We will spend our Christmas in Baguio City and for our fifth time, we decided to skip visiting places we frequented in the past, except at PMA for some nostalgic feel and at Camp John Hay for a coffee moment in the quaint old American bungalow of Starbucks Coffee. Guess where are we heading this time? It’s on Mount Costa! The newest attraction in the foggy land and the first stroll around garden of the North.
When we say it is Christmas time, we mean “family time”. Families tend to celebrate the most awaited season of the year in various ways. For this year, we opted to go to Baguio City to relax from the lowland heat and see how colorful and well-lighted the Summer Capital during this festive season.
the lovely petunias of Mount Costa, the newest attraction in the Summer Capital of the Philippines
Aside from Mt. Pulag’s famous sea of clouds, its uniqueness is its different vegetation in different elevations. Not only that, but it is also home to unique species of flora and fauna and is the natural habitat of the endemic dwarf bamboos and edelweiss that feast to the eyes when trekking the 500 hectares grassland. Sounds exciting right?
and so we survived Mt. Pulag!
The view of the grassy hill and the start of cool temperature served as an appetizer for a fresh meal of amazing scenery ahead of us as we were approaching Baguio City. But as we moved on I was surprised to see that it was now highly urbanized with houses made of modern architecture and with fewer pine trees. And there was heavy traffic along the way.
Benguet after the rain
Baguio City is still the undisputed Summer Capital of the Philippines because of its cool mountain weather and pine trees. Situated in Northern Luzon, this is a popular destination especially during the stifling season in our country.
our first visit to Baguio City on March 1, 2003