Baguio

BURNHAM PARK

Burnham Park, a haven of beauty and quiet in Baguio, Burnham Park is a large park in Baguio City and it features an artificial boating lake in the center.
The park is located right in the middle of Baguio City, and is named after Daniel H Burnham, the American architect and town planner who laid out Baguio.
It has an orchidarium, a rose garden, a terrace restaurant, a children's playground, bicycle lanes, and areas for basketball and other sports.
There are boats to hire on the lake, and tricycles may be rented for the children.
Burnham Park is a great place to wander and watch the people of Baguio at play

Mines View Park

The view from the lookout at Mines View Park, Mines View Park is located on a promontary of land about 4 km from downtown Baguio.
Standing on a small observation deck in Mines View Park, the tourist has a spectacular view of the nearby valley and mountains and over the gold and copper mines formerly operated there by the Benguet Corporation.
From the car park and its souvenir shops, the observation deck can be reached by following a winding stone-constructed stairway. Sometimes the stairway can get a bit slippery in Baguio's damp weather -- so take care!
Since the main attraction of Mines View Park is the view of the nearby mountains, there are people hiring out binoculars so you can get a better view. The cost is only a few pesos for 5 or 10 minutes.
If you get a sunshiny day, take the opportunity to quickly get some photos of the views from Mines View Park -- for the odds are that one of Baguio's mists or fogs may soon sweep in and obscure the view.

CAMP JOHN HAY

A beautiful resort in the mountains it features a world class competition Jack Niclaus-designed golf course (said to be the only course in the Philippines to have bentgrass greens) as well as hotels, a shopping center & a convention center, among other attractions.
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.
This former rest & recreation facility for American soldiers in Asia is a tourist destination in itself.

BOTANICAL GARDEN

The Baguio Botanical Garden is located east of Baguio's downtown area. You will find it between Teacher's Camp and the Pacdal Circle. Its main entrance is along Leonard Wood Road and just across the street from Gilberto's Hotel and Baguio Vacation Hotel. It is quite a large park and about the same size as Burnham Park.
Also known as the Igorot Village, the Botanical Garden features native huts typical of the type of Igorot dwellings found in the Cordilleras. The village is said to capture the ethnic spirit and cultural legacy of the Igorots and being tranquil and quiet, it is a nice place to just sit down and relax, take a leisurely stroll along its narrow and winding pathways and also enjoy the landscape where you will find numerous plants and trees.

THE MANSION

The Mansion is located on the eastern part of the city along the Leonard Wood Road and right across from Wright Park. It was built in 1908 for U.S. governor-generals and was destroyed in 1945 during the battle for the liberation of the Philippines.

The Philippine government later rebuilt and improved the structure in 1947 and since then it has been used by various Philippine presidents whenever they come up to Baguio for their official visits and engagements. The Mansion served as the seat of the Second Session of Economic Commission of Asia and the Far East in 1947. It has also been the site of first meeting of the South East Asia Union which was popularly known as the Baguio Conference of 1950 which was conceived and convened by President Elpidio Quirino.

The elaborate main gate of the Mansion is said to be a replica of that at Buckingham Palace in London. Vehicles entering the compound pass through a great circular driveway and it is usually open only when the Mansion is used for an official function or activity. With its beautiful gardens and a well-manicured lawn, it is a favorite site for sightseeing and picture taking.

Ditumabo Falls

Ditumabo Falls is located at Barangay Ditumabo, San Luis, Aurora, one of the key attractions of the province of Aurora. Though currently the site of an ongoing hydroelectric project, the falls is still one enchanting site to behold and certainly worth the visit. It towers more than a hundred feet above a wide basin and imposing cliffs on both sides hem the falls itself. The locals have nicknamed it ?the mother falls.? The trek alone to the falls is a treat in itself. One gets to pass through lush vegetation, large boulders, a number of sprays and small waterfalls, and cross several streams and rivulets. There are wooden footways already in place; perhaps to aid the construction crews ferrying supplies to the small dam being constructed near the falls.

There are no campsites in the area, although there are several wide cottages about 100 meters from the waterfalls. At the time of our visit, these simple sheds were free for our use.