FEATURE Healing Pleasures of Asin Hot Springs By Ed Maranan Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:51:00 10/12/2008
MANILA, Philippines - I remember a winding road and two dark tunnels, then a pool of steaming water. This was 50 years ago, my first time ever at the Asin Hot Springs. I was back there recently, only for the second time in my life, and it was like rediscovering a place which belongs to the happier part of childhood memories.
For a reprieve from Baguio's cold and sometimes close to freezing climate, Asin in Tuba, Benguet—just about a half-hour drive from the city center—offers an alternative to going all the way down to the beaches of La Union and Pangasinan. Asin Hot Springs is where tropical vegetation meets highland forest, and sulphuric water gushes endlessly, even during the driest months, from underground vents deep in the mountains and foothills of the southern Cordillera.
Asin is a sitio in the barrio of Nangalisan, in the town of Tuba, Benguet, which lies just outside Baguio's city limits. It is in fact just 16 kilometers from Kayang Street above the city market, where tourists and vacationists can board Asin-bound jeepneys charging about P20 for the journey.
The Asin Hot Springs, whose development began in the 1930s, are actually a complex of several old and new resorts, the newest being the well-appointed, reasonably priced Palm Grove Hot Springs & Mountain Resort managed by Ibaloi entrepreneur Greg Loy. The resort's main attractions are its series of swimming pools, various fruit trees and landscaped gardens, and such facilities as a traditional bathhouse, outdoor Jacuzzi and family cottages. There’s also a panoramic view of surrounding mountains and foothills.
“Bathing in hot springs and mineral waters,” the resort’s brochure claims, “have, since the 19th century, been known to do wonders for the mind, body and soul.” Indeed, the spa tradition in the Philippines probably even goes further back in our colonial era, with places like Pansol in Los Bańos attracting our forebears who needed not only relaxation but the healing of assorted physical illnesses. As the brochure tells it, “hot springs and natural minerals like sulfates, calcium and chloride serve therapeutic and regenerative purposes (and) have been proven to improve blood circulation, cleanse skin pores and provide relief from exhaustion, arthritis, rheumatism, neuralgia and rashes.”
That should convince legions of senior citizens to hie off to Asin Hot Springs any time of the year although the peak season begins in November right up to April and May.
Clustered near this resort are the much older and more traditional hot springs facilities, among them the Sulphuric Swimming Pools right across the road and another well-developed resort called the Riverview Waterpark at Km. 15 on Asin Road. Thus, the complex of Asin Hot Springs caters to all sorts of expectations and budgets, and should be able to handle the growing number of visitors to the site.
But that’s not all. The sights along the gently winding road going down to Asin are already worth the fare. At the city limits are the houses of woodcarvers with their traditional representations of Cordillera hunters and warriors, and the stylized hardwood and driftwood furniture of more recent vintage. Further down the road are densely forested mountains, where cascades gurgle down between massive rocks and spill headlong into the river below that wends its way to the China Sea.
Stretches of Asin Road have been cemented, and a new steel bridge built in place of the old battered wooden original meant for the lighter traffic of another age. The main attraction on this road are the two tunnels-about a hundred meters and 200 meters in length respectively—which were dug into the mountainside in the 1850s, with the labor of the colonial government’s prisoners. There are no supporting beams or girders, and the road inside is permanently wet because of water dripping from the tunnels’ ceiling, adding to its dramatic atmosphere. A close study made right after the Baguio earthquake of 1990 showed that the tunnels did not suffer any crack at all, attesting to their worthiness.
We stopped at both ends of the tunnels to better appreciate these man-made wonders. There was some comfort at the thought that the light at the other end was so visible and bright. For a Baguio resident like myself, visiting Asin only twice in more than six decades is a serious case of negligence, oversight, or worse. I swore to come back soon, with son, nephews, nieces and other relatives in tow.
For inquiries on Palm Grove Hot Springs & Mountain Resort, contact 0918-800-0888, or 074-446-5758, or email palmgroveresort@ yahoo.com.
Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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