Baguio Day Tour Experience: Igorot Stone Kingdom and Mirador Heritage and Eco Park

Last Updated on: 14th December 2024, 12:44 pm

Baguio City is more popular now than ever- hundreds of tourists flock to this tourist spot, known as the summer capital of the Philippines. I recently went to Baguio and it’s been 4 years since I’ve been to the city of Pines. During our 4-day stay, I visited Baguio’s newest tourist spots: the Igorot Stone Kingdom and Mirador Heritage and Eco Park. Here’s our day tour experience and I can truly say that it’s definitely worth it!

See also: Baguio Travel Guide

Igorot Stone Kingdom

On our first day, we visited the Igorot Stone Kingdom, right after visiting Burnham Park. I’ve seen this place before on Instagram, and I thought it was pretty cool since it looks like a ruin of a huge castle.

When we arrived there, I was surprised because I didn’t expect the place to be that huge. With an area of 6,000 square meters, the Stone Kingdom is composed of layers of stone-formed structures, which reminds me of Banaue Rice Terraces. There is also a stone-formed castle structure which adds “a kingdom” feel to the place.

This attraction was built by Pio Velasco, which is based on Igorot’s stone laying and his childhood in the Mountain Province. It is rooted in the legend of Sab-angan, an ancient Igorot Kingdom.

Attractions inside the Igorot Stone Kingdom:

There are many attractions inside which showcase the indigenous culture of the Cordilleras. Make sure your cameras/phones are fully charged because there are many IG-worthy spots around.

• Stone Walls Inspired by Batad Rice Terraces

These massive stone walls are built using ‘riprap’, which are stones interlocked to form cement walls. Knowing how these stone walls were built made me appreciate the place more because it’s not just for aesthetics- they were built with so much effort and creativity.

• Different Towers

Aside from the stone walls, there are 3 towers you can visit inside the park. The towers are the fertility tower, the tower of Igorot God Kabunyan, and the towers of Gatan and Bangan. We just took a few pictures here since there are a lot of tourists in the area.

• Modern-day castles, Igorot Gold Mine, Steel Bridge, and Life-Sized Statues

There are modern-day castles you can visit, which are built with cement and hollow blocks. At the top of this modern-day castle are a few food stalls and a store where you can eat and buy souvenirs. There is also a small viewing deck (some areas are still under construction) where you can see the whole Igorot Stone Kingdom. Other attractions are the Igorot Gold Mine, steel bridge, and life-sized statues of Igorots.

• Get Traditional

If you want to immerse more in the Igorot culture, you can rent traditional Igorot costumes and do some picture taking.

How to get here:

From the city proper, take Long-long or Tam-Awan bound jeep from Kayang Street, or you can take a taxi or Grab Car which costs PHP 70.00 to PHP 150.00

Address: #86 Long-Long Road, Pinsao Proper, Baguio City

Entrance Fee and Operating Hours:

Entrance fees are PHP 100.00 for adults, PHP 80.00 for children under 12, and free for toddlers aged three and under. Special discounts are offered to senior citizens and individuals with disabilities.

The park is open every day from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Mirador Heritage and Eco Park

On our 3rd day in Baguio, we visited Mirador Heritage and Eco Park, located at Mirador Hill. This is one of Baguio’s newest attractions, and it’s our first time going here so we had many expectations – and it didn’t disappoint us.

This eco-park is very huge, much larger than the Igorot Stone Kingdom. It is located near the Lourdes Grotto, also a popular tourist spot. As we entered the park, we saw a large red Japanese torii gate, and as much as we wanted to take a picture already, we decided to do it after touring the park because there was a long line of tourists waiting to get their picture taken at the Torri gate. We learned later on that the Torri gate is called the Mirador Peace Memorial, and the hanging bell is made from an unexploded bomb shell found here during World War II.

From the peace memorial, we walked through rock gardens, cute-shaped benches, gazebos, and Ifugao Huts. Of course, we did a lot of picture-taking and took advantage of the weather because it was cloudy that day.

It was cool that many of its attractions are based in Kyoto, Japan so it feels like you’re truly in the land of the rising sun. We rested first in a small hut since we got tired of walking and from our hut, we could see a beautiful view of mountains and houses. It’s a good thing the park has many benches and gazebos for us to take a breather because some of the trails are uphill and there are a lot of stairs too, so prepare for that.

After resting, we continued our tour and saw some vantage points and stone formations, perfect for picture taking.

For our final stop, we finally arrived at the man-made Bamboo Grove attraction, which is based in the world-famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. It’s my first time seeing a bamboo grove park, and it’s the perfect place for us to rest after almost an hour of walking.

We found out right after we left the bamboo grove that the opening near it was the entrance, not the exit, and the opening near the Mirador Peace Memorial where we entered, was the real exit. We realized we hadn’t taken our picture yet in the peace memorial, so we returned there. There was still a long line of tourists, but we waited patiently for our turn and took our pictures quickly. And the wait was worth it!

attractions inside Mirador Heritage and Eco Park:

Below is the complete list of attractions and a map of the park.

How to get here:

• Take a jeep from the city proper at Kayang Street to Lourdes Grotto. The minimum jeepney fare as of this writing is PHP 13.00.
• Another option is taking a taxi/Grab Car going to Mirador Heritage and Eco Park. Taxi fare is PHP 80.00 – PHP 100.00

By Private Car:

• Take Queen of Peace Road or Naguilian Road or Lower Rock Quarry going to Dominican Hill Road.

Entrance Fee and Operating Hours:

• Entrance Fee: ₱100.00 (Children below 12 years old are free)
• Parking Fee: ₱25.00

Mirador Heritage and Eco Park is open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily

Things you need to know before entering Mirador Heritage and Eco Park:

• Pets are not allowed inside the park
• Bringing of food is not allowed. There is a nearby cafe, Cafe Iñigo which is also located on Mirador Hill.

Wrap-up

These 2 newest attractions in Baguio have made it to my favorite places list, and I hope that more parks will be built here instead of commercial buildings and malls.

How about you? Have you been to these 2 newest attractions in Baguio? Comment down your experiences below!

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