Eco education in Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary - Azalea Residences Baguio family vacation part 3

March 29, 2014 - This is our first tour around Baguio City, our guide is our friend local resident of Baguio and also a blogger. Our first visit is here at the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary, the name Maryknoll is very familiar and yes..it is related to Miram college in Manila and also this was a school before when it was founded in Baguio during the 1920s. The school was converted into an education venue for students, organizations and people who want to learn more about the environment. The Maryknoll Eco Sanctuary was founded after the 90’s earthquake in Baguio, the founders decided to convert this as a learning ground and to teach the importance of taking care of our environment. The educational eco tour is not just about our catholic faith, but also its about a cosmic journey on how everything was created, how everything is connected to each other and how you can help to make a big difference in this generation.
Love it and save the planet!

It sounded like a camping ground for planeteers, But I totally agree that we should educate our kids about taking care of the environment. I’m glad that they have this in Baguio, I know that eco tourism is now the new trend for tourism, I hope that our tourist and bakasyonista should drop by here. It’s a family oriented venue and kid friendly area…well you have to hold your kids carefully because you’ll be hiking a side of a mountain filled with lots of trees, there’s a trail to guide you for the cosmic journey tour, and some obstacles for the family. It’s a tiring eco tour, but for a PHP 50 entrance fee. I can say that it’s a must visit for eco lovers, the only thing that lack here is a sari sari store hahaha, we got tired during the hike, I suggest your bring some food and beverage.

To read more info about this eco sanctuary, visit their website at http://maryknollecological.weebly.com/about.html

located at
25 North Santo Tomas Road
Campo Sioco, Baguio City, Philippines

here’s my photo story of our eco tour in Maryknoll Eco Sanctuary

Entrance

Leaflet about the eco sanctuary

Maryknoll sisters site

some artworks

wooden rocking chair

restaurant inside the building

Main building of the eco sanctuary

The way to the eco sanctuary. It is located at the other side of the building…on top of the side of the mountain

Our guide, Vincent Tabor of www.lakbaybaguio.com shared to us that he visit this site in the past just to reflect and also meditate. He told us that there’s an entrance fee of PHP 50 per head.

I think the collected fee will be used for maintaining the eco sanctuary.

Okay.. we’re ready…let’s carry our back pack…back pack… Team Wahpinas leads the way.

Each of us were given a copy of a map of the whole eco sanctuary. You won’t get lost here because there’s a trail to follow and lots of signs posted everywhere.

1st stop: Ruins

There’s an aging ruins on top of the mountain… I’m not sure what it is for..but maybe its for a photo op site

Here are our kids! hahahahaha

Mommy Lace and baby Ashton

hello! what can I do for you ??

more ruins….or some kind of wall

cosmic journey starts here.

photo op with nature..
ahhhh the fresh air here is a wow!

Ashton photo op with Team Wahpinas

baby tree surrounded by rocks

Some kind of stone art set up

now its time to learn about the cosmos…. it feels like a National Geographic thing

Lace did a yoga stance in the middle of the Stonehenge area

hello mother nature!! and the mighty sun!

Stonehenge were man made.. others say that it was made by aliens.The original Stonehenge monument is at Wiltshire, England, it is the most popular site in the world.

the one that stands here in Baguio is a replica.

but its still a wow!!! its my first time to stand inside the Stonehenge.

I spotted this cocoon
I’m not sure if it’s a moth or a butterfly. The shield of the cocoon is one awesome kind of art.

The boys are having a break after some walks and climbs around the the eco sanctuary.

More rest area for guest

Lace the tree hugger…

Ashton is at the time were the oceans are created

Now it make senses..the whole eco tour represents some part of the creation of everything in cosmic years.

More nature scenery…

The trail

And here’s the time when dinosaurs roam the Earth

Ashton went hyper when he saw the baby dinosaur

The cosmic years when mammals rule the Earth

its getting cold…..weeee!

The stone trails

Ashton at the rise of the planet of the apes

We saw a set of flowers behind them..but the colors are a bit brownish and the yellowish color of the small flowers are gone after this pic hahaaha

we’re now entering a replica of a tabon cave

inside the cave…

Inside the 2nd cave…. we spotted a hanging coffin.
We usually have this originally in Sagada, but this replica is very real.

Our guide told us that there’s a corpse standing near the coffin, its hard to see inside the dark cave, so I used my camera flash to see the corpse…we went out of the cave quickly after we saw that scary corpse on my photo. hahahaha. I’m not even sure if its real….. as they say..the coffin and corpse are real..

oh man!

here’s the scariest part of the eco sanctuary…

the hanging bridge!!

It’s a narrow, long and high hanging bridge.. we crossed the bridge via batches.
and yeah…it wiggles as you walk over yikes…

The look of mommy Lace and baby Ashton hahahah
both are scared to cross the bridge..I told them it’s the only way.

here’s my view… Lace went ahead of us..and then I carried Ashton when I crossed the hanging bridge.
I told Ashton not to sneeze because the bridge starts to wiggle if there are lots of movements.

Spotted: Team Vivamanilena

check out the height level of the hanging bridge, I think It elevated up to more than 50 feet.

replica of Ifugao house set up at the end of the bridge.
I also spotted a campsite below. I asked if the eco sanctuary is open for camping, then our guide said that that camping grounds are closed.