Mt. Camisong Forest Park offers nature, art, and elevated dining near Baguio
While Burnham Park, Mines View, and the Botanical Garden are classics, Baguio and its surrounding areas offer incredible, less-crowded experiences.
Mt. Camisong Forest Park and Events is a new ecotourism park near the City of Pines that helps people reconnect with nature. The park offers world-class facilities and premium experiences, including showcasing local art in its nature trails and dining experiences.
Located in Loacan, Itogon, less than an hour’s drive from the downtown area, the ecotourism park is an ideal day trip destination for those staying in Baguio City. Visitors can stroll through tranquil and uncrowded trails, get uninterrupted mountain views from the park’s famed glass walkway, and enjoy elevated dining options, and enjoy all within the 10-hectare space.
As an eco-tourism destination, Mt. Camisong prioritizes a connection with nature. While walking around the trails, we learned from park rangers that only a few trees were cut when the park was designed, while the walkways were designed around the existing landscape.
The park’s commitment to sustainability is woven into the dining experience as well. Many of the ingredients used in their restaurants are homegrown or sourced locally from Benguet farmers in an effort to minimize waste. Every ingredient is fresh, seasonal, and ethically sourced.
“We wanted to show that we can actually develop a place like this, where we worked around the trees. We built around the trees. It’s not cheap to make it sustainable. But for us, it was something we were willing to invest in from the start,” said Ludette Querubin, Chairman of Mt. Camisong Property Management, Inc.
Over a festive spread of holiday classics, the chairman shared details on how the park was built with respect for nature and some of the park’s ongoing sustainability initiatives.
According to Querubin, the structures were painted in dark colors to blend with the environment, not dominate it. The park also discourages the use of single-use plastics, practices composting, has a proper sewage treatment plant, and utilizes solar energy, among other eco-friendly practices. They encourage visitors to bring their own tumblers and provide hydration stations for visitors to refill drinks.
Breathtaking scenery
The main draw of Mt. Camisong Forest Park is its breathtaking panoramic vistas. The Alapaap Viewing Deck glass walkway is a crowd favorite among visitors. The glass-floored skywalk, perched 65 feet above the ground, draws long lines for its unique vantage point of pine-clad forests and Cordilleran mountainscapes.
But beyond the glasswalk, Mt. Camisong has other spots with equally stunning views and activities. The Marahuyo Viewing Deck offers multi-level decks where visitors can likewise enjoy sweeping views and snacks from nearby cafes. The Dagitab Amphitheater, on the other hand, is an intimate outdoor venue for hosting performances from local musicians and artists.
Kids can explore the all-wood playground and play with installations scattered under the trees. The Kalupi Gift Shop, a charming glass house filled with premium plant-related merchandise, hiking essentials, and botanical gifts, is a perfect stop for plantitos and plantitas. Meanwhile, those who want to get their steps in can pick from easy, moderate, or daring hiking routes and discover hidden gems as they explore the trails at their own pace.
The Samyo elevated tree walk lets visitors stroll peacefully through towering pine trees, while private picnic spots for lounging and relaxing can be found all around.
Comfort and accessibility are taken into account. E-shuttles conveniently loop around the property to minimize walking up steep sections and give visitors easier access to scenic spots, ideal for those traveling with kids and seniors. Even the restrooms and public toilets, which are fitted with floating mirrors inside, allow guests to enjoy the scenery when nature literally calls.
Artistic escape
With Baguio City being named a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, Mt. Camisong aims to serve as a venue for local artists through various platforms. The sprawling nature park serves as a playground and venue for local artists and microentrepreneurs to showcase their work through pop-up bazaars featuring artisanal and locally made products and outdoor exhibits.
The ongoing outdoor exhibit “Mga Hibla ni Michelle Camolo” invites visitors to hunt for artwork—which is all for sale—while walking around the park. Visitors can spot intricate wire sculptures of tiny bird sculptures hanging from tree branches, figures scrambling up tree branches, and adorning the railings and displayed around the gardens.
Elevated dining options
Mt. Camisong also offers several curated dining options. For casual dining, the al fresco Marahuyo Café serves comfort Filipino food, like signature rice bowls and hearty snacks, while the Muni-Muni Food Hall offers carefully selected dishes from top concessionaires.
For special celebrations, there’s Alapaap Dining, an intimate all-glass restaurant surrounded by refreshing pine tree forests, nature trails, and lush mountain views right underneath the glass walkway. In line with the holiday season, Alapaap launched two special menus that showcase local arts and flavors: the Ibagiw 2025 Tasting Menu and the Holiday Set Menu.
According to Chef Stan Suva, they make an effort to minimize food waste when preparing their dishes as part of the park’s commitment to sustainability.
On the sidelines of the menu launch, the chef told L!fe that one of the restaurant’s regular menu offerings is a Strawberry Cansi (a sour beef broth, batwan fruits, and strawberry). Since sweet strawberries are more in demand for desserts, the underripe or sour strawberries are utilized as a souring agent for the soup.
Ibagiw 2025 Tasting Menu
The special Ibagiw 2025 Tasting Menu, hosted by Chef Stan, playfully reimagines Filipino dishes. All the dishes are inspired by the local artists Cara Bruno, Francis Alingcayon, and Michelle Camolo, whose work can be found adorning the dining space and around Mt. Camisong’s nature trails.
For starters, we had Pagsibol: Kilawin in Bloom, featuring fresh tuna marinated in citrus, vinegar, and coconut milk, garnished with edible petals and microgreens, a reflection of Cara Bruno’s lush florals.
The main course, Tadhana: Convergence of Canvas & Craft, was a hearty serving of smoked local pork ribs served with a duo of adobo and pares sauces, inspired by the work of Bruno and Francis Alingcayon, a contemporary surrealist artist from Bontoc, Mountain Province.
Dessert was a dreamy dish aptly named Walang Hanggan: Eternal Layers of Strawberry Mascarpone & Dreamscape. The elegant plate of strawberry mascarpone mousse, macerated berries, and freeze-dried flakes also took inspiration from Alingcayon’s abstract and imaginative artwork.
The special drink Maharlika ng Alapaap was inspired by the intricate wire sculptures of Mt. Camisong’s in-house artist, Michelle Camolo. Made from foraged grapes and apples topped with cloud-like bubbles, the drink was light, sparkling, and whimsical, just like Camolo’s sculptures of birds in flight and figures in motion.
The Ibagiw Tasting Menu is priced at P2,400 (good for 2 persons) and will be available for a limited time only.
Holiday Set Menu
Meanwhile, the Holiday Set Menu, priced at P4,800 (good for 4 persons) or P2,500 (good for 2 persons), is ideal for families and groups seeking an elevated feast surrounded by nature. For starters, there’s Kinuday Clam Chowder, a hearty soup dish packed with fresh clams and the traditional Cordilleran smoked meat instead of bacon. Next was Chicken Liver Pate with Batard and Caramelized Baked Onion.
The menu has three mains, meant for sharing family-style. First up was Smoked Pompano with Wakame Salad, a fusion of Filipino and Japanese techniques, which turned out to be a crowd favorite.
This was followed by a flavor-packed Seafood Bringhe, a Filipino-style paella with an overload of prawns, squid, mussels, coconut milk, and turmeric rice, packed in a banana leaf, meant to be unwrapped like a present.
Next was Roasted Chicken and Orange Watercress Salad, for a true Christmas feast vibe.
The filling meal was capped with two desserts. The Ube Maja Blanca was a light coconut pudding with coconut cream, toasted latik (coconut curds), and ube. Lastly, we had slices of Pinoy Fruit Cake, made with rum, dried fruits, and nuts for the classic holiday flavor.
More than just a scenic sightseeing spot and dining destination, Mt. Camisong Forest Park aims to encourage more people to spend time in nature and serve as a model for responsible development.
“It’s a chance for us to educate visitors. We want to be the benchmark - at least for mountain parks, forest parks [and show] that it can be commercial, but still be sustainable,” said Querubin.
Mt. Camisong Forest Park is located at Sitio Peday, Brgy. Loacan, Itogon, Benguet. It’s open from Monday to Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For reservations at Alapaap Dining, call/message or Viber 0917 162 9479 or email alapaapdining@mtcamsing.com.