BAGUIO, also known as City of Pines or City of Flowers, lies on a plateau 1400m above sea level. It was built by the colonizing Americans as a recreational and administrative centre, from where they could preside over their precious tropical colony without working up too much of a sweat. Baguio is also etched on the Filipino consciousness as the site of one of the country’s worst natural disasters, the earthquake of 16 July 1990, in which hundreds died. Most of the damage was to shanty towns, which have either been cleared or rebuilt.

Although for many visitors it’s little more than a stopping-off point en route to Sagada and the mountain provinces, Baguio, with its pine trees and rolling hills, has a few secrets worth discovering, such as its parks and bohemian cafés, and the climate is a pleasant respite from the searing heat of the south