Bag-iw: Roots of a Highland Haven

Before it was Baguio, it was Bag-iw – a moss – draped cradle where the Ibaloi lived in rhythm with the mountains. Their chants rose with the wind, their gongs thundered though the valleys, and their woven cloth carried the colors of the earth and sky.

In the early 1900s, enchanted by its cool breath, the Americans carved roads, plazas, and gardens into this highland sanctuary. On September 1, 1909, Baguio was chartered – a city born of converging spirits: indigenous soul, flourishing nature, and colonial design entwined.

It became the City of Pines, guarded by evergreens whose fragrance lingers like memory. It became the City that Touches the Sky, where dawn gilds the ridges, and where sunset blaze like fire, mirrored in the heavens.

Mesmerizing Baguio endures not merely as a city, but as a hymn of resilience – an eternal highland haven where nature whispers, culture breathes, and history rises to embrace the sky