Baguio City in Northern Philippines has several monikers. From being famously called the country’s “Summer Capital” because it’s a destination where most tourists go during the summer season for its cool climate, to being called the “Cloud-kissed City” because of the seemingly endless clouds hugging and kissing the city early in the morning and late in the afternoon, to being known as the “City of Pines” because pine trees are in abundance in the city.

So it isn’t surprising that most natural and man-made parks in the city are filled with pine trees and pine trails. The past years saw the city developing bamboo trails, with several bamboo plants being planted randomly somewhere.

Did you know that the bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth? Some species of bamboo can grow more than 1 meter per day, which is about 4 cm per hour. Amazing right?

Baguio City as one of the country’s prime destinations boasts an array of man-made and natural spots that are worthy of visiting.

The past 3 years, the city have developed more tourist spots to further entice their visitors and locals alike. And as a local, some of my favorites are those that allows me to commune with nature like these various bamboo trails/parks in our city.

Currently, asice from the well-loved and established Camp John Hay and its pine forest trails, Baguio now have other nature parks /spaces with bamboo sanctuaries (actually, in a stricter sense, just 2 because the other one is just a small portion at an established park). So where can you find these pretty bamboo-lined pathways?

The Bambusetum within the premises of the Saint Xavier Seminary in Liteng, Pacdal Baguio. This is the first developed bamboo park on the city I got to visit just a few days before the pandemic happened in 2020. It really is beautiful and made me wish that we have more of thia kind of park.

Mini bamboo forest at the Mirador Eco-Park. In the middle of the pandemic, the Mirador Eco Park opened its doors to locals offering new beautiful spots to visit and one of these is their own version of a mini Arayashiyama Bamboo forest reminiscent of the one in Japan.

Baguio Botanical Garden. The famed Baguio garden has been closed to the public for quite sometime because they did some renovation and major upgrades so when it finally reopened, everyone were delighted to see so much improvement and beautification that included having a short but lovely bamboo-lined pathway.

Then of course, there is my all-tine favorite jogging-walking trail where I also enjoy doing sone “shinrin yoku” or forest bathing — the Yellow Trail Of Camp John Hay. It’s mostly liner with tall pine trees but their are other verdant foliage that abound the area.

So there, if you are looking for some peace and quiet date with nature and greenery, go and visit these places! Enjoy!