Baguio

Hailed as the ‘City of Pines’ for its sprawling Alpine-esque forestry, the Filipino hill town of Baguio is a patchwork of cultivated valleys and energetic urban centres. Locals love it for the year-round temperate climate that dominates due to a continuing dialectic between high-altitude and the city’s sub-tropical setting, while tourists flock to wander in the maze of post-colonial architecture, explore the rugged mountains and unravel the curious history of this once American town. Don’t leave without experiencing the downtown bustle of Session Road, the city’s main theatre of action and a continuing kaleidoscope of multi-coloured ‘jeepney’ taxis that’s peppered with restaurants and bars, boutiques and big business. Also worth a stop-off is the luxurious Camp John Hay, a US army base-come-country club that’s home to a great 18-hole golf course and top-end camping facilities, and the Mines View Park that offers some magnificent panoramas of the surrounding Benguet Mountains from pride of place above the city. Baguio is relatively easy to reach from Manila and promises a truly unique holiday experience high in the hills of central Luzon.