It’s just a short ride but it can make you push your bicycle. Great Wall of Baguio, an emerging local tourist destination in the city of pines, gives you a beautiful panorama of Cordillera mountain range.
Baguio City is known for its gorgeous landscapes and interesting spots. If your cycling around, challenging climbs and chilly descends are expected. This place is a wonderful treat for bikers and we’re excited for more people to bike here when restriction eases and it’s safer to travel.
After finishing our tasks for the day, we got some free time to spare and wanted to see some cool places in this city. We asked the locals because we wanted to go somewhere that’s fairly uncommon to non-Baguio residents but is scenic and relaxed.
A fireman, who happens to be a cyclist too, recommended the “Great Wall of Baguio City.” The name caught our attention and he told us that it’s a new favorite of local bikers.
The Great Wall of Baguio City is basically the Demonstration Mines Road which is easily accessible, just less than a kilometer after crossing Loakan Airport. It is parallel to Kennon Road and it gives you a glimpse of the Bued River and Cordillera mountain range.
The whole stretch that we cycled was roughly 1.3 kilometers of newly cemented two-lane road, with the end of it serving as an “outlook” for people to relax and enjoy the scenery.
This thoroughfare, which is a bypass road that will connect Kennon Road and Loakan Airport, is still under construction. According to the Department of Public Works and Highways, it will be completed in 2023.
Even if it’s still unfinished, it’s definitely usable. Many residents, local tourists and bikers take advantage of the opportunity of enjoying the road and the views before speeding vehicles get to take over in the next few years after its completion.
Is it easy to bike here? Not really, at least based on our experience and ability. Going down to the outlook is pure bliss, the cool Baguio winds touching your face and the smooth new pavement is just awesome. Returning to the airport is another thing. According to route planning app Komoot, there’s a 17% gradient that can be pretty hard for others.
The people that we met in the great wall told us that people, cyclists included, usually go here late afternoon to enjoy the beautiful sunset and avoid the harsh burn from the sun. Sadly, there are less trees because they were cut.
This trip was worth our time and effort and we plan to go back with more friends when the virus situation gets better. It doesn’t look like it’s easing anytime soon but like what an old man recommended, we’re praying harder.
