Baguio

Lore & Background

Baguio was originally an Ibaloi village called Kafagway, a hunting ground for indigenous peoples. The name Baguio derives from the Ibaloi word bagiw (moss), Hispanicized by the Spanish. During Spanish rule, Kafagway was a minor rancheria of about 20 houses, with lands owned by chieftain Mateo Cariño. Under American rule, Baguio was selected as the summer capital of the Philippine Islands. Army reservation. The Japanese used Camp John Hay as a military base and Camp Holmes as an internment camp. General Tomoyuki Yamashita formally surrendered at the residence of the U.S.

Reader's Guide

Baguio holds significance as the only hill station established by the United States in Asia, serving as a cool retreat from lowland heat. Its role as the summer capital of the Philippines from the American period onward shaped its development as a center of government, education, and commerce in northern Luzon. The city's planning by Daniel Burnham introduced City Beautiful principles to the Philippines, influencing its layout with parks like Burnham Park and Wright Park. Its history includes the displacement of Ibaloi landowners during American colonization and heavy destruction during World War II, followed by rapid recovery. Today, Baguio remains a major tourist destination and educational hub, with its annual arts festival named Ibagiw reflecting its indigenous roots.

Did You Know?

• Baguio was originally an Ibaloi village called Kafagway; the name Baguio itself comes from the Ibaloi word 'bagiw,' meaning moss.
• While Baguio is a famous American-era hill station, it was not the only one established by the United States in Asia.

Indigenous Roots & the Name Baguio

The land now known as Baguio was long home to the Ibaloi and other Igorot peoples, who called the area Kafagway—a wide grassy expanse where present-day Burnham Park sits. Long before colonial contact, the highlands were a vast hunting ground teeming with Philippine eagles, warty pigs, cloud rats, and indigenous deer. Their son Baruy reportedly discovered a gold deposit and developed it with hired laborers. The Ibaloi word bagiw, meaning moss, was Hispanicized into Baguio during the American period, and from it sprang the demonym Ibagiw and the city's annual arts festival.

The American Hill Station Experiment

The U.S. Parsons based on Burnham's preliminary plans, became the summer residence of the American Governor-General.

A Climate That Defined a City

Perched at roughly 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level, Baguio occupies the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion, a setting that produces a cool climate sharply contrasting with the sweltering Philippine lowlands. This temperature advantage earned the city its enduring nickname, the Summer Capital of the Philippines. The same highland environment supports a distinctive botanical community of mossy plants, orchids, and pine trees, giving rise to the second moniker, the City of Pines. The abundance of moss in the area is in fact the linguistic root of the city's very name, drawn from the Ibaloi word bagiw. The cool, moist conditions that favor these species also shaped the city's early identity as a colonial retreat designed for escape from Manila's heat. Even today, the climate remains central to Baguio's appeal and its role as a seasonal destination, distinguishing it from virtually every other urban center in the archipelago.

Modern Baguio: Governance, Growth & Regional Power

Today, Baguio stands as a highly urbanized city and the administrative seat of the Cordillera Administrative Region, the most populous city in that jurisdiction. Functioning as the commercial, business, and educational hub of northern Luzon, the city anchors the region's economic and governmental life. Its residents, called Ibagiw, gather each year for the city's arts festival—a tradition whose name, like the city itself, traces back to the Ibaloi word for moss.