the summer capital of the country - baguio city

many other cities in the country has already bloomed as great tourist capitals but the city of pines remains to carry the title as the summer capital of the Philippines. the city has been the rest and recreational area of the American soldiers way back 1903. developed by the American urban planner Daniel Hudson Burnham under the approval of the former US president Theodore Roosevelt. before the American occupation, the city is known as Kafagway, an Ibaloi village. it was designed for a population of 20,000 but it's current population has already reached 300,000."away from the traffic and snarled city, Baguio is airy and pleasant" as the book Lonely Planet Philippines describes. two of the most significant places would definitely be The Mansion and the John Hay Air Station or now known as Camp John Hay.significant because these were the places where most of the American officials stayed during their vacation. it was not spared during the World War II, where the Mansion was used by the Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita as a headquarters.after the war, it was endorsed to the Philippine government and was then declared as The Mansion or sometimes described as the Malacanang of Baguio. it has a giant gate and is strictly guarded by the military. one can enter the area but only up to the gate entrance part for photo shoot.Camp John Hay or sometimes considered as Club John Hay holds some of the most beautiful structures in the entire city. from old mansion houses to hotels, all elegantly located within the area. one should know that one third of the city is Camp John Hay. very few knew that this was named after John Milton Hay who was an American diplomat, journalist, private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.
the whole camp has 246hectares of century old pine trees, golf course, old camp sites, and jogging areas. it remains a must-visit spot in Baguio.