Baguio Things to Do

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The net-enclosed butterfly sanctuary at Camp John Hay offers interaction with butterflies bred in this place. The butterflies wont mind being softly touched or letting them cling to your finger or rest on your head or shoulder for that great photo shot opportunity.

Taking a close-up shot of a butterfly enjoying the nectar of a very colorful flower would be simply easy even with the basic point-and-shoot camera.

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The "Shalan Ni Kabadjo Bridle Path & Riding Circle" at Camp John Hay has a stable of horses complete with saddles/riding gears ready for horseback riding around a designated path under a canopy of pine trees inside the camp. For small children, the horseman will patiently guide-walk the horse around. For the experienced ones, ride freely alone. "Hi-ho, away!"

P250 per hour.

Tip: Get the horse with a saddle that perfectly fits the rider's height with the foot stay to ensure safe and comfortable ride. Check it out.

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1. Strawberry picking at the Strawberry field at La Trinidad Valley (about 20 minutes away from the business district
2. Go hiking in the Nature Trail of Camp John Hay. It reminds me of the Yosemite National park.
3. Look for Souveneirs (Try Narda's, Mrs. Sabater's wood products, or the Wood Carving Village, PMA, or the Export processing zone)
4. Binge in Local food at the Rose Bowl (considered local because it's been there for ages!)
5. Go Ride some horses at either the Wright Park which is just across the Mansion House, or at Camp John Hay
6. Heat it up by taking a dip in the natural sulphuric spring pools of Asin Salt spring
7. go up the million (exagg of course, maybe just a few hundreds) steps of the grotto
8. Try the Bataloc Mine ride. Be ready to get wet though.
9. Go try the Maryknoll Ecological Center's Nature Trail. When you love nature, this trail is for you.
10. The best so far that I've gone to is the Tam-awan Village. You can rent a cottage for I think 600 pesos per person per night. This is the closest to living in an ifugao village. try out their trail. You can go to a forest and end up at the top of the mountain to watch the china sea (I think that's what i saw), and the lowlands surrounding the mountain province.

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Baguio is a very popular city a six hours drive North from Manila on the island of Luzon. Baguio is famous about his climate, which is cooler than the rest of the country. Reason is the location in the mountains. Baguio is a tourist-spot for the Filipino-people.

The cathedral is located on a hill right off of Session Road. From town, you can either walk (maybe 15 minutes or so), take a jeepney or a taxi. All cabs are pretty much metered. We spent around 29 pesos from Burnham Park to the Cathedral. The cathedral was heavily bombed during WWII, when many people used the church as a refuge for over 5,000 locals. Most of the victims are buried in the nearby cemetery.

The modern looking cathedral has a clock on one of it's spires. We happened to visit just at the end of mass. This was really interesting as many people were waiting outside, since the cathedral was full. Catholicism is the primary religion in the Philippines and very popular in Baguio.

The city market is a very large market that has a bunch of everything. If you enter from the main drag (off of Session Road), you enter the more touristy part. They sell tshirts, wooden carved bowls and things, toy jeepneys, food items (very popular -strawberry jam, cookies, chocolate covered cereal, etc), simple textiles, silver and other items. If you go further, you will hit the wet market (fruit, vegetables, meat). If you aren't in the mood to shop, it's a great place to do some local people watching and see what they are up to. The mazelike market is around 3 square kms. We didn't buy much, just a toy jeepney and some fruit.

For a large city Baguio is very clean. There is a lot of pride in this place. The Burnham Park is a very popular place for locals. We happened to be in Baguio on a Saturday and saw many enjoying themselves in the park. There is a man made lake, where you can get a swan or row boat. Many people like to stroll the grounds. There are sunflowers and other flowers planted in the garden. I just loved being out in the cool weather and enjoyed walking around the park.

Ornate iron gates open to the Mansion House, the official summer residence of Philippine presidents. It offers tourists with great photo opportunities with its rectangular reflecting pool along a tree-lined walkway. It also houses a museum of presidential memorabilia. Near the Mansion House is Wright Park where neophyte riders can trot around an oval track guided by trainers who lead horses with a hand-held leash. At the Mines View Park, tourists can have a panoramic view of the old mines of Benguet. At the park entrance is a flea market for souvenir items.