Bell Church: Baguio Travel Guide (4.4★)

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Why Bell Church stands out

You smell the incense before you see the gate. It drifts down Bell Church Road ahead of the first archway, a giveaway that you’re close.

The complex sits on a terraced hillside in La Trinidad, Benguet, just a short drive from central Baguio. Unlike the city’s pine-forested parks, this is a compound of red-and-gold pavilions, dragon-carved balustrades, and steep stone stairways stacked one above the other. Locals call it Bell Temple; the name comes from a bronze bell donated decades ago by a Chinese-Filipino community group.

What makes it worth the detour is the layering — you climb past shrine after shrine, each landing giving you a wider view of the valley below.

Getting there

Bell Church is in La Trinidad, technically outside Baguio proper but close enough to feel like an extension of it.

From central Baguio, jeepneys and taxis heading toward La Trinidad pass near Bell Church Road — ask the driver to drop you at the temple turnoff. A taxi from Session Road takes roughly 15-20 minutes depending on traffic through the market area. If you’re renting a car or booking a private van for the strawberry farms, add this as a five-minute detour off the main highway.

What you’ll see inside

The entrance archway sets the tone: red pillars, gold lettering, ceramic dragons coiled along the roofline.

Inside, narrow stairways wind up through multiple shrine levels dedicated to different deities, with incense coils burning in stone urns at each landing. Look for:

• The small lily pond near the lower courtyard, often dotted with koi
• Carved stone lions flanking the main stairway
• Prayer wheels and bell pulls visitors are welcome to use
• Hillside viewpoints near the top tier looking over La Trinidad’s valley

Bring a few coins for the donation boxes — it’s customary, not mandatory, and helps maintain the shrines.

When to go

Mornings work best, before tour groups from Baguio’s city tours start arriving mid-morning. Because it’s a well-known stop on the standard Baguio sightseeing circuit, weekend afternoons can feel crowded on the narrow stairways.

Weather matters more here than at indoor sights. La Trinidad sits in a valley that catches mist and light rain often, so an overcast morning still gives decent photos without the midday glare bouncing off the gold trim.

Plan for 30 to 45 minutes unless you want to sit by the pond and take it slow.

How to visit like a local

Treat Bell Church as a quiet-hours destination, not a group-tour box to check.

• Time it right: arrive close to opening, before the city-tour vans start cycling through late morning.
• Dress modestly: it’s an active place of worship — cover shoulders and avoid loud clothing on the upper shrine levels.
• Keep your voice down near the incense altars; devotees are often there to pray, not pose for photos.
• Pay by cash for parking and any snack stalls near the entrance — small bills, since change can be limited.
• Don’t rush the stairs; they’re steep and uneven in spots, especially after rain.

The mistake most first-timers make is treating this like a five-minute photo-op stop bolted onto a strawberry-farm run. Give it the full loop to the top tier — that’s where the valley view actually opens up, and where the crowds thin out fastest since most visitors stop at the lower courtyard.

Nearby, to round out the trip

Bell Church sits close enough to La Trinidad’s strawberry farms that most visitors combine the two in a single half-day loop out of Baguio.

If you’ve got a driver or a rented car, ask about stringing together Bell Church, the strawberry fields, and one of the valley’s vegetable terraces before heading back into the city for lunch. Baguio’s Session Road and Burnham Park are roughly 20 minutes back south, making this an easy morning add-on rather than a full detour.