Burnham Park

At the heart of the City of Baguio is Burnham Park, a municipal park named after the American architect and urban planner, Daniel Hudson Burnham who laid the plans for the city. Numerous roads stretch out around the park leading to Camp John Hay, a former leisure base of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines. It is a charming park looking out over the highest mountain in the Baguio region, Mount Kabuyao.

Burnham Park is centered on a man-made lake located at the heart of the city where tourists can take pleasure in boating with rented boats. You can have a picnic, attend an outdoor concert, watch a football game, go biking, or just take a relaxing stroll around the park. At the southern part of the park, a skating rink was created where skates can be rented.

The Melvin Jones Grand Stand and Football Field at the eastern part of the park are customarily used for numerous events like parades, concerts, and political rallies. On specific Sundays and some special occasions, cadets from the Philippine Military Academy have parades, reviews or silent drill exhibitions at the field.

Situated at the western part of the park are the Children's Park and the Orchidarium. There are also bike rentals if one so desires. You can rent either single bikes, tandem bikes or even bikes with sidecars. They even have small bikes for the little kids of both two and three wheel versions. A bust of Daniel Burnham was built in the northern section where a rose garden is also located.

With many homes destroyed in the 1990 earthquake that claimed more than 100 lives in Baguio City, many supplanted people sought refuge in Burnham Park.

Burnham Park is the perfect place for taking photographs. Visitors should bring along their cameras when going to the park. Still, there are professional photographers in the park who offer to take your pictures. Pictures are usually provided to you within just a few hours.

Mines View Park

Baguio City started off as an American mining town in the early 20th Century, and one of its continuing enticements is Mines View Park.

Mines View Park is one of the most popular and most visited parks in Baguio City. A ridge located at the extreme northeast side of the city, past The Mansion and Wright Park, Mines View Park boasts of an awe-inspiring panoramic vista of Benguet's gold and copper mines and the adjacent highlands of Cordillera mountains. It is a magnificent vision to feast your eyes on and should not be ignored when visiting Baguio.

The main attraction in the early 1970s through the 1980s was tossing coins down the cliff edge where little children find them even through the smallest cracks of the earth below. This later developed into children deftly catching coins very using homemade cups on sticks.

The main attractions in Mines View Park nowadays would be the souvenir and silverworks stores by the park. The park entrance is itself lined with stalls hawking indigenous handicraft including woodcarvings, locally made silver products and jewelry, baskets, brooms, sweaters, blankets, and an assortment of other bits and pieces. There are also food stalls selling food and beverages. There are good bargains at the stores but it is best to check and compare prices before purchasing any items. There is an open parking area right where the stores are located. The souvenirs stalls are proliferating, extending to the sides of Gilbraltar Road and Outlook. In general the wares are the same that can be acquired in the dry goods section of the Baguio City Market, but the assortments here are somewhat better.

To arrive at the observation deck, you need to go down a snaking stone-covered stairway right near the park entrance. Care should be observed when navigating the stairway just after a rainfall, as the steps can be exceptionally slippery. There are several benches at the promontory where you can sit down, have a break and delight in the view. For a few pesos you can rent binoculars to fully relish the view. There are also some professional photographers in the area if you desire to have your picture taken. A visit to the park should also be scheduled earlier in the day, as the view may be obscured when the fog starts rolling in during the afternoons, but this occurs only on certain months of the year.

The Baguio Botanical Garden

The Baguio Botanical Garden is conveniently situated east of Baguio City's downtown area, nestled between Teacher's Camp and the Pacdal Circle. Adjacent to Leonard Wood Road, the main entrance is across Gilberto's Hotel and Baguio Vacation Hotel. It is quite a large park; approximately the same size as Burnham Park.

Previously identified as the Igorot Village, the Botanical Garden features native huts typical of Igorot abodes in the Cordilleras. The village portrays the ethnic spirit and cultural legacy of the Igorots. Being a tranquil and quiet space, it is a nice place to just sit down, relax, meditate and contemplate. It is also a perfect place to take leisurely strolls along its narrow and winding pathways. There are also landscapes where you will find an abundance of indigenous flora.

Igorot dances and rituals are occasionally held in the outdoor stage near the entrance to the village. Next to it are exhibit halls where local artists showcase their unique creations. Local students can usually be found enjoying a day of retreat or just imbibing the outdoors. You will usually find a group of Igorots at the main entrance dressed in authentic native attire.

The Lourdes Grotto

A Lourdes grotto is a replica of the original grotto at Lourdes (a Catholic religious site reputed to have healing properties) or a grotto reverencing Our Lady of Lourdes disparate from the Lourdes site. Such grottoes are called simply "Lourdes grottoes"; others are termed replicas, or as venerating Our Lady of Lourdes.

This particular Lourdes Grotto is a Catholic shrine place of prayer located on Mirador Hill in the western part of Baguio City. Within the grotto resides a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes inscribed with the Latin words "Tota Pulcha Es Maria", meaning "You Are All Beautiful, Mary".

A favored pilgrimage site during Sundays Holy Week (particularly during Holy Thursday and Good Friday) when pilgrims and devotees come to seek the blessing of the Virgin Mary, access to the top of the grotto are either through climbing the 252 steps or by driving a light vehicle through a winding, narrow and steep asphalt-paved road. The devotees who come to the grotto pray and typically light a candle at the altar. There are also merchants at the shrine happy to light a candle and say a prayer for whatever special intentions you may have. An exceptional vista of the city can be enjoyed from the grotto.

Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral

Better known as Baguio Cathedral, Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located at Cathedral Loop, adjacent to Session Road in Baguio City, the Philippines. Individual for its rose-colored exterior, twin spires and traditional stained glass windows, it is one of the most photographed iconic buildings in Baguio City.
 

The cathedral has a distinct pink facade with a rose window and twin square bell towers with pyramidal roofs. It has a view deck that overlooks Session Road and the downtown commercial district of Baguio City within its large courtyard. Pedestrians can easily reach the cathedral from Session Road via a 100-step stone staircase or through the neighboring grounds of Saint Louis University.
 

The location where the cathedral presently stands was a hill referred to as "Kampo" by the Ibaloi people. In 1907, Belgian missionaries from the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae, who named the site Mount Mary, established a Catholic mission. Under the leadership of the then-parish priest, Fr. Florimono Carlu construction on the cathedral itself began in 1920 and was completed by 1936. It was consecrated that year and dedicated to Our Lady of Atonement.