--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Baguio, Philippines | Wimup" description: "The 10 best things to do in Baguio, ranked and mapped. Burnham Park, the BenCab Museum, Session Road and the Cordillera trails, plus when to go and what to eat." url: https://wimup.com/city/baguio type: City guide updated: 2026-10-17 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Baguio Baguio, Philippines · Asia · By Wimup Editorial, 15 min read Baguio sits at about 1,500 metres in the Cordillera, which is why Filipinos have called it the summer capital since the Americans built it as a hill station. Below are the ten experiences worth your time, plus the months, fares and permits to sort before you go. ## Quick answer The best things to do in Baguio are Burnham Park and the Session Road spine above it, the BenCab Museum out on Asin Road, the rebuilt Ifugao houses at Tam-awan Village, and the pine trails of Camp John Hay. Give the city three days and come between November and April. Travel by taxi and jeepney: the centre is walkable but the good things sit on hills. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Nov–Apr - **Ideal length:** 3 days - **Budget per day:** $35–70 - **Language:** Ilocano, Filipino, English - **Getting around:** Jeepney, taxi & on foot - **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://visita.baguio.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## The 10 best things to do in Baguio ### 1. Spend a morning in Burnham Park Park · Jose Abad Santos Drive, Baguio, Benguet The city was planned around it. Daniel Burnham drew the lake and the lawns in 1905, and the park still works as Baguio's front room: rowboats, rented bicycles, a rose garden and an orchidarium, ringed by pines. Come early, before the boats and the school groups. - **Time:** 2 hrs - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Early morning - **Tip:** Rowboats are cheapest and quietest before the tour vans arrive Links: [Website](https://visita.baguio.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 2. Visit the BenCab Museum Museum · Km. 6 Asin Road, Tuba, Benguet Benedicto Cabrera, National Artist for Visual Arts, built four floors of galleries into a slope above Asin Road. His own work hangs alongside contemporary Philippine art and a serious Cordillera collection of bulul rice gods and tribal craft. The terraces and duck pond below are part of the visit. - **Time:** 2 hrs - **Cost:** Entry fee - **Best at:** Weekday morning - **Tip:** Closed Mondays, and the last entry is at 17:30 Links: [Website](https://bencabmuseum.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 3. Walk Session Road end to end Street · Session Road, Central Business District, Baguio The 1.7 km spine of the central business district, climbing from Governor Pack Road past the cathedral stairway. Bakeries, bookshops, second-hand clothing stalls and the city's oldest dining rooms sit along it. During Panagbenga it closes to traffic for a week of stalls and bands. - **Time:** 2 hrs - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** The cathedral stairway is the shortcut to the upper end ### 4. Climb through Tam-awan Village Art village · 366-C Long Long Benguet Road, Pinsao Proper, Baguio Ifugao and Kalinga houses, dismantled in the Cordillera and rebuilt on a hillside by the Chanum Foundation from 1998. Artists work in the studios at the bottom and the path climbs through the huts to a viewpoint. A few of the houses are let overnight. - **Time:** 2 hrs - **Cost:** Entry fee - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** The steps are steep and slick after rain, so wear grip Links: [Website](https://tamawanvillage.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 5. Walk the Yellow Trail at Camp John Hay Forest park · Loakan Road, Camp John Hay, Baguio The United States kept a rest camp here from 1903 and handed the site back in 1991. What is left is the best stand of pine inside the city: the Yellow Trail through the forest, the Bell House and its gardens, the Cemetery of Negativism, and a Jack Nicklaus golf course. - **Time:** Half day - **Cost:** Free, fees at some sites - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** The Yellow Trail is the reason to come, not the retail strip Links: [Website](https://www.jhmc.com.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 6. Shop the Baguio Public Market Market · Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio Benguet's harvest arrives here first: strawberries, broccoli, sayote and mountain rice, alongside sacks of highland arabica and the jars of ube jam people carry back down to Manila. The dry section sells woven blankets and second-hand jackets, which is why half the city shops here. - **Time:** 1–2 hrs - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Early morning - **Tip:** Bring small notes and your own bag: nothing is packed for you ### 7. Take the view from Mines View Park Viewpoint · Mines View Park, Gibraltar Road, Baguio The deck looks down the Benguet valley toward the copper and gold workings at Itogon that gave the park its name. It is also the most crowded spot in Baguio, ringed by stalls selling woven goods and highland brooms. Come at opening, or trade it for Mirador at sunset. - **Time:** 45 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** First thing - **Tip:** Parking is tight: take a taxi up and walk back down Gibraltar Road ### 8. Traverse the Mount Ulap ridge Hike · Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet A 9.4 km ridge traverse an hour out of the city, crossing open grassland spurs between pine stands with the Cordillera on both sides. Register at the Ampucao barangay hall and take the guide: both are required, and the ridge is exposed once the cloud comes in. - **Time:** 6–7 hrs - **Cost:** Registration and guide fee - **Best at:** Nov–Apr - **Tip:** Start at first light: afternoon cloud closes the views ### 9. See The Mansion and Wright Park Landmark · Leonard Wood Road, Baguio The official summer residence of the President sits behind an ornamental gate, and there is nothing to do but photograph it. Cross the road for Wright Park instead: the Pool of Pines runs downhill to a stable yard where the riding horses have worked for generations. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free, fee to ride - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** Agree the ride length and the price at the stable before mounting ### 10. Climb to Our Lady of the Atonement Cathedral Church · Cathedral Loop, off Session Road, Baguio The rose-pink cathedral on Mount Mary is the building Baguio puts on its postcards, reached by a stairway straight off Session Road. It sheltered civilians through the bombardment of the city in 1945, and the terrace in front of it is the best free view of the central district. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Sunday morning - **Tip:** The Session Road stairway is the quickest way up on foot ## Best art & museums in Baguio (2026) Baguio joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for crafts and folk art in 2017. These are the places where that shows. 1. **BenCab Museum** (Museum · Entry fee · Asin Road): Four floors above Asin Road, and the Cordillera collection is the half most visitors skip. [Website](https://bencabmuseum.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 2. **Tam-awan Village** (Art village · Entry fee · Pinsao): Rebuilt Ifugao and Kalinga houses on a hillside, with working artist studios below them. [Website](https://tamawanvillage.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Ili-Likha Artists Village** (Free entry · Assumption Road): Kidlat Tahimik's treehouse food court on Assumption Road, built almost entirely from salvage. 4. **Baguio Museum** (Museum · Entry fee · Governor Pack Road): A compact run through Cordillera material culture, next to the convention centre. 5. **Museo Kordilyera** (Museum · Entry fee · Governor Pack Road): The ethnographic museum on the University of the Philippines Baguio campus. Strongest on textiles. ## Best parks & viewpoints in Baguio (2026) The city is built along ridges, so every good view costs a climb. Six that repay it. 1. **Burnham Park** (Free · Central): Boating lake, rose garden and orchidarium, laid out at the centre of the city in 1905. 2. **Camp John Hay** (Free, fees at some sites · Loakan): The Yellow Trail is the quietest walk in Baguio, and it is still inside the city. [Website](https://www.jhmc.com.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Mines View Park** (Free · Gibraltar): The postcard view down the Itogon mining valley, and the busiest deck in town. 4. **Wright Park** (Free, fee to ride · Leonard Wood): The Pool of Pines and the riding stables, directly across the road from The Mansion. 5. **Baguio Botanical Garden** (Free · Leonard Wood): Igorot house replicas and a shaded loop, ten minutes downhill from Mines View. 6. **Mirador Heritage and Eco Park** (Entry fee · Mirador Hill): A bamboo grove, the Stations of the Cross, and the sunset the Mines View crowd misses. ## Best restaurants in Baguio (2026) Highland vegetables, Cordillera meat, and a few dining rooms the city has kept for decades. 1. **Café by the Ruins** (Filipino · $$ · Chuntug Street): Opened by Baguio artists in 1988 and still the clearest introduction to Cordillera cooking. 2. **Hill Station** (Global · $$$ · Upper Session Road): A wide-ranging kitchen inside Casa Vallejo, the oldest surviving hotel building in the city. 3. **Oh My Gulay** (Vegetarian · $ · Session Road): A vegetarian rooftop of ponds and salvaged timber above Session Road, built by artists. 4. **Canto** (Filipino · $ · Session Road): Ribs and rice bowls in the Lopez Building, and the queue outside is the local one. 5. **Lemon and Olives** (Greek · $$ · Outlook Drive): A Greek taverna on Outlook Drive, run by a Greek and Filipino family. 6. **Le Chef at The Manor** (European · $$$ · Camp John Hay): The dining room at Camp John Hay's hotel, and the steadiest formal kitchen in Baguio. ## Best cafes & bakeries in Baguio (2026) Benguet arabica, thick tablea chocolate, and the strawberry shortcake people queue for. 1. **Vizco's** (Bakery · $ · Session Road): The strawberry shortcake is the most-carried souvenir in the city. Expect a queue. 2. **Choco-late de Batirol** (Cafe · $ · Camp John Hay): Thick tablea chocolate whisked at the table, in a garden hut at Camp John Hay. 3. **Café Sabel** (Cafe · $$ · Asin Road): The BenCab Museum's own café, looking down the terraces to the duck pond. [Website](https://bencabmuseum.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 4. **Arca's Yard** (Cafe · $ · Ambuklao Road): Books, Cordillera artefacts and a valley view, out on the Ambuklao road. ## Best markets & crafts in Baguio (2026) Weaving, jam and coffee, bought in the places that actually make them. 1. **Baguio Public Market** (Free · Magsaysay Avenue): Strawberries, highland arabica, woven blankets and the second-hand clothing aisles. 2. **Good Shepherd Convent** (Shop · Gibraltar): The ube jam and peanut brittle the nuns sell to fund highland scholarships. 3. **Easter Weaving Room** (Free entry · Easter Road): Loom weaving you can watch from the floor before you buy the cloth upstairs. 4. **Narda's** (Shop · Upper Session Road): Handwoven Cordillera cloth made up into jackets, shawls and bags. 5. **Mt. Cloud Bookshop** (Bookshop · C.M. Recto Street): About 3,000 titles, most of them Filipiniana. Run by the Perez sisters since 2010. ## Best hikes & day trips from Baguio (2026) The Cordillera starts at the edge of town, and the best of it is a day or a night away. 1. **Mount Ulap** (Day hike · Ampucao): A 9.4 km ridge traverse in Itogon, an hour out. Registration and a guide are required. 2. **Mount Pulag** (Overnight · Kabayan): Luzon's highest peak at 2,926 m. A DENR permit, a medical certificate and a guide. [Website](https://car.denr.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Strawberry Farm, La Trinidad** (Half day · La Trinidad): Pick your own in the Benguet valley, fifteen minutes downhill from the city. 4. **Sagada** (Overnight · Mountain Province): Hanging coffins, Sumaguing Cave and Echo Valley, about five hours north by van. 5. **Kabayan mummy caves** (Full day · Kabayan): Ibaloi mummies preserved by smoke in cliff caves, declared a National Cultural Treasure. ## Best neighborhoods in Baguio (2026) Four parts of a small city that feel nothing like each other. 1. **Session Road and the CBD** (Central · Central): Everything within a walk, and the traffic and noise that come with it. 2. **Camp John Hay** (Quiet · Loakan): Pine forest, hotels and quiet, and a taxi ride from everywhere else. 3. **Gibraltar and Mines View** (Budget · Gibraltar): The souvenir end of town, and where the cheap transient rooms are. 4. **Asin Road** (Rural · Tuba): Downhill into Tuba for the museum, the artist studios and the hot springs. ## Festivals & annual events in Baguio (2026) - **Panagbenga Flower Festival** (Feb–Mar): Weeks of flower floats and street dancing, closing with the grand float parade in early March. - **Session Road in Bloom** (Mar): Session Road closes to traffic for a week of stalls, food and bands at the end of Panagbenga. - **Strawberry Festival** (Mar–Apr): La Trinidad's harvest fair, fifteen minutes downhill, with the picking fields at their fullest. - **Holy Week at Lourdes Grotto** (Mar–Apr): Pilgrims climb the grotto stairway through Holy Week and the city fills with lowland visitors. - **Cordillera Month** (Jul): The region marks its 1987 founding with cañao rites, gong ensembles and craft fairs. - **Baguio Charter Day** (1 Sep): Act No. 1963 made Baguio a chartered city on this date in 1909, and the city marks it yearly. - **Ibagiw Creative Festival** (Nov): The UNESCO Creative City festival: craft markets, exhibitions and open studios across town. - **Adivay Festival** (Nov): Benguet's provincial harvest and culture fair, held down the hill in La Trinidad. ## Must-try dishes in Baguio, Philippines - **Pinikpikan**: The Cordillera's smoky chicken broth, cooked with etag and served at gatherings. - **Etag**: Pork salt-cured and smoked over a wood fire for weeks. Used as seasoning as much as meat. - **Baguio longganisa**: Smaller and far more garlicky than the Manila sausage. A breakfast plate with rice and egg. - **Strawberry taho**: Silken tofu and sago pearls, with Benguet strawberries in place of the usual brown syrup. - **Ube jam**: Purple yam cooked down for hours. The Good Shepherd jars are the ones people queue for. - **Sundot kulangot**: Sticky rice and muscovado sugar, sealed inside a coconut shell you poke open. - **Pinuneg**: Cordillera blood sausage, grilled hard on the outside and sold by the market stalls. - **Benguet arabica**: Coffee grown on the slopes around the city and roasted dark for the public market. ## Baguio transport & airports - **Clark International** (CRK): The nearest international gateway, about 185 km south. Buses and vans run up through TPLEX in roughly four hours, and it is the route most foreign arrivals take. [Website](https://clarkinternationalairport.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Loakan Airport** (BAG): Inside the city at Loakan, on a short runway hemmed in by ridges. Commercial service has come and gone over the years, so check whether anything is flying before planning around it. - **Buses from Manila** (Bus): Victory Liner, Genesis and Solid North run all day from Cubao, Pasay and PITX. Four to six hours by way of TPLEX, and the non-stop deluxe services are worth the difference. [Website](https://www.victoryliner.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Taxi and jeepney** (City): Metered taxis are cheap and everywhere, which matters on hills this steep. Jeepneys run fixed routes from Kayang and Magsaysay out to the suburbs and down to La Trinidad. ## Baguio at a glance - **Country:** Philippines - **Region:** Benguet, Cordillera Administrative Region - **Population:** 368,426 (2024 census) - **Founded:** Chartered 1 September 1909 - **Nickname:** Summer Capital of the Philippines - **Language:** Ilocano, Filipino, English - **Currency:** Philippine peso (₱) - **Time zone:** PST · UTC+8 - **Calling code:** +63 74 - **Airports:** BAG · CRK - **Power:** 220V · Type A/B/C - **Emergency:** 911 ## Interesting facts - Baguio joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on 31 October 2017, the first Philippine city to do so, for crafts and folk art. - The city sits at roughly 1,500 metres, which is why it runs several degrees cooler than anywhere in the lowlands. - Daniel Burnham, who planned Chicago's lakefront, laid out Baguio in 1905. The park at its centre carries his name. - Act No. 1963 chartered Baguio on 1 September 1909, four years after Burnham drew the plan it was built to. - The name comes from bagiw, the Ibaloi word for the moss that grew along the banks of the Bued river. ## Baguio travel FAQ ### How many days do you need in Baguio? Three. One for Burnham Park, Session Road and the cathedral, one for the BenCab Museum and Tam-awan on the Asin Road side, and one for Camp John Hay and the public market. Add a fourth if you want Mount Ulap or a run north to Sagada. ### When is the best time to visit Baguio? November to April, while the highland dry season holds. January is the coldest month and usually the clearest. February brings Panagbenga, which fills every room in the city, so book months ahead or come either side of it. ### How do you get to Baguio from Manila? By bus. Victory Liner, Genesis and Solid North run all day from Cubao, Pasay and PITX, taking four to six hours by way of TPLEX. The non-stop deluxe services are worth the extra fare. Flights into Loakan have been intermittent. ### Is Baguio cold? Cooler than anywhere else in the Philippines. Days sit in the low twenties Celsius and January nights are the coldest in the country, occasionally dipping into single figures. Most visitors arrive from a lowland climate and underpack for it. ### What should you bring back from Baguio? Ube jam and peanut brittle from Good Shepherd, Benguet arabica from the public market, and woven cloth from Easter Weaving Room or Narda's. Strawberries travel badly, so buy the jam rather than the punnet. ## Nearby guides - [Vigan](https://wimup.com/city/vigan.md): Philippines · 10 picks - [Boracay](https://wimup.com/city/boracay.md): Philippines · 10 picks - [Iloilo City](https://wimup.com/city/iloilo-city.md): Philippines · 10 picks - [All of Asia →](https://wimup.com/asia): 109 cities Part of the [Philippines guide](https://wimup.com/country/philippines.md) · [Asia](https://wimup.com/asia.md) ## Sources - [Baguio tourism board](https://visita.baguio.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Visit the BenCab Museum (official site)](https://bencabmuseum.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Climb through Tam-awan Village (official site)](https://tamawanvillage.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Walk the Yellow Trail at Camp John Hay (official site)](https://www.jhmc.com.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Mount Pulag (official site)](https://car.denr.gov.ph/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Clark International (official site)](https://clarkinternationalairport.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Buses from Manila (official site)](https://www.victoryliner.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.