After an awesome 2 days adventure in Islas de Gigantes, I thought of bringing my (religious) parents to a unique travel destination in Iloilo, Philippines where they get to experience being on a farm, a resort with a leisure park, and a pilgrimage site all in one place! Both of them were pretty excited.
If you haven't been to Iloilo, it's packed with amazing travel destinations that seem to go unnoticed. However, Garinfarm seems to be famous among locals. (And yes, it's spelled that way contrary to what other websites and blogs say). Suggested by a working colleague, I made it a way that it would be included on our itinerary. Situated in the municipal of San Joaquin, about 53km south of Iloilo City, it's a 1.5 hours drive away. We left the city at around 8:00 am so that we would have much time to enjoy the place.
FARM & AGRICULTURE
Entrance to Garinfarm
Arriving at the site, we made our way to the reception to pay the entrance fee of Php 150. Outside food and drinks were not allowed so I was glad we had our breakfast earlier. There was also signage of other activities with fees. At that time, I wasn't aware of the other things one can do here.
Garinfarm is a 14-hectare property and the first section comprises the farm. Vegetables and poultry were everywhere. I got to tell you that the smell of poo from the animals was evident so if one is not keen on that, a golf cart is available to take their guests directly to the resort. However, my parents preferred to check out the vegetation and animals. And they honestly enjoyed it.
The Green Vegetable Tunnel provides access to the different spots where they grow vegetables and where they keep the animals. The management also uses their farm produce for their restaurant or sell it directly to visitors at the place.
A typical Bahay Kubo or "a stilt house indigenous to the Philippines". Source
RESORT AND LEISURE PARK
The second part of this huge property is its resort and leisure park. Its glass-walled rooms were overlooking its park and the rest of Iloilo. There were people riding their pedal boats. Other activities like kayaking, fishing, and use of their swimming pool were available for their guests. We didn't do any of the activities here. It was only a stopover for me and my parents as they wanted to take a break from all the walking. Nonetheless, its leisure park provides a relaxing view to enjoy.
PILGRIMAGE
They have dubbed this Pilgrimage hill - "Heaven on Earth" and you are about to find out why. To get there, one must undertake the 456 steps. At the end of the step was a huge cross. I thought that was it. Nothing more to see but I was wrong. There were people rearing to take the 456 steps but not my parents. I can't blame them. They're getting old. We paid Php 90 for a cart ride up to the hill.
At the foot of the huge cross was a statue of Jesus. Then there were arrows leading us to the "Dark Meditation Tunnel" where one has to go through to get to the other side. They made that tunnel for people to reflect on their "dark, troubled, earthly lives". Unfortunately, it wasn't my time yet to work on my troubled life. Anyways, it was literally a dark tunnel with only small LED lights on the ground to guide us. Along the way, was a small enclosure with a lighted Divine Mercy wall where my dad prayed for a while.
What did we find at the end of the tunnel? Well, just everything in white! The narrow stair was white. The railings were white. Even the ground was white. The life-sized angels on the sides were proudly blowing their trumpets to signify our arrival. We were standing at what was said to be the human version of the "Gates of Heaven".
Passing the gates of heaven, we found ourselves standing in the middle of a heavenly scene where one gets to meet the Divine Trinity. Statues of angels and humans were on the side raising their hands to the Divine. Another gigantic cross was built at the back of the huge Divine Trinity statue. Everything was white just to give people a "heavenly" feel. Dad being goofy asked for a photo taken with him kneeling together with the angels.
What truly is remarkable for this site is the scale of the statues and cross. Painting everything in white was a genius idea too. They also played some heavenly songs to match everything. It was an experience which my parents appreciated and enjoyed. We left the place when their hearts were finally filled.
Just when we thought we would finally do the 456 steps down to the leisure park, I found another path which most people fail to take because its not well seen from the top. This shaded pathway leads to other life-sized statues depicting scenes from the Bible of which mostly involves Jesus. Going through this path was far better than taking the 400+ steps under the scorching heat.
I'm not sure how many hours we stayed there but Garinfarm is open until 5:00 pm. As we reached the entrance, we hurriedly left as our hungry tummies were already growling.
So, is Garinfarm worth visiting? Well, yes for a day trip. It's best for religious people who wants to do a pilgrimage and for families who just wants a quick get away from the city. Anyways, thanks for reaching it this far! Talk to you on my next blog!
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