Benguet Province, Philippines

By James Barcelona

Tourist attractions

Ambuklao, Benguet

The province is a major tourist destination in the country,  with most of its tourist spots centered on culture and nature. Baguio City's location within the province provides a boost to the tourism industry of the province. Interesting places in the province include Kennon Road, Binga Dam, strawberry and flower farms in La Trinidad, the Ambuklao Dam in Bokod, and the Palina and Naguey rice terraces in Atok.

Tuba and Tublay hot springs are usually flocked by local tourists from the neighboring provinces. Vegetable terraces can be seen along the Halsema Highway, especially during the growing season, while the mist-covered "Man-asok" River is another destination. Kabayan is known for its centuries-old mummies, while Buguias is visited for its hot springs and the Apo Anno.

Atok Benguet

Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad.

The highland province is known as the "Salad Bowl of the Philippines" because of its huge production of upland vegetables.

Located in the interior of Benguet is the highly urbanized city of Baguio, which is independent of the province.

Dalupirip Hot Spring

Geography

The mountains are the source of several springs and creeks that converge to form several rivers, the major ones which include the Agno, Amburayan, Bued, Bakun, Balili and the Asin. Some of these run through river valleys or gorges.

Several natural lakes, although small in size are found within the hinterlands. The largest are the "Four Lakes" in Kabayan; Lake Bulalacao, Lake Datep-ngapso, Lake Incolos and Lake Tabeyo.

Administrative

The province is bordered by Mountain Province and Ifugao on the northeast, Nueva Vizcaya on the southeast, Pangasinan on the south, La Union on the west, and Ilocos Sur on the northwest.

Hagdan Palayan of Ifugao

Municipalities

Benguet is subdivided into 13 municipalities, all of which belong to a lone legislative district.

The highly urbanized city of Baguio, although independent from Benguet, is located in the interior of the province, surrounded by the municipalities of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan and Tuba. The city used to be part of the province but became independent when the city's charter was enacted in 1909. It is informally considered as part of Benguet, especially in census data, but has a separate legislative district from that of the province.

One of the many waterfalls 
along the river surrounding the 
Ambongdolan Caves of Tublay.

Lake Bulalacao

Inhabitants

The native inhabitants of Benguet province comprise three ethnic groups. Kankanaeys dominate the northwestern municipalities of the province, Ibalois are concentrated on the southeast, and Kalanguyas are mostly found in the east. Migrants from lowland provinces have fused with the local populace to form a melting pot in some areas.

According to the 2000 Philippine census, Kankanaeys comprised 43% of the entire provincial household population at the time, while 29.2% were identified as Ibalois. Resident lowland ethnic groups included Ilocano at 13.4%, Ikalahan at 3.7% and Tagalog at 2.4%.