7 Art Hubs You Have to Visit in Baguio

Baguio isn’t just a place filled with tourist attractions and condominiums for sale. The City of Pines is also identified as a sanctuary for art enthusiasts. If you are a certified aesthete, Baguio is your go-to place.

The Baguio Arts Festival is an event held annually by the Baguio Arts Guild since 1989. The function features visual arts such as photography, film, sculpture and art installations. It also covers the performing arts which include dance, drama, music and poetry reading. The province, indeed, is a cradle of art.

Here are some of the featured places to celebrate and experience Philippine art:

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Ben Cab Museum

Owned by premier artist Benjamin Cabrera, the BenCab Museum highlights the “perfect marriage of art and nature.” The museum houses his paintings, collections of indigenous Cordillera Art and the works of other Filipino masters and contemporary artists. You can also enjoy nature thru its nature-inspired tour. It includes the garden with a duck pond and a mini-forest with an eco-trail.

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Baguio Botanical Garden

Baguio is also loaded with cultural sites. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the area was the enclave of the Igorots. When the Westerners arrived, the natives had a hard time preserving their heritage. The Botanical Garden is a proof of how they preserved their native culture.



The garden is replete with nipa huts, which formed the Igorot Village. There are even exotic floras found in it. It offers a picturesque landscape adorned with cultural ornaments. During the Baguio Art Festival, you can see artists at work where you can even have your portrait done.

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Arko ni Apo

Ben-Hur Villanueva, another mainstay artist in Baguio, was one of the originators of the Baguio Artists Guild. Villanueva was an educator for 30 years at Ateneo de Manila University and believed in the university’s motto “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” (For the greater glory of God and A Man for Others). He personally believes that we should give back what the Lord has given. This was one of the reasons why he built the Art Gallery. He once said that, “Sharing it (his creations) with others is what makes our life more meaningful and blessed.” The museum is free of admission. His masterpieces are of brass, metal, wood and oil. If you’re craving for a profound connection with art and life, the artworks come with Villanueva’s personal endeavors.

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Tam-awan Village

Tam-awan Village showcases the perfect fusion of indigenous aesthetic and Cordilleran craftsmanship. It flaunts the beauty of Ifugao and Kalinga huts that reflects that of a traditional Cordilleran Village. The materials used in constructing the architectural attraction were of cogon, the material used for building traditional houses of the Cordillera Village.

The huts are also available for lodging except for one hut, Bugnay, which serves as a gallery for art enthusiasts.

In Tam-awan Village, you can experience the immersion to art and culture. Yes, you could go for a Baguio condominium for sale, but wouldn’t it be better to experience the province’s culture firsthand?

(choosephilippines.com)

Cinematheque Baguio

The Philippine Cinematheque’s mission is to bring mainstream, independent, classic and contemporary films to Filipinos. This is the country’s first ever archival cinema which is free of admission.

The Cinematheque is also an alternative venue for revolutionary foreign films. It also offers workshops and symposiums on directing, scriptwriting, editing, cinematography and other aspects of filmmaking.

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Woodcarving Village

Woodcarvings are very abundant in Baguio and if you’d like to see a vast area full of Baguio’s best, this village is your go-to place. Sizes vary from small keychains to life-size sculptures.

The carvers are Ifugaos who are born with an unmatched skill for woodcarving. The art of woodcarving has been long practiced by their forefathers. How cool is it that the tradition is passed from one generation to another?

Their knack for woodcarving is the reason why the Village is a tourist attraction. You can witness the carvers start something from scratch and turn it into a magnificent wood work.

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Victor Oteyza Community Art Space (V.O.C.A.S)

The restaurant slash art gallery is a suitable place to feed your mind and fill your stomach. The view and the art space are just some of the best finds in Baguio.

The art space was conceptualized by Kidlat Tahimik, one of the most prominent filmmakers in the country. He assembled the gallery as a tribute to Victor Oteyza, his uncle, and one of “The Thirteen Modernists” who was a prominent figure in ushering Philippine art after the Second World War. It has been a venue where cultural performances take place and art-related events are held.

You could invest your time and money on an expensive trip, or even purchase a Baguio condominium for sale but an “artscapade” provides an experience like no other. “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” –Twyla Tharp.

5 Places in Baguio That Were More than Just Haunted Places

Baguio has been long recognized as the ‘Summer Capital of the Philippines’ but it has also been acknowledged as a place where supernatural occurrences transpire. From the colonization era up until now, a lot of people have died in some of the most popular landmarks in Baguio. These landmarks are not only ‘haunted’ but are also historical.

Before Baguio condos were for sale, these places were their means of lodging:

Diplomat Hotel

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Before being the iconic hotel where headless friars and nuns are lurking, the Diplomat Hotel served as a monastery, school and retreat house. It was established on May 23, 1915. At the peak of World War II in 1941, the place was used by refugees as a hideout from the Japanese forces. The Japanese then found the refugees and bombed the place. It was reconstructed in 1947 with its original framework intact.

As told by The Pinoy Explorer, in 1973, Diplomat Hotels Inc. acquired and renovated the place. Tony Agpaoa, entrepreneur and ‘psychic surgeon,’ managed the hotel. These were the times when Baguio condos for sale were not yet visible. When he died in 1987, the hotel’s operations came to an end.

The Diplomat Hotel shouldn’t only be remembered as a place where headless priests and nuns reside but also as a refuge for those who fought in battles during the Second World War.

Casa Vallejo

(Screenshot from Vimeo.com)

Before Baguio got pervaded by condos for sale, there was Casa Vallejo. It was built by the Americans in 1909. It is also the oldest hotel in Baguio. Casa Vallejo’s original name was Dormitory 4. It was used as a German Prisoner of War Detention Center during the WWI in 1917 and shelter for civil workers when the Americans were developing Baguio as a vacation spot.

In 1923, it was turned into a quaint hotel by Spanish soldier Salvador Vallejo, thus the name Casa Vallejo. What makes it even more remarkable is that it survived the WWII bombings. It was damaged but Vallejo insisted on putting it back together. The hotel has been operating ever since.

Its 107 years of existence is probably the reason why it is identified as a haunted place but more than that, Casa Vallejo is Baguio’s testimony of history and heritage.

Teacher’s Camp

(Wikipedia.org)

Teacher’s camp was founded by William H. Pack and Morgan W. Shuster in 1908. It was a vacation normal school, a place where teachers were trained. Tents were pitched which served as classrooms. From these camping sites, the Americans then built additional facilities and turned the tents into dormitories. Up until now, Teacher’s Camp still serves as a training ground for teachers all over the country. It also offers affordable lodging if you’re trying to avoid an expensive Baguio condo for sale.

There were accounts that claimed Teacher’s Camp was a burial place of the mass killings during the Second World War, but also keep in mind that this place served as a training ground for educators throughout history.

Camp John Hay

(philippines-travel-guide.com)

The open space was first owned by native Mateo Cariño before being turned into Hill Station (now known as Camp John Hay) by Capt. Robert Rudd during the Philippine-American War.

In 1903, US President Theodore Roosevelt designated the place for the US Military Army’s exclusive use. WWII started in 1941 when the Japanese bombed over the Main Gate of Camp John Hay.

The Japanese made use of Camp John Hay at that time as a prison camp for Americans. This served as the headquarters of General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

On September 3, 1945, the Japanese occupation halted with the surrender of General Yamashita. The site was again in the possession of the Americans.

The camp finally came into the hands of the Philippine Government in 1991. It has been a tourist attraction ever since. 

Aside from the ghost sightings and loud wailings that surround the site, Camp John Hay is a significant piece of American history in the Philippines. 

Hyatt Terraces Hotel

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In 1978, Heinrich Maulbecker, a German hotelier and resident manager of Hyatt Bangkok, was tasked by his bosses to check out a property called Baguio Terraces. Maulbecker was sent because his bosses were eyeing the viability of rebranding the establishment. The hotel successfully transitioned into a 5-star Hyatt Hotel. Back in the days, this was the kind of place that vacationers would sojourn to when a Baguio condo was not yet for sale. 

The hotel collapsed on July 16, 1990 when Baguio was struck with an earthquake. According to GMA News, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the area where at least 80 people died. The once high-spirited home of vacationers met a tragedy and was considered as one of the most haunted places in Baguio from that point forward.

More than being popular because of the 1990 Baguio earthquake, Hyatt Terraces Hotel was a pristine and lively place where several families spent their Holidays together.