Baguio Off The Beaten Path

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One of the things you should do is to have your portrait drawn by the artists at Tam Awan Village. These artists (3 of them), all of whom are lovers of art and natures, just hang out at Tam Awan and are friendly people. We had a great chat with them. All 3 of them will do a portrait of you each - the price?? - up to you to pay .....

Additional picture on the artists at work..

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The best bargains you can get especially on souvenir items are located at the back of Magsaysay Avenue- not at Session Road. Avoid buying whimsically. Just wait until you get to the back of Magsaysay Avenue.

There are little pathways on the side of Maharlika building and from there you take a right that will lead you to rows and rows of stores selling bags, t-shirts, wood carvings, purses, etc. These are cheaper than those found at the stores at Mines View Park or in front of Magsaysay Avenue.

Make sure to bargain. It is always best to start fifty percent off the price and start haggling from there.

Make sure to go from one store to another and ask the item you wanted before you settle to one. This way, you can check the best price!

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When you are in the city, it's really difficult to find parking especially down Session Road or finding a parking space at the Maharlika Hall on Magsaysay Avenue.

If you brought your own vehicle, make sure to go and park at the Cathedral (there's also a bathroom there). Then, take the stairs on the left side of the Cathedral leading to Session Road. For those who have aching ankles or arthritis, this is not a way to go! The stairs are steep!

Just park your vehicle there if you intend to do shopping or eating out in Session Road. This way, you save the hassle of looking for parking.

i myself come from Baguio, and i cannot think of anymore places to see aside from the typical (Mines View, John Hay, CBD, PMA)...

do the road trips from Baguio. Sagada is near Baguio, the mountain provinces (for ethnic taste) and Ilocos, La Union (for lowlands taste) depends on you though.

Asin Hotspring is in Benguet, if you have not visited it yet. the last time i went there took me less than an hour to reach the resorts but i suppose it will take less time now since the road is better.

Strawberry Farm is in Benguet (La Trinidad). From Benguet, you can move north, search the burial caves and try to climb Mt Pulag (next highest point from Mt Apo in Davao) through the amateur trail, it is colder than Baguio on top of the mountain.

You can also see the Ambuklao Dam, it is magnificent, but it will take around, 3-4more hours i think (the last time i went there).

You can also check out Balatoc Mines. They offer a tour in the mines and will be an educational trip.

Just came back from Baguio. Portraits can still be drawn by the local artists but they now have a minimal fee of 100 pesos for 1 person and 300 for 2 people/couple.

Not sure if this is how it was before but all the huts have locks. The guard said that they used to be open for people to see, however, some people vandalize the place so the huts now have locks. But they are still renting out the place to those who wish to stay overnight.

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Oh my we go to this place in hurry, we drop by from buying some present like "ube jam, etc." and its already afternoon plus cloudy. Haven't really see the whole place inside coz it start raining. We took some picture with this people but my point is that to take a best shot of the Botanical but this people running so fast to take a picture with us and the funny thing is that we pay even though we dont asked them to take a picture with me. We pay 150 for all of them "funny but i found them cute" so after it we run inside to look and took some pictures.

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Tourists who want to have a unique experience living in a tribe should definitely go to Tam-awan village. It has huts where an individual or group can sleep in with authentic ifugao/igorot atmosphere but not without facilities such as a coffee shop, an art gallery, guided tours, etc. They even have artists who can make sketches/portraits/paintings for you. It would be nice to have a romantic date or even a wedding there (although I am not sure if they have had one before).

Getting there is not so difficult. You can take a jeep from bokawkan (below the flyover that leads to la trinidad) marked tam-awan. Ask the driver to get you off at the village. Or, ask a taxi driver to bring you there. They're likely to know where it is.

Rates are not so expensive. Lodging costs 500 pesos per person for an individual but a group of 12 are given a special rate of 900 per person inclusive of all meals. not bad huh?

What's great is that you can actually live like an Ifugao and get to cook your meals there. You can go up the mountain and take the not-for-the-weak trail and marvel at the beauty of nature. Now doesn't that spell adventure?

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From outside the fence, it looks like a cemetery for pets, but upon a closer look on the epitaphs by the supposed tombs with monuments, the Cemetery of Negativism is where negative attitude, bad experiences and anything that creates bad vibes are buried.

Amusing and funny on the play of words on the epitaphs.

Located inside Camp John Hay.