Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TREKKING IN THE CORDILLERA
Since the road network is poor in many parts of the Cordillera, and there are so many
jungled peaks and hidden valleys,
trekking
is the only way to see some of the region's
secrets: burial caves, tribal villages and hidden waterfalls. Gentle
day hikes
are possible,
particularly in the main tourist areas of Banaue and Sagada, but there are also plenty of
two- or three-day treks
that take you deep into backwaters. Don't be tempted to
wander off into the wilderness without a guide: good maps are almost nonexistent and it's
easy to become disoriented and lost. Medical facilities and rescue services are few and far
between, so if you get into trouble and no one knows where you are then you'll have a
long wait for help to arrive.
Most of the
best trails
are around Sagada, Banaue, Bontoc, Tabuk and Tinglayan. In all of
these towns there is a tourist o
ce or town hall where someone will be able to help arrange
guides
. In smaller settlements a good place to look for a guide is at the barangay hall. Many
guides won't have o
cial certification, but will know the area exceptionally well. Your guide
may also agree to carry equipment and supplies, but don't expect him to have any equipment
himself. Most guides happily wander through inhospitable landscapes with only flip-flops on
their feet - don't follow suit. Rates start from around P500 a day but they vary; ask in advance if
the guide is expecting you to provide food for him. Certainly the guide will expect a tip, even
in the form of a few beers and a meal, for getting you home safely.
3
nightlife. Baguio's municipal centre - the area around
Burnham Park
- was designed by
renowned American architect Daniel Burnham in 1904, and based loosely on
Washington DC. The main drag,
Session Road
, is lined with restaurants and shops,
while the eye-catching
Baguio Cathedral
stands on a hill above.
Brief history
In the sixteenth century, intrepid
Spanish friars
had started to explore the region,
finding a land of fertile valleys, pine-clad hills and mountains, lush vegetation and an
abundance of minerals such as copper and gold. Soon more friars, soldiers and
fortune-hunters were trekking north to convert the natives to Christianity and profit
from the rich natural resources. In the nineteenth century,
colonizing Americans
took
over and developed Baguio into a modern city, a showcase recreational and
administrative centre from which they could preside over their precious tropical colony
without working up too much of a sweat. In 1944, when American forces landed in
Leyte, the head of the Japanese Imperial Army,
General Yamashita
, moved his
headquarters to Baguio and helped establish a puppet Philippine government there
under President José Laurel. In 1945 the city was destroyed and thousands lost their
homes as liberating forces flushed out Yamashita and his army. The general quickly fled
north into the interior.
The city is also etched on the Filipino consciousness as the site of one of the country's
worst natural disasters, the earthquake of July 16, 1990, which measured 7.7 on the
Richter Scale and killed hundreds, mostly in the city's vulnerable shanty towns, many
of which cling precariously to the sides of steep valleys.
Burnham Park
Despite the efforts of the SM mall the city's centrepiece is still
Burnham Park
, a hilltop
version of Rizal Park in Manila with a man-made boating lake at the centre. Even if it's
a bit past its prime, the park is an interesting place to take a stroll and to watch the
people of Baguio at play: there are boats for rent on the lake and tricycles for kids.
Baguio Cathedral
General Luna Rd • Daily 5am-8pm
Standing imperiously above Session Road,
Baguio Cathedral
is a striking example of
“wedding cake Gothic” painted rose pink and with twin spires crowned by delicate
