Life Overseas

Baguio City is located some 1,500 meters above sea level, nestled within the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon. The city is enclosed by the province of Benguet. It covers a small area of 57.5 square kilometers. Most of the developed part of the city is built on uneven, hilly terrain of the northern section. When Daniel Burnham plotted the plans for the city, he made the City Hall as a reference point where the city limits extend 8.2 kilometers from east to west and 7.2 kilometers from north to south.

The city is known for its mild climate. It is because of this that Baguio is nicknamed the “Summer Capital of the Philippines”. Owing to its high elevation, the temperature in the city is 8 degrees Celsius lower compared to the average temperature of the rest of the country. Average temperature ranges from 15 to 23 degrees Celsius. It is usually lower during the late and early months of the year. The lowest recorded temperature was 6.3 degrees Celsius on January 18, 1961. This is in contrast to the all-time high of 30.4 degrees Celsius recorded on March 15, 1988 during the 1988 El Niño season. Baguio seldom exceeds 26 degrees Celsius even during the warmest part of the year.

Baguio was developed during the early 1900s by American colonial officials who sought for a cool mountain retreat away from the heat of Manila. One little-known fact in that original city plan was modeled by architect Daniel Burnham after that of Washington D.C. its name derives from bagyiw, an Ibaloi word for a moss that grew in the mountain’s damp, swampy areas.

Burnham Park at the center of the city has pine trees, flower gardens and a manmade lagoon. The famous City Market offers a bewildering array of fresh fruits and vegetables, notably strawberries. Other specialties are fruit preserves and peanut brittle. Maharlika Center specializes in various arts and crafts along with antiques. Baguio Cathedral and Lourdes Grotto are the city’s chief religious landmarks. The Mansion House is the summer residence of the President of the Philippines, with its gates patterned after those of Buckinghum Palace. Camp John Hay is a former US military facility that’s now an upmarket vacation resort

Mines View Park and Dominican Hill is the city’s best known view-points, while Wright Park offers pony rides. Adjacent Baguio Botanical Park has souvenir stalls and upland replica houses. An entire set of houses were also transplanted from Banaue to Tam-awan Village. Woodcarving can be found along Asin Road, while weaves and silverwork are sold at Easter Weaving School and St. Louis School silver shop.

Benguet is part of the Cordillera mountain range, and homes to Ibaloi and Kankai, the two tribes usually called the Igorot.

La Trinidad Valley is considered the Salad Bowl of the Philippines with its numerous vegetable plantations. The second highest peak in the Philippines, 2,930 meter-high Mount Pulog is a favorite mountaineering mecca due to its unique vegetation ranging from pine forests to alpine grassland.

Kabayan is world-famous for its mummified corpses found in various burial caves and estimated to be hundreds of years old. The complicated art of mummification has actually been lost, making these specimens priceless. Other specimens are displayed at the municipal museum and at the provincial capitol in la Trinidad. Other provincial attractions include Mount Data, Ambuklao Lake and Binga Lake.

Photo courtesy of http://kgrp2.files.wordpress.com