Baybay City opens enchanting '16,000 Blossoms'

BAYBAY CITY, Leyte, June 15 -- The city government here opened on Wednesday night the "16,000 Blossoms" garden, a major attraction at the city’s Lintaon Peak.

The "16,000 Blossoms" powered by LED lights, is similar to the 10,000 Roses in Cordova, Cebu but the former offers a majestic view of Leyte mountain range and the beautiful sunset of Camotes Sea, according to Alden Escarbate, a blogger residing in Baybay.

“The '16,000 Blossoms' have brown stems with plastic leaves giving life to the artificial plant. The white and red roses are embedded in the grassy meadows,” Escabarte explained, emphasizing the distinction of the site.

Mayor Carmen Cari thanked thousands of local tourists for their support to the project by coming to the opening and took part in the massive promotion of the site through social media.

“A lot of development projects are lined up here for visitors to have more fun experience in Lintaon Peak,” Cari told reporters.

Escabarte is optimistic that the garden will draw thousands of tourists from Leyte and other provinces in the country. “This is new in the city and the very first in region. We are all excited!” Escabarte said.

City tourism officer Josefina Granada said the project was part of the PHP20 million development plan for Lintaon Peak, a priority site for tourism development of the city government.

To ensure safety of the tourists and visitors who want to see and take photos at the "16,000 Blossoms", security personnel will only allow 30 people for a limited time to enter the premise.

Construction of streetlights will also follow for the safety of visitors at night time.

Granada added that putting the garden at Lintaon Peak is a preparation for the construction of an eight-story image of Immaculate Conception of Mary, turning the peak into a pilgrimage site as well.

“Our ultimate goal too here is to make this place as a pilgrimage site because this is very close to St. Anthony de Padua, a very popular pilgrimage site in our city,” Granada said.

Also ongoing in the site are construction of function hall, restaurants, and two view decks to get a better view of the city’s commercial district, Mt. Pangasugan, Camotes Sea, and Cuatro Islas of Leyte.

“But we will only construct minimal facilities here because we don’t want to exploit the place,” Granada added.

Lintaon Peak is one of the highest place in this city surrounded with picturesque valleys, meadows and hills all in high. It is an ideal place to experience the cool breeze, have picnics, and spelunking at Lintaon Cave.

The Peak is located in Pomponan village, a pilgrimage site for devotees of the miraculous icon of St. Anthony of Padua, located around 10 kilometers from the city’s trading center accessible by car and motorcycle.(Roel T. Amazona & Lizbeth Ann A. Abella/PNA)