Two of my friends and I are heading north at midnight tomorrow for the 2011 Panagbenga festivities in Baguio. Yay! =D While I'm not particularly looking forward to braving the throng of tourists who are sure to be there (One word. ICK.), I AM excited to see the parade for the first time.
Now on its 16th year, this festival started in 1995, three years after we moved from Baguio to Lipa City down south. Since February is a school month, I never really got to see and experience it. After we moved, we only got to go to Baguio during our semestral, Christmas and summer breaks, so February (incidentally, also my birthday month) has always been ruled out.
After law school, I could finally afford to go to Baguio as often as I wanted without having to scrimp and save from my allowance, but I still somehow always ended up watching dvd's with my cousins at my aunt's house. None of us relish the thought of having to wade through the endless crowd and make ourselves obvious prey for pickpockets and whatnot.
BUT, before you raise your eyebrows, I HAVE been to the stores and stalls they put up in the middle of Session Road when they close the whole street down. That, in addition to watching the fireworks, constitutes the extent of my participation.
So anyway, we're going to try to get into the national football team training at the Benguet State University after the parade, but realistically, that's going to be a bit of a chore. Traffic, I predict will be horrible. I seriously do not know what I am doing this for, but I also want to be able to attend the whole shebang at least once in my lifetime. I mean, since I'm there all the time, I think I should be able to tick this one of my list of things everyone who goes to Baguio MUST do.
Anyway, since I'm putting together our weekend itinerary anyway, here's a list of some of the touristy things to do / places to visit in Baguio. I tried, as accurately as possible, to group them according to geographical proximity.
If you're coming from NAIA, you can take a cab from the airport to the Victory Liner terminal in Pasay City (along EDSA). It should take 30 minutes to an hour to get from the airport to Victory Liner.
When you get to Victory Liner, just go to the cashier to purchase a ticket. A trip from Pasay to Baguio costs Php440, and is approximately 6 to 7 hours. Buses leave every hour during lean season. During peak season (December to May), it could be as often as every 15 minutes. However, please note that during peak season, it is advisable to purchase a ticket in advance. You will also have to make hotel reservations in advance, as most decent places in Baguio will be fully booked.
I recently learned that there is a local airline (ZestAir, I think) that flies from the Manila Domestic Airport to San Fernando, La Union. I'm not sure how much it costs though. The thing is, given the additional time it will take to check in, etc., travel time may net to about the same, so why pay more.
WHERE TO EAT
Casa Vallejo
Upper Session Road
Baguio City 2600
(074) 423-9100
Baguio City 2600
(074) 423-9100
(074) 424-3397
(074) 424-3370
Option 1: Park at SM, and walk to Casa Vallejo, located at the street below.
Option 2: Park along the street in front of Casa Vallejo (Upper Session Road).
Option 3: Park at the back. The parking entrance is along Lower Leonard Wood Road.
Cafe by the Ruins – Chuntug Street, Baguio City, in front of City Hall, which is also really pretty. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Café by the Ruins
Chuntug Street
Baguio City
Chuntug Street
Baguio City
(074) 424-0101
info@cafebytheruins.com
info@cafebytheruins.com
Click here for map.
PNKY Cafe - Click here for details. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Click here for map.
Along Leonard Wood Road, a few houses down from the Brent Road intersection. If you’re coming from town, it will be on the left side of the road.
Sizzling Plate – Session Road, SM-bound side; Must try: sansrival (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Chocolate de Batirol – Camp John Hay, near the Baguio Country Club gate; try their bibingka and turon with the traditional hot chocolate (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Le Chef at The Manor – Camp John Hay. Everything here is good, but I particularly recommend their pastries (especially their cheesecakes) and cappuccino. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Tea House – Session Road, market-bound side; Must try: Chona’s Delight (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Volante – Session Road, SM-bound side; good pizza
Zola Café – Session Road, market-bound side, after the Post Office hill, at the street that goes up the Baguio Cathedral; Good for cheap breakfast meals (around 70-80 pesos, with unlimited coffee)
50’s Diner – There’s one along Leonard Wood Road / Brent Road near Pink Sisters, and a new branch along Loakan Road, close to the Kennon Road intersection; good diner food
O’ Mai Khan – Otek Street near City Hall; Mongolian buffet (Php250)
Don Henrico’s – Session Road or 2/F SM Baguio; buffalo wings and lasagna
Mario’s – Upper Session Road Extension (near Victory Liner/Caltex); steak
Star Café / Rose Bowl - Star Café is along Session Road, market-bound side. Rose Bowl is along Harrison Road, market-bound side. Chinese food.
For other suggestions, click here and here.
For other suggestions, click here and here.
TOURISTY PLACES TO GO
(A) TOWN AREA
Burnham Park (Harrison Road, Baguio City) - Burnham Lake for boating; skating; biking; street food; flowers and plants and walking around
Baguio City Market – (Lower Session Road, Baguio City) Drop by the dry goods section, or to the Maharlika basement for food (strawberries, etc.) and souvenirs (man in a barrel, brooms/walis, and other native items).
Narda’s – (Upper Session Road Extension, near the Supreme Court Compound/Victory Liner (SM-bound side)); For souvenir items, native weaves and knits.
Session Road - restaurants (Sizzling Plate has the BEST sansrival. Tea House is known for their pastries. Star Cafe is also uniquely Baguio.), old buildings
Baguio Cathedral (Fr. Carlu Street, Baguio City – walk up the road after the post office hill, by the side of Zola Cafe) – For the religious, it’s a very solemn church. For the non-religious, it’s a pretty place.
SM Baguio – If necessary. It’s the only SM I like.
(B) BOTANICAL GARDEN – WRIGHT PARK AREA
Botanical Garden (Leonard Wood Road, Baguio City) - lush vegetation and flora (no fauna), souvenirs at tourist prices (The cheaper ones are always at the places that tourists don't usually visit.)
The main entrance to the Baguio Botanical Garden is along Leonard Wood Road, between Teachers Camp and Wright Park.
Driving there: From Session Road, proceed along Leonard Wood Road. You will see the main entrance to your right, past Teachers Camp, to your right. You can park along the road.
By public transport: “There are many, many jeepney lines that pass Leonard Wood Road, all emanating from the Central Business District (Plaza) so ride one that indicates Plaza to the following places: Mines View, Pacdal, Beckel, Country Club, Navy Base, Tuding, Itogon. There are also many taxi cabs that you may take to and from Botanical Garden.”
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Business hours: Open daily, daylight hours).
Entrance fees: Botanical Garden is FREE for everyone's enjoyment; picture-taking with the natives would cost about Php20.00/person/photo.
Wright Park Riding Circle (Leonard Wood Road, Baguio City) – Horseback riding.
(See the section on The Mansion for directions.)
Wright Park is located across from The Mansion, the official summer residence of the President of the Philippines, with the beautiful, and much photographed Pool of the Pines. Wright Park Riding Circle is the flat and wide triangle below it where 200 horses are available for hire. - (c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
The Mansion - For the obligatory photo with The Mansion in the background.
It is located on the eastern part of the city along C.P. Romulo Drive (formerly a part of Leonard Wood Road) and right across from Wright Park.
Driving there – Proceed along Leonard Wood Road, past Teachers Camp and the Botanical Garden. When you reach Pacdal Circle, go towards the road which gently climbs uphill that is to the right of the Wright Park Riding Circle. You may park your vehicle at Wright Park Drive, which is directly across the Mansion.
By taxi cab -- just tell the cabbie to take you to The Mansion or even "Mansion House," about Php50.00 from Session Road.
By jeepney -- take the Plaza-Mines View jeepney from the Central Business District, about Php8.00/person
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Good Shepherd - Nice view, alfajor, ube jam, lengua de gato, peanut brittle, and other items (Best enjoyed outside of the tourist season.)
(See directions for Mines View below.)
Good Shepherd Convent
15 Gibraltar Road, 2600 Baguio City
Telefax (074) 424 11 09 - Convent; Telefax (074) 442 3865 – Center
15 Gibraltar Road, 2600 Baguio City
Telefax (074) 424 11 09 - Convent; Telefax (074) 442 3865 – Center
You will find the Good Shepherd Convent in the Mines View Barangay. Its main entrance is along Gibraltar Road and it is within walking distance from the souvenir shops at Mines View Park. (c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Mines View (Leonard Wood Road, Baguio City) - There are souvenir shops here too. Now here's where we part ways. END. OF. FRIENDSHIP. In my personal opinion, unless you really really hate yourself and/or extremely confident that the people you're with are EXTREMELY PATIENT, do NOT, repeat, DO NOT, go during long weekends or other tourist-rich times. Traffic will be TERRIBLE. And parking is a major headache. On average, you'll have to park a looooooooong way from where you're going.
Driving there: From Session Road, climb up and turn to Leonard Wood Road, past Teachers Camp and the Botanical Garden, past the Pacdal Rotunda, and go straight up C. P. Romulo Drive past Wright Park Riding Circle and the The Mansion.
As the road climbing up curves left you will be on Outlook Drive (you will see Baguio Townhouse to the right and do not take the road going straight down to Itogon, Benguet) and Mines View Park will be at the top.
An alternate route will be to pass Gibraltar Road, which is to the left of Wright Park Riding Circle. When you see the Good Shepherd Convent to your left, Mines View Park is just a few meters away. This route is actually more direct, but C.P. Romulo Drive is way prettier, and you get to pass by some more popular Baguio attractions along the way
By Public Transportation: Public jeepneys are also available using the Plaza-Mines View line. You may also hire one of our many taxis cabs to take you there, and contract the driver by the hour or for the day. If your group is large, it may be better to hire a jeepney instead.
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
(C) JOHN HAY AREA
Camp John Hay - BEST Starbucks in the Philippines. The Manor. Cute cottages. Flora (no fauna). Pine trees. Golf. Cemetert of Negativity. Butterfly Sanctuary. Scout Hill. Historical Core. EcoTrail. Chocolate de Batirol.
Located on the south eastern side of the Summer Capital of the Philippines, its Main Gate is now located on Loakan Road, a 5-minute drive from its old location at the Upper Session Road-Loakan Road-South Drive rotunda.
Camp John Hay has a second entrance accessible via the Baguio Country Club road, which is closer to the other major tourist attractions of the City of Pines.
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Baguio Country Club - The BEST banana cake EVER. Heated lap pool and jacuzzi. Nice view.
See map here.
Philippine Military Academy - I find it sad that you now have to go this far to enjoy the Baguio view. When I was a kid, all I had to do was look out the window. =(
Located at Fort Gegorio del Pilar on Loakan Road, visitors to the City of Pines are welcome to explore the grounds, view the cadets performing their drills, and explore the PMA museum and walk around its manicured grounds to see vintage tanks and other historical military weapons.
Driving there -- pass through wooded Loakan Road past a fork in the road (to the right will be Loakan Airport), keep going straight until you see the Fort Gregorio del Pilar gate on your right. About 10 km from Burnham Park and Session Road.
By taxi cab -- you may hire a taxi cab for Php200/hour to tour you around Baguio CIty, or maybe just to take you to and inside PMA and back so you can tour the grounds by car and partially on foot.
By jeepney -- take the Plaza-Loakan-PMA jeepney from the Central Business District.
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Lourdes Grotto (Mirador Hill, Baguio City) - Looooooong climb up the steps.
Proceed out of town to Naguilian Road, past the public cemetery.
(D) TAM-AWAN VILLAGE AREA
Tam-Awan Village - Take Bokawkan Road behind Camp Allen, turn right at Ferguson Road, turn right at Tacay Road (which goes uphill). At the top of the hill, turn right going to Tam-Awan. if you go straight along that road, you'll end up in La Trinidad.
Driving there - From Burnham Park: Harrison Road-Abanao Road-Naguilian Road. From Naguilian, turn right to Quezon Hill Road 2, which connects to Tacay Road. On Tacay Road, keep going straught till you reach a fork on the road, Take the road on the left and keep going until you reach Tam-Awan Village.
By taxi cab - give the driver instructions to take you to Tam-awan Village, Pinsao Proper.
By jeepney - take the Plaza-Quezon Hill-Tam-awan jeepney or the Long-long via Tam-awan Jeepney from Kayang Street, behing and above the Baguio City Market.
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Tam-awan Village
366-C Pinsao Proper
2600 Baguio City
Philippines
Tel.: (074) 446-2949
Fax: (074) 442-5553
Entrance fee: Php50
8am to 6pm (5:30 last entrance)
Arko ni Apo - Across from Tam-Awan Village
Right across Tam-awan Village is Philippine sculptor Ben Hur Villanueva's gallery-workshop-cafe and residence, where everyone is welcome to see him and his works of art.
Having retired to Baguio after 30 years of teaching at the Ateneo de Manila University, Ben Hur Villanueva is a genial, lovely man, generous with his time, knowledge and experience, and simply a wonderful person to get to know.
(Description c/o the Tam-Awan Village official website.)
Easter Weaving Room - It is located near the compound of the Bureau of Plant Industry and is easily accessible by taxi. From the downtown area of Baguio, take Abanao Street towards Camp Allen and turn right to Bokawkan Road at the vicinity of the PLDT building. At the lower end of Bokawkan Road, turn left to Easter Road and you will find the Easter Weaving Room compound to your right.
Driving there: From Burnham Park, which is at the heart of Baguio City, climb up Abanao Road, past Camp Allen and at the stoplight turn right to Bokawkan Road, head downhill and turn left to Easter Road, travelling for a few hundred meters more until you see Easter Weaving Room to your right.
By taxi cab: All taxi drivers in Baguio City know the location of Easter Weaving (or Easter Road for that matter) so just tell the driver where to take you. The cost should be about Php50 of USD1.00 from the Central Business District (Session Road or Burnham Park)
(Directions c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
(E) BENCAB MUSEUM AND SURROUNDING AREA
BenCab Museum - http://bencabmuseum.org/
Woodcarvers' Village
“Three kilometers of independent indigenous wood carvers. The works of these carvers range from very small figurines to huge statues. It is located on Asin Road on the way to the Asin Hot Springs.” - c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Asin Hot Springs
“Actually outside city limits, but considered a Baguio resource, it contains natural hot springs. Some resorts have sprung up in recent years and the area is pretty much underdeveloped but is still a place that tourists should visit.” - c/o http://www.gobaguio.com)
Nangalisan River
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| Photo courtesy of http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb100/cordiartistscentral/2009%20ATPS%20CAC/bencabmuseume-invite.jpg |
- Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary - The Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary is located at 25 North Santo Tomas Road, Campo Sioco, Baguio City. To go to the sanctuary you can take the BGH-Campo Sioco bound jeepneys which are parked beside the Harrison Road overpass stairway, take a taxi, or drive your own vehicle. From the downtown area, proceed to the rotunda across the Baguio General Hospital then take the road to the right towards the direction of Marcos Highway. After passing Lina's Mart look out for the Amway and Agua Vida signage where you turn right and follow the road until you reach the Maryknoll gate.
Anyhow, as for the schedule for the Panagbenga 2011 festivities, click here for the website, or check the schedule posted below:
Happy weekend guys! =)
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