First cherry blossom park in the Philippines is set to open in Benguet.
Filipinos no longer need to go to Japan to witness one of the most beautiful flowers, cherry blossoms, as the first-ever cherry blossom park in the Philippines is set to open at the province of Benguet.
On Monday, around 30 cherry blossoms and other kinds of trees from Japan were planted in Paoy, Atok. It was led by the local officials of Benguet and officials from Japanese Embassy and Japanese prefecture.
According to CNN, the tree planting was done to celebrate the 40th anniversary of sisterhood of ties between Benguet province and Kōchi Prefecture. The trees will also symbolize heroic act of Filipino and Japanese soldiers during the World War II.
More than 100 cherry blossoms, or “Sakura” in Japanese, were planted in November 2015. However, only few survived because they were propagated wrong time of the year.
The Japanese officials initially considered planting the beloved trees at Mt. Pulag. While the climate is more temperate, it was said that the high altitude of the popular mountain is too high for the trees to grow.
In a report by ABS-CBN News, the director of the Department of Tourism (DOT)- Cordillera, Marie Venus Tan, said that the cherry blossom park which will be open to the public will boost the tourism in the province.
The cherry blossom park located in Atok is 2 hours and 30 minutes away from Baguio City.
Meanwhile, the cherry blossom trees are expected to bloom after three years.