I've been highlighting the insanely hot weather we have here in Cebu and in the Philippines in general except a typhoon hit some parts of Luzon this week. I know! Climate change has normalized having typhoons in the summer. Aside from this outlier, the weather is insanely hot, some places reached a whopping 46°C temperature. I didn't bother to go out the house the entire day.
Despite the crazy warm weather in the Metro, there's a place in the Philippines that remains relatively cold and it's for the same reason it's been dubbed the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Although it's a year-round travel destination, it's arguably best to visit during summer to escape the hellish temperature of the Metro.
If you Google "What to do in Baguio City for a day?" you'll be bombarded with countless destinations to visit and activities to try. A day will never suffice to explore Baguio City but Grace and I had to make the most out of our 1.5 days in Baguio.
Mines View Park
We arrived in Baguio City at dawn from our overnight bus ride from Banaue. It was one of the most unforgettable bus rides of my life, if not the most unforgettable. It's been a year since I was diagnosed with slipped disc when we did this backpacking, and my legs and arms would swell after long hours of walking and/or sitting down. We slept on the bus and when we arrived in Baguio my legs were bloating and I can feel my back nerves pinched from the hours on end of sitting. We were supposed to trek in Mt. Ulap first thing in Baguio but we ditched it; no one was climbing with swollen and painful legs. We took a cab to our Bed & Breakfast, I took a hot shower and some pain relievers and slept.
When we woke up, it was almost midday. Thankfully, my back felt better and we hit the road after eating brunch. Our first destination was accessible via one jeepney ride from Session Road. When we arrived here, people from all walks of life were flocking. That's just the downside of visiting Baguio in summer especially on weekends, it could become crowded.
Aside from sightseeing, you can also rent native woven costumes here, wear them for a couple of minutes and take pictures with the gigantic pines trees in the area. But I tell you, it'll be hard to take photos without photobombers! 🤣
When we checked Google Maps, it seemed that the rest of our pre-identified must-visit destinations are just a few meters away from each other, so we decided to walk around. On our way to the next destination, we passed by this; we were kids back then so we played just as kids are supposed to. 😁
The Mansion House
We descended the hilly part of Baguio and arrived at our next destination: The Mansion. It's said to be the summer residence of the President of the Philippines. There's no entrance fee here but you can't go beyond the gate where they allow tourists to take photos of the grandiose lawn fronting the mansion.
Wright Park
Just across The Mansion is Wright Park. If there's one thing I'm envious of Baguio that's the presence of their huge and well-maintained public parks. In Cebu, there are very few public parks and if there are any, they're small, dirty, and hot (not enough trees for shade).
When you enter Wright Park near The Mansion, you'll be welcomed by this long but shallow manmade pool surrounded by flowers of all kinds. Flowers thrive here even during summer because of the cool weather.
Aside from leisure walks or perhaps a morning run, you can enjoy other activities such as horseback riding for a minimal fee. We didn't try it though, the horses looked too small for us. But kids will definitely be delighted.
There are various food stalls and souvenir shops in the park; we've seen strawberry taho for sale but I don't eat taho or any soy-based product. It's a hard pass hehe
Wright Park is definitely a family-friendly destination. There's no entrance fee or corkage fee for food, so you can just bring homemade food and set-up a picnic somewhere in the park and enjoy the rest of the day with your family and friends.
Baguio Botanical Garden
We're back on the road until we reached the last destination for that day: Baguio Botanical Garden. This can be likened to Sirao Flower Farm in Cebu, which I haven't explored until recently.
From the word Botanical, be prepared to witness plants of different types inside this garden. Aside from the various flowering and nonflowering plants, you should also check out other spots inside such as the statues that bring to life the culture and heritage of not just Baguio City but the entire Benguet Province, life-size replica of some world-renowned attractions, to name a few.
If I remember it right, this one below is a bit farther from the entrance and less visible that's why you should make sure you've checked out every inch of Baguio Botanical Garden before leaving.
I think there were other sites inside that we missed because we were a bit hungry already so we decided to call it a day!
Food trip and nightlife in Baguio City
Traveling is not just about visiting new destinations; it's also about meeting new people and making friends. These two lovely ladies were our roommates in the Bed & Breakfast we stayed in. We got dinner together before they head out for Mt. Pulag and Grace and me to La Union the next day.
They picked Glenn 50's Diner. I don't know if this is true but according to them, it's one of the famous and affordable food hubs in Baguio City every tourist should check out. Grace and I weren't picky of food so we joined them and honored their choice of restaurant.
Our newfound friends need to take the night off as early as possible so they went ahead while Grace and I checked out the night market a few meters away from Session Road in Baguio famous for its ukay-ukay or slightly used items and of course, street food!
When night strikes, they close portions of the streets near Session Road, and a vibrant marketplace loaded with different items for sale were displayed from end to end of the road. We didn't buy any as we got our backpack full of dirty clothes calling for the washing machine! 🤣
Street food in Baguio that's definitely difficult to resist! 😋
After eating and checking the night market, we went back to our inn and planned the next day's itinerary. We had everything planned from Ilocos to Sagada to Banaue but since we had a major change in the itinerary when we got to Baguio, we moved things around to ensure we still enjoy the last days in our Luzon backpacking.
It's been a jampacked day, I hope to see you as we're about to end this #Project81PH featuring Northern Luzon in my next posts.
I'm having a relaxing weekend so far, I hope you are, too! 🥰
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