Side Trip: Strawberry Farm

Strawberry ice cream in cone. Strawberry sandwich. Fresh fruits. Simply said, “Anything strawberry.” This tag best describes one of the famous places when you are in Benguet Province, and that is, the Strawberry Farm of La Trinidad.

Well, I and my friends initially planned to visit the farm very early in the morning so to see the fog rising and all its romanticism. But nah, the previous day and night had been too exhausting for us that we woke up the following day late. So only an hour before noon that we reached the farm. And unfortunately, the fogs were nowhere to be found and multitudes of visitors already crowded the whole farm. Thanks to the cold climate of the province, it was still cozy and fun.

The entire farm is comprised of several small farms by different farmers and growers. There was no entrance fee getting inside the farms but one must ask permission first. But since there were already too many visitors and the owners were quite busy, we just flowed with the crowd and entered just any farm. LOL.

The farm almost covered an entire valley, and as far as my eyes can see, the farms never ended. The boundaries just kept stretching on as we walked around. Anyway, the municipal hall is just near the entrance to the farm.

Strawberry picking is one of the highlights when you visit the Strawberry Farm. But this does not come cheap. While harvested strawberries cost around P150.00 per kilo, strawberries picked by visitors cost around P300.00 per kilogram. Yup, double the price. I guess it’s because visitors can pick the best strawberries they can see, while harvested ones are just leftovers from these guests. LOL.

 The farms do not only feature strawberries. There are also fresh veggies around, such as several varieties of cabbages and lettuces. My mouth really watered, watching this crunchy leaves dancing around me.

As we are paupers on travel, I and my friends simply enjoyed ourselves watching excited people running around the farms and taking pictures of these sweet fruits and picking them. Everyone was on high (the strawberry aroma must have done it!). And of course, we also did not miss taking our own picture memories of these farms. Selfies and all that!

Well, the  Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad Valley, Benguet is less than 10 km from the center of Baguio City, more or less, a 30-minute from the city. It is a joint venture between the Ibaloi farmers and the Benguet State University (BSU) who made the cultivation and production of disease-free strawberries possible.

So when you are in Baguio City, don’t miss to take this side trip to the Strawberry Farm of La Trinidad. You get to enjoy real strawberries, not only the fresh ones, but also the ice cream (or sandwich or taho and other menus) which contain bits of these sweet berries....