Baguio City Adventures: Asin Hot Springs

I spent the whole Christmas break in Baguio City… here’s an account of how I spent my days up there…

Dec 25: 3 days and 2 nights

For this day, my family decided to escape the cool surroundings of Baguio and go to the Asin Hot Springs. These hot springs are sulfur springs which emanate from the long dormant volcano, Mt. Sto. Tomas (Baguio’s highest peak). These springs are said to be hot enough to boil an egg in a few minutes. Some entreprenuers developed pool resorts within the area and this is where we decided to spend Christmas Day.

Since I wanted to burn off all the food I ate for Noche Buena, I decided to run to get there. The area is ~14 kilometers from Baguio so it’s not really that far. Another reason I wanted to run this was that this would be somewhat of a nostalgic run for me, since a few more kilometers from Asin, is where my late grandfather’s farm is located. This is where I spent some of my summers while growing up.

The Route

- entry point (this road is beside the road going to the Lourdes Grotto) -

- my destination -

- a good morning -

- along the road is a woodcarvers’ village where their wares are being sold -

- it was all downhill, from start to finish! -

- where was I going? somewhere in between those mountains -

- Shrine of the Brown Madonna (enshrined within a cave along the road) -

- future target? (the radars of Mt. Sto. Tomas)

When we were kids, my cousins and I would always joke around that travelling to Asin took 3 days and 2 nights. This was because one had to pass through 2 tunnels to get there.

- approaching the 1st tunnel -

- the sign says it all -

- inside the belly of a mountain -

- the longer, darker tunnel 2 -

Finally, after ~14 km of downhill running/jogging/walking, I arrived at the center of Asin.

Asin has 4 resorts, of which Palm Grove and Riverview are the newest, therefore are the better ones with regards to their amenities. They have multiple pools, both for adults and kids, and tables where to eat. They also have cottages for those who want to spend the night there. Entrance fees are affordable (P100) which allows one to swim in any of the pools. In Riverview, table use is free unlike in Palm Grove where tables are rented for P200/day. Bringing of food is allowed, but if you don’t want to bring any, both resorts have restaurants which serve typical resto food (I didn’t get to sample them though as we brought our Noche Buena leftovers )

The area is situated in between mountains and since the area is considerably lower in altitude than in Baguio (Baguio altitude = 1490 m above sea level, Asin altitude = 290 m above sea level), the weather is more akin to the lowlands (meaning hot).

Since I arrived earlier than my family, I decided to run beyond Asin and to reach my grandfather’s farm.

- end of the concrete road -

- rough road all the way! -

- a gigantic house in the middle of nowhere -

- a well shaded route -

- i used to swim in that river -

- the same stone steps laid down by my grandfather more than 50 years ago -

- where I spent a few happy summers -

I didn’t linger too long though since I still had to go back to Asin to meet my family.  My legs and butt were really sore after as I was really tested by that 14 km downhill run I had to do to get here. (Sobra kong napractice and downhill running! hehehe)

All in all, I was able to run ~26 km that day. It was a good relaxing feeling once I got to soak myself in the nicely warm (from the hot springs) pool after all that running.

Family, running, food, relaxation… It was one great day!

(sorry, I don’t have pics of the resorts, my phone ran out of power )