General Information about Baguio

Baguio is a tiny mountain resort town with a big reputation. It is gifted with a variety of cultural, historical and scenic attractions that make it an important and interesting destination, favorited by local and foreign tourists, whole families on vacation, honeymoon couples and large convention groups.

Boasting great natural beauty, chilly weather, a tourist-friendly people and extraordinary vistas, the City of Pines is the culmination of your search for the idyllic escape from the tropical heat of the Philippine lowlands.
 

Baguio City occupies about 57 square kilometers of hilly land about 1,524 meters high in the southwestern portion of the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon in the Philippines. It is completely surrounded by the province of Benguet, which Baguio used to be a town of before being made into an independent city. It is bordered by the municility of Tuba to the south and west, by Itogon to the east and to the north by Benguet's capital, La Trinidad.

The average temperature is from 15-26˚C, and it can drop down to 8˚C from December to early February. The weather follows the typical Philippines' seasons: Dry Season from October to May and the Wet Season from June to September.

In general, Baguio is 8˚ cooler any month compared to any place in the Philippine lowlands. When Manila heats up at at 35˚C, Baguio seldom exceeds 26˚C at its warmest. The lowest temperature reading made was 6.27˚C, recorded in January 18, 1961. Recently, on January 29, 2007, the temperature dropped to a chilly 7˚C.

Baguio can get pretty damp and foggy during the Philippines' rainy season, with the largest amount of rainfall in the country, due to the high altitude and the heavily forested areas of the Cordillera mountain range. The record for the heaviest volume of rainfall occurred in July 1927 when it measured 4.77 meters.

In November, wild sunflowers appear on the hillsides signaling the end of the rainy season, and Baguio becomes a tropical paradise until May. Christmas season is when it glows with the nippy wintry air, and coats, hats and scarves are the outfits of choice.

Baguio City probably has the largest number of visitor attractions clustered in a relatively small area compared to other tourist destinations in the Philippines.

The most popular tourist attractions are located near each other, on the East and South sides, although there are a few near the residential areas.

Just 8.2 km from east to west and 7.2 km from north to south and with inexpensive public transportation available, it is one of the easiest places to explore.


Tourist Attractions