Side Trip to La Trinidad's Strawberry Farm!

They say your visit to Baguio wouldn't be complete if you didn't get to see the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad.

La Trinidad is known as the Strawberry Capital of the Philippines and is a neighboring municipality of Baguio City. Just about 9km or a 30-minute drive from where we were staying, it was a no-brainer to visit the "infamous" strawberry farm. It would be my first time to see such a place as strawberries are only grown in high-altitude locations.

Knowing that this place usually gets crowded, we scheduled our trip here early in the morning. Seriously, although it wasn't raining I just can't seem to stand the cold. Parking wasn't a problem since there was a huge parking space. Although it was a bit confusing which way to see the farm. There wasn't an entrance fee but there were also no specific signs or directions to go.

It was a huge plantation of strawberries! Some of the locals would come to you and just ask if you want to do "strawberry picking" for the price of Php 400 or $8.00 per kilogram. We politely declined. However, the person we talked to was kind enough to show us where to walk through the farm.

Making our way through some houses and stores, we finally had visuals of La Trinidad's vast strawberry farm. The morning mist covering the far side area added a sweet ambiance to the place. It slowly began to disappear as the sun was making its way into the sky. The mountains surrounding the farm made it all the more captivating.

Although the houses and buildings that are built all over the place made it look commercialized, I still think that agriculture as its center is a huge statement that says agriculture is a vital component to their economy. Visiting this tourist spot and buying the farm produce here helps with the livelihood of the local farmers.

There were only narrow trails to navigate around so imagine if you visit here during peak hours! As we continued our morning walk around the farm, I started looking for the strawberries among the many plants and vegetables also grown there. Some were still green in color, most were ripe, ready to be harvested. We found sunflowers too!

I didn't understand at first why plastic sheetings were draped over the strawberry plants. This was to prevent from the fruits coming in contact with the soil. It also keeps the heat of the sun in and keeps the soil warm.

There were local farmers crouched down and tending to their vegetations. Tourists were now slowly beginning to populate the farm. Most took their time for photographs, others opted to pick strawberries with their kids.

As for us, we enjoyed the short morning sightseeing here in La Trinidad Strawberry Farm. It isn't a place where you need to spend hours unless you opt to do the "strawberry picking" activity. So most of the time, this destination is more likely a side trip to travelers visiting Baguio. But it is truly worth it and remarkable to see a vast plantation of strawberries.

On our way out, I made sure to have a taste of the strawberry ice cream, bought 2 jars of strawberry jam and a bottle of strawberry wine!