Don’t ditch your
Baguio plans just yet! Just because the rainy season is upon us doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the Summer Capital’s top tourist destinations. Several
things to do on a rainy day and must visit places in Baguio genuinely make it a top tourist destination, whatever time of the year.
While best spots in Baguio City like their stunning public parks and airy nature reserves reflect its rich culture, it resonates through its indoor venues: museums, heritage centers, bookshops, and food hubs. Indeed, these things to do in Baguio on a rainy day would make any traveler excited and giddy.
Curious where these places are to visit in Baguio during rainy season? Choose a weekend, stock up on sweaters, and read on!
1. Check out indoor galleries at BenCab Museum
Travel Time: 15 to 20-minute drive from Baguio City center
Operating Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Baguio City rests upon columns of culture and humanities, just like the BenCab Museum, a must visit place in Baguio which thrusts the city forward with its local art and heritage exhibitions.
The museum is named after Philippine National Artist Benedicto Cabrera, deemed the master of contemporary Filipino arts, making this as being one of the best spots in Baguio. He has procured and produced the artworks housed within from his many decades of work and travel, definitely a must visit place in Baguio, aside from paintings, artifacts, and implements reflecting the Cordilleran heritage. Upon paying the entrance fee, visitors will be allowed access to the different galleries: gander at artworks inside the BenCab Gallery, Erotica Gallery, the Cordillera Gallery, Philippine Contemporary Art Gallery, Print Gallery, Maestro Gallery, and many other art sections.
Aside from the indoor galleries, this must-visit place in Baguio wouldn’t be complete without a sip of coffee. Café Sabel is also a quaint coffee shop where you can lounge in the afternoon, making it an ideal
place on a rainy day in Baguio. The area also has its organic farm, aviary, duck pond, and a small forest with a trail. This must visit place in Baguio has an open meadow also serves as a venue for events and art shows.
Indeed one of the best spots in Baguio, BenCab Museum brings out Baguio’s best features: rich culture and lush nature!
Travel Time: 20 to 30-minute drive from Baguio City Center
Operating Hours: Monday to Thursday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Where to go in Baguio during rainy season? Combat the cold weather with a cup of hot tsokolate (cocoa drink)! If you want to warm up, there’s a must visit place in Baguio, head straight to
Choco-Late de Batirol within Camp John Hay for that familiar flavor, freshly brewed and harvested from Baguio’s cocoa farms.
Before going to this must visit place in Baguio, here are the sample of some of their sweet delicacies as well, such as bibingka (rice flour cake), suman sa lihiya (rolled rice cake), turon de langka (banana and jackfruit fritters), or their more savory dishes like tocino kalabaw (carabao meat) or tocino pork at this best spot in Baguio, or a bowl of arrozcaldo (rice and chicken porridge) or beef bulalo (beef shanks and marrow). When you go to this must visit place in Baguio, you should try their chocolate in different variations: aside from the traditional blend, they also have a Baguio blend, cinnamon blend, and fruit flavors and fusions like orange, strawberry, and mint plus raspberry. Of course, ordering a cup of tsokolate is already a given, but it’s what you pair it with that counts.
Operating since 1996, this must visit place in Baguio, an unassuming garden restaurant made a business out of the drink that they prepare by hand. They whisk the fresh cocoa paste inside a copper pot called the batirol, until smooth enough to serve, sip, and enjoy amidst the chilly weather at the best spot in Baguio!
Travel Time: 10 to 15-minute drive from Baguio City center
Operating Hours: Daily, 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM
Bookworms have a must visit place in Baguio also: among Mt. Cloud Bookshop's gracious collection of rare reads and volumes.
Ever since opening the shop back in 2010, Mt. Cloud Bookshop in Casa Vallejo along Upper Session Road has stayed faithful to filling its shelves with mostly Filipino titles to promote better readership and champion local authors making it a best place to visit in Baguio during rainy season. This must visit place in Baguio have around a fifth of their titles are foreign, and their Filipiniana collection boasts rare titles from independent, even indigenous, publishing houses that commonly escape mainstream bookstores.
Go ahead and browse through any book before buying—attendants won’t mind. You name it, and this must visit place in Baguio they probably have it: children’s books, fiction and nonfiction, books on science, economics, and humanities, and even Cordilleran titles. For books that aren’t for sale at this best spot in Baguio, you can rent them out for a fee. You can also purchase literary-themed shirts, postcards, and other souvenir stationeries in the store. You can even attend literary events like storytelling sessions, author meet-ups, and even poetry slams if you chance upon them at this must visit place in Baguio.
Travel Time: 10 to 15-minute drive from Baguio City center
Operating Hours: Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Another facet of Baguio’s heritage is featured in their fabric through the clothes and textiles they weave. At Easter Weaving Room in Guisad, is one of the must visit places in Baguio, this age-old practice has lived and thrived as long as the city has existed.
The weaving site is an ideal and best spot in Baguio for your
indoor activity, a school that has stood since Baguio was founded in 1909, and after more than a century, Easter Weaving Room’s business still booms. In time, their business grew to comprise other crafts as well, making it a must visit place in Baguio.
You can watch weavers at work inside the weaving room as decades of traditional hand-weaving practice are passed on and applied. Of course, to help you entertain in Baguio during rainy season you can purchase their finished products: housewares such as placemats, linens, table runners, bed and pillow covers, and wall hangings and outfits such as church vestments, shawls, blouses, vests, barong (formal wear), and native costumes with ethnic designs like the Ifugao tapis (skirt). This must visit place in Baguio also sell woodcarvings, handwoven bags and purses, and various leather, silver, paper, and crocheted products. This eclectic energy at this best spot in Baguio brought it to fame, with its products reaching international patronage through multiple missionaries.
Travel Time: 5 to 10-minute drive from Baguio City Center
Operating Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM
After being razed by fire, Café by the Ruins once again stands tall, this must visit place in Baguio ready to serve its patrons with a renewed sense of hope and that familiar Baguio taste everyone loves.
The memorable restaurant along Shuntug Road has been a favorite among locals since opening in 1988. Now donning a refreshing look and a refurbished interior, Café by the Ruins is back to serving its signatures. Some of the must-tries at this must visit place in Baguio include a cup of their Iced Ruins Coffee, a house blend topped with cinnamon powder and whipped cream, or a bowl of their champorado (sweet chocolate rice porridge) embellished with crunchy dried Espada (scabbard fish).
This best spot in Baguio also have savory viands and soups like their classic
pinikpikan (stew with smoked pork),
kalabasa puree (squash), and breakfast selections, all served with purple Cordilleran mountain rice. You can even bring home a bag of cold cuts, at this
must visit place in Baguio on rainy days such as
embutido (stuffed pork sausage) and
bagnet (deep-fried pork).
Café by the Ruins isn’t just a restaurant but a reminder to always bounce back from a tragedy.
It might be a little colder during the rainy season, but the welcoming hospitality Baguio during rainy season never fails to warm anyone’s heart.
This article was initially published in Yoorekka on June 20, 2019.
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