Baguio and the Lion in Kennon Road
Kennon Road was built to connect Kafagway, later on chartered as Baguio City, to the lowlands. According to Filipino architect, author and actor -- and Baguio native -- Ernesto Zarate, his research shows that the Americans started building simultaneously from the top (which is Baguio City) and from the base (in La Union), and found that the two roads would not meet, necessitating a winding road through Bued River Canyon, affectionately referred to as the "Zigzag."
Kennon Road is about 30 kilometers in length and is divided into 'Camps,' signifying the establishment of mining camps by the Americans along the way up to Baguio City, which was originally both a mining town and a recreational facility. Learn more about how it was built and how much it cost via this great article Kennon Road and Baguio by Ernesto Zarate.
Turning right from the Rosario, La Union - Kennon Road Junction, one will enter through a tollgate (fee for cars is Php15.00 ($.30). Marcos Highway is more popular these days as the roads are wider. Marcos Highway has no toll fees.
You will pass through a short stretch of road at Camp 1 with a great view of Bued River to your left and sheets of waterfalls dropping onto the road itself to your right. It's your choice to pass under the natural 'car wash' or not.
A little further on is Twin Peaks (Camp 2) that features Klondikes Hot Springs Resort to your left and further on, Bridal Veil. To swim under most beautiful of Kennon Road waterfalls is such a magnificent experience with clear mountain spring water cascading from a sheer drop into a natural pool.
There are waterfalls visible from the road, and some of them right by Kennon Road at Camps 3 to 5, where your car will be experiencing a steady climb with gentle curves and bends. Clearly visible will be the mountains that have been mined like crazy by the Americans during the colonial period, and even after independence was granted to the Philippines because they retained mining rights over most of the country's treasure troves. While there is lush greenery all around Kennon Road, one will see bald rock faces where all the minerals holding the ground cover and pine trees have disappeared. The temperature though, starts dropping, and dropping further the higher you climb.
Past the two Lion's Heads at Camp 6 are three successive hairpin curves that don't really take a professional driver to navigate, with today's stronger engines and available power steering. These get can tricky though when one is tailing or try to overtake a cumbersome, slow-moving vehicle like a lorry.
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