the Abanao Market, also known as the Baguio City Public Market. Baguio is known for its strawberries and in no other area in the city is this fruit sold cheaply and in abundance than in the public market. Also called Abanao Market, it is located at the foot of Session Road along Magsaysay Avenue. Here we enjoyed buying many strawberries toe at along the road and of course to take home for our friends and relatives because it was too many for us that we couldn’t eat all of it.

Take a stroll along the winding trails and stone steps of the Baguio Botanical Garden. It has a wide range of flowering, herbal, and decorative plants interspersed with pine trees. Some plants are even for sale.

The garden’s main entrance is along Leonard Wood Road, between the Teacher’s Camp and Pacdal Circle. It had been in the past been called Igorot Village, Imelda Park, and Centennial Park. Within the huge park are relics from its Igorot Village days, such as tribal huts and sculptures.

There are pocket gardens within the park dedicated to Baguio’s sister cities. There is a network of Japanese tunnels as well. The Baguio Botanical Garden is just a kilometer away from the city center. Here we enjoyed  appreciating the beauty of nature , taking pictures with the beautiful scenery and we also had the chance to interact with native people who was kind enough to take a picture with us.

Here we enjoyed  appreciating the beauty of nature , taking pictures with the beautiful scenery and we also had the chance to interact with native people who was kind enough to take a picture with us.

Located in La Trinidad, a nearby town in the outskirts of Baguio City are the vast strawberry farms.It is also called the Igorot village, which used to feature native huts typical of Cordillera architecture. This village captures the ethnic spirit and cultural legacy of the Igorot dweller. The garden is also a site of cultural presentations and other tribal meetings. Here you can choose the type of strawberries you want from small to big ones or from half ripened to the fully ripened ones as you are picking them yourselves. Be careful though not to be too excited to pick every strawberry you see as the cost is triple times higher than the price of strawberries sold in the market, but getting to pick your own strawberries which you can bring home to families and friends with the touch of love is priceless.Here we enjoyed picking up strawberries by ourself ,it was fun because when we pick a strawberry we wipe it a little bit and it goes directly to our mouth which was kind of cheating because it wasn’t weighed so it means that the strawberry that we ate wasn’t part of the strawberries that we will pay.

Constructed in commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this shrine is another place of meditation located in the western part of Baguio. The main altar is located at the top of the hill which can be accessed by climbing a stair consisting of 252 steps.It  is also regarded with a beautiful panoramic view of the city.

Here we offered  flowers, lit candles and prayed for the Virgin Mother’s intercession.

And when you get tired from going to many beautiful attractions in Baguio here are some hotels that you can stay on:

Azalea Hotels and Residences Baguio City

Set 2 km from Burnham Park and Baguio Cathedral, this elegant, sculpture-fronted apartment hotel is 11 km from the BenCab Museum. 

Polished apartments offer free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs and DVD players, as well as kitchenettes, dining tables, and sitting areas with sofabeds; some feature balconies. Upgraded apartments add separate living areas; some have extra bedrooms and bathrooms. Room service is available.

Freebies include breakfast and parking. Other amenities consist of a casual coffee shop, a chic lounge bar and a kids' play area. Spa treatments are available.

Address:

7 Leonard Wood Loop, Baguio, 2600

Phone:

(074) 424 8712

C Boutique Hotel

Address:

No. 5 Arellano cor. Moran, Barangay Gibraltar,    Baguio, 2600 Benguet

Phone:

0908 887 0596

The Manor

Address:

Camp John Hay, Ordonio Dr, Baguio, 2600 Benguet

Phone:

(074) 424 0931

Transportation

Geographically, Baguio City is about 240 kilometers from Manila, Philippines.It takes an average of six hours to travel the 250-km distance between Manila and Baguio by way of Kennon Road. It is about fifteen minutes longer through the Marcos Highway and could take three more hours when going through Naguilian Road. Kennon Road is occasionally blocked by landslides during the rainy season and the same problem occurs on the other two access roads. The route to Baguio through Kennon Road is as attractive as it is dangerous. There is another access to Baguio from Aritao in the province of Nueva Vizcaya but this is less traveled, the road is not well maintained, and public transportation through this route is not as regular. Another road, Halsema Road which is also known as "Mountain Trail", leads north through the mountainous portion of the Cordillera Autonomous Region. It starts at the northern border of Baguio, in the Municipality of Trinidad (Trinidad Valley).

There are several bus lines linking Baguio with 

Manila and Central Luzon, and provinces such as 

Pangasinan, La Union, and those in the Ilocos 

region. Most transportation companies also offer 

express and air-conditioned buses at a much higher fare.Bus services that works for Baguio includes Philippine Rabbit, Dangwa Tranco, Dagupan Bus, Victory Liner, Partas, Genesis, Saulog Transit, and Greenland.

So what are you waiting for? Come visit the City of Pines,Baguio to experience the fun I experience every time I go there.😉💓💯


-Rutzy Anne Cruz