Drive and Hike to Mount Sto. Tomas of nearby Baguio
September 04, 2017
School break is about to be over, where we spent 1.5 months of it back home.
This year's Baguio stay is mostly about being with families, discovering food, walking under the pine trees and basking in the rain.
The monsoon rains though quite limited us from getting around. Of course this was what we traded off to the desert heat..
So now, first to share on our nature activities is our drive and hike to Mount Sto. Tomas.
Mount Sto Tomas is known to be home to the two radars visible from most parts of the city (Riane calls it fans as most joke it as Baguio's aircon source). Recently, it has become a tourist destination as La Presa, having been home to a tv series.
As we drove up and reached the radars site, our interest got diverted to the sight of the telecom towers visible across the other mountain peak, on a higher elevation than the radars. We moved further and parked just below the steep slope and began to walk up.
The telecom towers welcomed us one after the other. There was some sort of joy reaching one and we kept walking further. Riane was our sort of break, slowing us down for each flower/ leaf/ bush/ wild berry that caught her fancy and she has to get hold of, after all, these are beautiful things and rare for her to marvel on. This allowed us to rest and recover to keep walking further up
Reaching the top is a prize itself to get a birds eye view of surrounding Baguio on one side, and La Union/ Pangasinan/ and the sea on the other side. There's also the rawness of nature that is still visible along the steep parts of the rocky mountains. There are a few houses, and vegetable gardens too.
By the way, the mountain is now restricted for entry with a checkpoint at the foot manned by DENR and the police. We got to the checkpoint by around 7am, when the police outpost was still locked and unmanned, however, as we slowed down on the make-shift hump, an Uncle who has just along the line in his house clothes tending to his grandchild asked us "Papanan yu?" and the Husband answered "Undavas kami ga, kami nin manpasyal" and he answered "a-ah".. and that started the wonderful drive and hike to Mt Sto Tomas.
A SWEEPING VIEW OF BAGUIO AS SEEN FROM MOUNT STO. TOMAS
Here are photos of Baguio that we took along the road:
While Mount Sto. Tomas is not always in someone else's to go list while Baguio, it is still worth driving up to for some quiet time on a mountain top.
This year's Baguio stay is mostly about being with families, discovering food, walking under the pine trees and basking in the rain.
The monsoon rains though quite limited us from getting around. Of course this was what we traded off to the desert heat..
So now, first to share on our nature activities is our drive and hike to Mount Sto. Tomas.
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| The radars at Mount Sto. Tomas seen from the lower elevations in Baguio City |
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| Where 'La Presa' is, the setting of a tv series |
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| A close look into 'La Presa' |
Mount Sto Tomas is known to be home to the two radars visible from most parts of the city (Riane calls it fans as most joke it as Baguio's aircon source). Recently, it has become a tourist destination as La Presa, having been home to a tv series.
As we drove up and reached the radars site, our interest got diverted to the sight of the telecom towers visible across the other mountain peak, on a higher elevation than the radars. We moved further and parked just below the steep slope and began to walk up.
 |
| Across the other mountain peak, telecom towers at Mount Sto Tomas |
The telecom towers welcomed us one after the other. There was some sort of joy reaching one and we kept walking further. Riane was our sort of break, slowing us down for each flower/ leaf/ bush/ wild berry that caught her fancy and she has to get hold of, after all, these are beautiful things and rare for her to marvel on. This allowed us to rest and recover to keep walking further up
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| Riane is happy with the nature classes, and Lola is happiest getting to hike up. Notice the steep incline of the road. |
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| Road barriers on both sides, with steep slopes below. |
Reaching the top is a prize itself to get a birds eye view of surrounding Baguio on one side, and La Union/ Pangasinan/ and the sea on the other side. There's also the rawness of nature that is still visible along the steep parts of the rocky mountains. There are a few houses, and vegetable gardens too.
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| La Union and Pangasinan and even the sea as seen above Mount Sto Tomas. |
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| A view far below as seen from Mount Sto. Tomas |
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| Riane calls it being part of her nature class. |
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| A magnificent creation: rock mountains at Mount Sto. Tomas. |
By the way, the mountain is now restricted for entry with a checkpoint at the foot manned by DENR and the police. We got to the checkpoint by around 7am, when the police outpost was still locked and unmanned, however, as we slowed down on the make-shift hump, an Uncle who has just along the line in his house clothes tending to his grandchild asked us "Papanan yu?" and the Husband answered "Undavas kami ga, kami nin manpasyal" and he answered "a-ah".. and that started the wonderful drive and hike to Mt Sto Tomas.
A SWEEPING VIEW OF BAGUIO AS SEEN FROM MOUNT STO. TOMAS
Here are photos of Baguio that we took along the road:
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| A bird's eye view of Baguio City taken from Mount Sto Tomas. |
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| A bird's eye view of Baguio City taken from Mount Sto Tomas. |
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| A bird's eye view of Baguio City taken from Mount Sto Tomas |
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| A bird's eye view of Baguio City taken from Mount Sto Tomas. |
1 COMMENTS
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