LOCATION: BAGUIO CITY, PHILIPPINES
The imposing SM City Baguio
SM City Baguio was built on historic Luneta Hill along Upper Session Road. Construction started in 2001 on the former site of the burned Pines Hotel, and the mall opened on November 21, 2003. It was designed to use natural mountain breezes and sunlight instead of standard air conditioning in common areas. A total of 182 trees (including 97 growing Benguet pines, 42 pine saplings, ang 43 Alnus trees) were affected for earth-balling and removal.
My son and I at SM City Baguio
This mall is owned by SM Prime Holdings, one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, which was founded by the family of the late Filipino-Chinese business magnate Henry Sy.
My wife with me on a Baguio City tour
This mall is the 22nd largest shopping mall in the Philippines. At a floor area of 196,000 square meters (2,110,000 square feet), it is the largest shopping complex in the Northern Luzon Region. The entire mall complex stands on a land area of 80,000 square meters (860,000 square feet) on Luneta Hill on top of Session Road overlooking historic Burnham Park and opposite Baguio's City Hall which is situated on a northern hill.
The colorful wall decoration at the mall
The mall features an SM Supermarket on the lower ground level, and four cinemas and Cyberzone on the 3rd level. The Department of Foreign Affairs Consular Office (DFA CO) Baguio, the first and only passport office in the Cordillera Administrative Region, is located at the mall's upper basement level.
SM City Baguio also has Sky Ranch on a 5,500 square meters (59,000 square feet) lot beside the mall, along Rambakan Drive. It opened on November 8, 2018, with numerous attractions such as a Viking ride, a carousel, and a drop tower. One notable attraction is the Baguio Eye which is a 45-meter (148 feet) diameter Ferris wheel that stands 50 meters (160 feet) tall and carrying 24 air-conditioned gondolas.
Other facilities include:
- SM Cyber Baguio, 5 Floors and Houses Foundever, ThoughtFocus, Benguet Laboratories, Krispy Kreme and a Covered Parking Facility. It is located Along Harrison Road (Near Sunshine Park).
- SM Fiesta Strip, 2 Floors and Houses Teleperformance. It is Along Harrison Road (In Front of Sunshine Park0>
- SM Power Station Building, located at the back of SM Cyber Baguio Building 1 and Beside Sky Ranch Baguio.
- North Terrace, which opened of May 20, 2019, located in front of the mall's Supermarket Entrance.
- Carpark Annex, an expanded parking facility with more than 600 slots across five levels, opened on October 16, 2019. The entrance is located along Governor Pack Road.
- Sunset Terraces, with its Lower Ground and Upper Ground levels opened on December 14, 2019 and its 2nd level opened on February 15, 2020.
- The Sky Terrace, the latest attraction at SM opened on October 2, 2020.
Part of the mall's Sky Terrace
The Sky Terrace of the mall is an open-air veranda and dining space located on the mall's third level, which also features sections like the Sunset Terraces and Sky Pods offering panoramic views of the city skyline.
The Sky Terrace of SM City Baguio
DISTANCE AND TRAVEL TIME FROM MANILA
The travel time from the capital city of Manila to Baguio City is typically 4 to 6 hours, depending on traffic, the mode of transport, and your specific departure point. The total driving distance is about 245 to 266 kilometers.
HOW TO GO THERE FROM MANILA
Traveling from Manila to Baguio by public commute is done by taking a direct air-conditioned bus from major terminals in Cubao, Pasay, or Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), with key operators including Victory Liner, Genesis JoyBus, and Pangasinan Solid North. From Manila to Baguio City, it runs via major expressways (NLEX, SCTEX, and TPLEX) combined with mountain ascents like Kennon Road or Marcos Highway. As of this writing the fare ranges from P600 (US$ 9.72) to P1,500 (US$24.31) depending on the bus class.
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