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Baguio City, which is perched on high elevation, is known as the “Summer Capital” of the Philippines because of its cold weather. The original blueprint of the city was made by American architect Daniel Burnham (which is the reason why the main park at the heart of the city is known as Burnham Park). It’s also known as the “City of Pines” because, well, pine trees dominate the landscape. It’s usually enough for me to stay in the hotel and just relax when I go there, but if you want to go around, here are some observations.

Buy a map. Even if Baguio is not as big as some Metro Manila cities, the labyrinth of roads in Baguio City makes it extra difficult to navigate unless you have a map to guide you. This should not be a problem if you hire a cab or car to bring you around (and I noticed that Baguio drivers are generally more courteous than Metro Manila drivers (and maybe if you’re driving your own car, you may want to know that Baguio has its own number coding scheme).

From Metro Manila. If you’re coming from Metro Manila, you could take either the Marcos Highway (longer route, but wider roads and less steep climbs) or the Kennon Road (more scenic and shorter route, but the climbs are steeper). I usually take Kennon Road, enjoying the view of cliffs at the end part of the 5-hour drive from Metro Manila. You could also go there by airplane, but that takes half of the fun. (You could also try taking the bus, Victory Liner from its Pasay City bus station. I don’t know if there’s a Baguio trip from Victory Liner’s Monumento, Caloocan station. Don’t forget to bring a jacket because the bus aircon is really cold).

Sights to see. Session Road is the main artery of Baguio City. As soon as you check in at the hotel upon arrival, you could opt to go direct to the Burnham Park, more famous for the Boating Lagoon. Around Burnham Park are various establishments, including hotels, restaurants, stores (and, yes, there’s a SM Mall – Baguio, just overlooking Burnham Park). The famous ukay-ukay (used clothing and export overruns) is also found along Session Road, near the bus terminal and the SM Mall. Overlooking the area is the Baguio Cathedral.

Going east, you’ll pass by the Teacher’s Camp, the Botanical Garden (where you could find colorful flowers and plants), Wright Park (where the horseback riding area is found, which leads others to mistakenly refer to this as the “Ride Park”), the Mansion House, then Mines View Park (great view overlooking the surrounding mountains) at the end of the line. A few meters from Mines View Park is the Good Shepherd Convent, home of the famous ube jam (better go there early to make your reservation, then go back later to pick it up; otherwise, you’ll have to fall in line).

Near the Teacher’s Camp is the Camp John Hay and the Baguio Country Club (Manor Hotel and the golf course). You’ll pass by these areas on your way to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

If you go north, along Magsaysay Avenue, you’ll pass by the City Market, where you could buy pasalubong (which you could also do at Mines View Park). This is also the general direction towards La Trinidad, Benguet (around 4 kilometers away), home of the strawberry fields and “bagsakan” (trading post) of vegetables, just near the Benguet State University.

The Lourdes Grotto is to the west, along Quirino Highway (before entering the Naguilian Road, turn left along Dominican Hill Road). Read more about the the Lourdes Grotto in a previous post in this site.

For more information on Baguio City (how to get there, maps and directory), please go to the official website of Baguio City. Here are some interesting tourism facts from the Baguio City website:

Tourist arrivals in 2005 was 637,298. This figure reflects a 1.30 percent decrease on the figure posted in 2004. Tourist receipts had a total of Php 3,983,112,500. There are 109 hotels, inns and lodging houses operating in the City with 4,687 rentable rooms. Prices ranges from Php 500.00 to as high as 4,000.00 +. Aside from this, another 477,831,250.00 Tourist Receipts was recorded from real estate lessors and boarding house operators serving as tourist accommodation facilities that cater to local and foreign tourist. There are also 1,117 restaurants and cafes to serve their dining needs.

The city’s natural ambiance remains an integral and indispensable pull factor for local and foreign visitors. Statistics reveal that domestic tourists still outnumber foreigners and balikbayans coming up to Baguio.

When to go. If you don’t mind so many people converging in Baguio, you could go there every February for the Panagbenga or Flower Festival. Summer, of course, is crowded because people want to cool down in Baguio (besides, April and May are the vacations months). Baguio is also the place to go for those who want the atmosphere of spending December beside a fireplace, sans the snow.

I feel this discussion is really incomplete to describe the Baguio ambiance (see more discussion here). You should just go there to experience it for yourself. Enjoy.