Baguio City: La Trinidad Strawberry Fields

i've always been curious about this strawberry fields whenever any person talks about it coming from Baguio. maybe because i've always associated the fruit to be an american thing.

i remember when i was first told that strawberries are grown in Baguio, i thought it was pretty cool stuff.

many may have been discouraged to go to La Trinidad for its strawberry fields, maybe they are misinformed thinking that since it's outside Baguio then it will take a while to get to the place. well La Trinidad is adjacent to the city so it wouldn't take that long to reach the place. in good traffic, maybe 20 minutes can get you there.

A statue of an Ifugao woman stands guard at the Welcome Arch of La Trinidad, the provincial capital of Benguet Province.



here's the plantation of the Strawberry Fields. i'm not quite sure if this is the only place where they grow the fruit. if it is then it is amazing 'coz it's really not that big a field and yet it may be the place where all the strawberries encountered in this country originates from.



the field is not purely for strawberries. they also grow these colorful flowers which i failed to ask what specie. help anyone?






family photo-op.



how commercialized has this place got? well maybe the sign will give you a hint. but you need not pay, i think it's more of a voluntary thing.


how abundant is the strawberry here in La Trinidad? well, our beloved taho here is in pink. pretty awesome tasting this variety and the manong magtataho will throw in around three berries in your taho for safety measures.


guess what? their dirty ice cream is also in pink.

here we are getting our hands full of the pink stuff. strawberry taho can be enjoyed even in Baguio so you get to enjoy the pink stuff even if you fail to come here at the strawberry fields.


get to enjoy the other varieties of this pink fruit, be it in its natural state, in its processed state as a jam, and for the more adventurous in its alcohol state (wine).


funny how the berries are sold cheaper when it's bought at the stalls than when you pick them up by yourself inside the fields. even the experience has a price. the price difference is about Php100 between the two.


being a tourist spot, all other pasalubong products of the province are in full display here. the brittle, the lengua, crinkles, jackets, broom, phallic ashtrays, trinkets and veggies are also sold here for a one-stop pasalubong experience.

be sure to come here early, around 7am-8am to avoid build up of crowds. make sure to make a u-turn first before parking so that you're faced going back the main road. when the crowd comes in with their vehicles, it will be quite hard for you to maneuver your way back.

when we returned here on our last day at around 11am, traffic stretched all the way to the main road so try to check it out earlier in the morning.

finally i got to experience La Trinidad. we bought a week's supply of the pink fruit and i think i should have bought more. Strawberries has very rich antioxidant properties so if the taste won't win you over, maybe the health benefits will.

Again, La Trinidad is not that far to Baguio so the next time you go up the Summer Capital, be sure to include this place in your itinerary.

the province really has a problem with garbage. hope they'll figure it out soon how to manage it.