No Juan Is An Island

Quick Facts: Strawberry: Fragaria ananassa of the Family Rosaceae. Strawberry is an excellent source of Vitamin C, manganese and essential unsaturated fatty acids.

Located about three kilometers from Baguio City proper is the La Trinidad Valley – the home of the famous strawberry farms in the Philippines. Hence, the moniker “Strawberry Capital of the Philippines” was given.

Visitors who flock their way to Baguio City would most of the time have strawberry picking in their list of “must-do”. This distinctive experience is done alongside the Ibaloi farmers of Benguet, and is indeed a fun activity to do and share with loved ones and friends.

So when you go to La Trinidad (its best to come during the months of December to April), keep the following things in mind. Every visitor must register first in the logbook for tracking purposes. Note that the cost of strawberry picking may be a bit pricier than those that are bought in the market. It is usually twice the cost of just buying from the marketplace. Why? This is a way of compensating for the possible damages that some pickers incur during the act of selecting their strawberries.

Walking through the strawberry fields and being able to choose the freshest fruits is certainly an experience to be happy about. Moreover, it gives us a viewpoint on how real farming is. Totally different whenever one plays Farmville! Hahaha…

How to Get to Strawberry Farm:

From Manila, take a bus that is bound for Baguio City. Once in Baguio, you may opt to take a taxi (the easiest way) and just tell the driver to take you to Strawberry Farm. It will cost you around a hundred or more depending on the traffic. If you opt to take the jeepney, make you way to the terminal of jeepneys with a “Buyagan” signage. The terminal is located at the foot of Baguio City. Tell the driver to let you off at the Strawberry Farm (you’ll see a signboard along the road) , cross the road and walk the rest of the way as it’s not that far from the main road.

The Strawberry Farm of La Trinidad is under the management of Benguet State University.

Don’t be a wasted soul, be ‘juan’derlust. Take it easy ebri’juan’.