Baguio, A City in the Mountains

In this tropical country, a city is situated within the Cordillera mountains of Luzon, 1500 meters above sea level. The highly-acclaimed summer capital of the Philippines is the most favored city among locals for its cool climate (a far cry from Manila) and now has become culturally diverse due to a number of foreigners residing here. Baguio city is a distinct destination, with crisp cool breeze, towering pine trees, lovely sunflowers, scenic mountain views, foggy hills and numerous tourist attractions. This idyllic city could even get colder (by Philippines' standards) during late and early months of the year and so horde of lowlanders come rushing here to escape the scorching heat. Baguio city however urbanized, now with shopping malls, hotels, universities and business establishments, still attracts many visitors for its everlasting charm and laid back atmosphere. 

Getting There: 

Going to Baguio City is a 7 hour bus ride from Manila. There are several bus stations in Cubao along Edsa highway bound for Baguio. Buses run by Victory Liner are widely-known for trips to the north, slower buses to Baguio leave every hour. If you want to get there in 5 hours, then pay a little more for Victory Liner’s deluxe bus service. 

Notable Things: 

Bike ride around Burnham park 

Restaurants, shops and other city craze in Session road 

Mountain scenery in Mines view park

The clean and woodsy Camp John Hay 

Second hand branded clothes in Ukay-Ukay shops 

Good Shepherd's peanut brittle, strawberry jam and ube

Handwoven bags and clothes 
Panagbenga flower festival (February to March)

The jumping point to Sagada, Banaue and Batad rice terraces 

Budget Matters: 

To save on a day’s accommodation cost, you can take the night bus from Manila, prepare P750 for the quicker deluxe bus of Victory Liner or pay P450 for the regular 7 hour trip. If you’re not carrying heavy backpacks, you can start the tour around the city when you get there in the morning. Getting around is not that expensive, there are passenger jeepneys around Burnham park. You can also explore Baguio by taxi worry-free for its cheap flag down rate of P25. 

If you come to Baguio during summer, accommodations are pretty expensive and most might be fully-booked. For the budget travelers, there are some cheap transients and guesthouses near Session road and Burnham park, which you can rent for P500 a day. Just don’t expect too much from this value, cheap rooms don’t have air-conditioning and usually have a have common bathroom. 

Spend around P60-100 for a decent meal. There are plenty of restaurants, fast food chains and some steak houses in Baguio. Food cost still depends on where you eat. There’s also the SM mall near Session road for the good ol’ food court meal. 

Nuisances and Joy Killers: 

You can still see some mountains along the way that have been mined madly by the Americans during the colonial period and even after the country’s independence. Sadly Baguio’s scenic view is gradually being replaced with pile of houses. Some inhabited by foreigners who flock here to buy properties and do businesses. 

While people crazily take pictures of themselves, piles of corn, plastics and other garbage can be seen around Mines view park. While some busy streets around are becoming hazy due to soot and smoke coming from jeepneys, trucks and other vehicles. 

Don’t expect pure local and primitive setting unless you go far away from the city. You can clearly feel the colonial mentality vibe with roads and parks named after the colonizers, the not so new fast-food chains and the great SM mall that perhaps killed some smaller businesses. 

Posted by MissForlorn, Photos by Peregrine and MissForlorn