Let's Go to Baguio (Part 11): Our Family Tour Finale in Botanical Garden

We ended our two-day family tour of Baguio City by visiting the greenest and most forested park of the city. This park is none other than the Botanical Garden.

We went to Botanical Garden after our visit to Wright Park and the Mansion House. Going to the garden is easy since we just rode a jeepney to Botanical Garden from Wright park. We only paid the minimum fare.

We were welcomed by these old ladies in their traditional garb.

Taking any photo with these lolas has a fee. So, I did not take any selfie with them but just contented myself in taking their photo discreetly.

Other visitors had their selfies taken with the lolas. And the background of the photo is the “Botanical Garden” sign that showcases the various rituals of the Igorot people.

There's no entrance fee in Baguio Botanical Garden. 

Baguio Botanical Garden is open daily from 6 AM until 6 PM only.

The Garden of Many Names

Burnham Plan of Baguio as redrawn in the Baguio City Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The big green space at right is the Botanical Garden. The other big green space in the map is the Burnham Park.

The Baguio Botanical Garden was originally envisioned by Daniel Burnham and was included in the original plan of Baguio City. The patch of greens was named as Botanical Garden during the American Period. Since then, the garden had numerous name changes throughout its history.

In the 1970s, the park was called Baguio City Zoological and Botanical Garden because it hosted animals during that period.

During the reign of the president-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the park was renamed as Imelda Park after his wife and first lady Imelda Marcos. After martial law, the park’s name reverted to Botanical Garden. The garden was again renamed as Centennial Park in 2009 as part of the Baguio City's celebration of its centenary.

Some visitors and residents of Baguio also refer to the Botanical Garden as Igorot Village because of the many huts inside the park.

Our Baguio Botanical Garden Experience

Upon entering Botanical Garden, we were welcomed by the scene of big bronze statues of men working together. This artwork harks back to the creation of Baguio as the garden city of the Cordilleras.

The statue was created by Filipino master sculptor Ben-Hur Villanueva and aptly named as “The Builders”. The artwork serves as a remembrance for the early settlers who worked together to build Baguio City. The five statues represent the Igorots, the lowlanders, the Americans, the Japanese, and the Chinese.

Our Little Ones, just like what they did in other Baguio's public parks, ran round and round in the Botanical Garden. They were amazed by the greens that surrounded them.

My wife, on the other hand, was amazed of this green tunnel:

This is a perfect spot for selfies. 

As part of the city's centenary celebration, the city government of Baguio requested its sister cities to sponsor various sceneries inside the park. The result are various spots in Botanical Park that came from around the world, like this replica of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I guess this replica was sponsored by Long Beach (California), which is one of Baguio's sister city in the USA. 

There are other scenes that our children liked in Botanical Garden, such as these swans.

This is a perfect photo spot for couples.

Our favorite scene in Botanical Garden is the life-size statue of a family of elephants. 

The elephant statues are so realistic that my daughter Samantha was so afraid to go near it. 

The elephant statues were erected in 2017 to commemorate the 70 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Thailand. The landmark was realized through the collaboration between Royal Thai Embassy, City Government of Baguio, Philippine-Thai Cultural Organization, and Siam Cement Group.

The Thai government commissioned three Thai artists: Somphong Boonthip, Prasan Prasatketkam and Nitithivat Khantharankha; to create the elephant statues.

The elephant statues is the highlight of our visit to Botanical Garden. We allowed our children some time to marvel at this landmark. It gave them a feeling that they are touching real elephants.

Near the entrance to Baguio Botanical Garden are shops that sell souvenirs, food, and plants. We had a quick look around the place but My Beloved Wife did not buy any. She already got some plants from a shop at Baguio Cathedral.

We visited four public parks during our two-day sojourn around Baguio City. I can say that Baguio Botanical Garden is the second best Baguio public park. The top 1, of course, is Burnham Park. The top 3 is Wright Park. The worst is Mines View Park, which is jokingly called "No Mines,  No View" Park.

If you are planning your tour around Baguio, I highly recommend that you include Botanical Garden in your itinerary.

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This is my last post about our two-day tour of Baguio City. If you want to know more about this beautiful City and our experiences and recommendations, please read my other Baguio City tour blog posts:

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 1): The Family Adventure Begins

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 2): Our AirBnB Experience in Wharton Condominium
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 3): Family Fun in Burnham Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 4): A Refreshing Stop at Baguio Cathedral

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 5): Picking Strawberries in La Trinidad, Benguet
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 6): Underwhelming Experience in Mines View Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 7): A Savory Lunch of Baguio Bulalo at Cinco Antonios Bistro
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 8): Buying Our Favorite Good Shepherd's Ube Jam

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 9): Strolling Right in Wright Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 10): The Mansion House - City of Pines' Most Historical House

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References:

Baguio City Land Use Plan by Baguio City Government

Baguio's Botanical Garden gets new name in GMA News Online

Ben-Hur’s Profile in Arko ni Apo

Family of Thai elephants bared in Botanical Centennial Park in Baguio Midland Courier

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Let's Go to Baguio (Part 10): The Mansion House - City of Pines' Most Historical House

Dan Brown, in one of his books, described Manila as the gates of hell. The early Americans of early 1900s would agree with this description not because of the city's now abject poverty and high crime rate but because of the unbearable humid heat.

The intense heat in Manila motivated the American invaders to look for a place that can be their new colony’s capital during the summer months. The Americans selected Baguio due to its relatively cool temperature and the presence of an already organized town.

The gate of the Mansion House.

William Howard Taft, the first American civil governor of the Philippines, capital of the Philippines, commissioned Daniel Burnham to prepare the plans for Baguio. Part of the plan is the construction of the house for the American governor general. That house is the Mansion House.

The Mansion House is our next destination after having a relaxing stroll among the pines of Wright Park.

The house is just across the road from the reflecting pool of Wright Park. But before we cross the street, I got curious with the strawberry-flavored taho being sold outside Wright Park.

The sweet but not strawberry-licious "strawberry taho" of Baguio.

We were disappointed with the taho. There was not even a hint of strawberry. Maybe I should've opted for the regular taho. Actually, the strawberry ice cream that we bought in Burnham Park is a better strawberry treat than this taho.

The gate of the Mansion House is big and majestic. Of course, there were so many tourists that it was difficult to have a decent selfie at the gate.

The Mansion House was designed by Architect William E. Parsons in accordance to the City Beautiful Movement, which is the architectural philosophy pioneered by Daniel Burnham. Parson used indigenous materials and local architectural style, thus, the Mansion House originally appeared as a "bahay na bato", which was a usual house of affluent families during the Spanish Period.

The original Mansion House of Baguio. Notice the wooden second floor, which made the house look like a "bahay na bato". (Source: Presidential Museum and Library) 

The first floor is made of stone while the second floor is made of wood. Governor General Francis Burton Harrison noted that the rooms were partitioned by sawali walls.

Parson's original design did not last because subsequent governor generals renovated and enlarged the Mansion House. The house was later on damaged during the Second World War.

Old photo of the Mansion House taken from the reflecting pool of Wright Park. (Source: Presidential Museum and Library)

From being the official residence the American governor generals, the Mansion House became the official residence of Philippine presidents. Although, presidents do not stay long in this house. Most only visited the house when they attend the graduation ceremony of the cadets in the Philippine Military Academy.

The president who stayed the longest in the Mansion House is President Jose P. Laurel. Who described his three-month stay as somber and miserable.

Laurel and his ministers were moved to Baguio by the Japanese army when Manila fell to the Americans. They felt that they are in a concentration camp. They were heavily guarded by Japanese soldiers and almost have no food nor clean water to drink. They also had to contend with constant bombing.

There is no entrance fee to the grounds of the Mansion House. Tourists, however, were only allowed in the vicinity of the entrance gate. I believe that tourists will not be allowed to go beyond the gate when the president is in the house. We were lucky then because President Duterte was not in Baguio during our visit.

No one can go up to the Mansion House because the soldiers guarding the house will prevent anyone from doing so. We discovered this when our son Samuel ran toward the restricted area. A soldier accosted us immediately.

Since we cannot go up the Mansion House, we left the place after taking a few photos.

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Read more about our adventures in Baguio City:

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 1): The Family Adventure Begins

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 2): Our AirBnB Experience in Wharton Condominium
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 3): Family Fun in Burnham Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 4): A Refreshing Stop at Baguio Cathedral

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 5): Picking Strawberries in La Trinidad, Benguet
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 6): Underwhelming Experience in Mines View Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 7): A Savory Lunch of Baguio Bulalo at Cinco Antonios Bistro
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 8): Buying Our Favorite Good Shepherd's Ube Jam

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 9): Strolling Right in Wright Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 10): The Mansion House - City of Pines' Most Historical House
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 11): Our Family Tour Finale in Botanical Garden

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References to this post:

Mansion House in Presidential Museum and Library website
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Let's Go to Baguio (Part 7): A Savory Lunch of Baguio Bulalo at Cinco Antonios Bistro

The best thing to do when one is in a cold place is to eat a piping hot soup. And so, after our tour around Mines View Park, My Beloved Wife Lei searched for a place to eat lunch. The sign that she saw just outside the park enticed her taste buds.

BAGUIO BULALO - the sign reads.

Bulalo is one of our comfort dish. We enjoy eating its hot and savory sabaw. Its beef meat, boiled to tender perfection, fills our mouth with yummy goodness. It is always fiesta and unli-rice whenever Mrs. Ahab cook bulalo at home.

Aside from bulalo, we were curious about the taste of Strawberry Sinigang. Then there’s sisig, which is another of our fave dishes. Thus, because of the possible three yummy dishes, we decided to stop for lunch at Cinco Antonios Bistro.

Cinco Antonios Bistro is just a few steps away from the entrance gate of Mines View Park and located on the way to Good Shepherds Convent. It is perfectly located for hungry tourist, like me, who had a exhausting morning trip in the park.

We ordered Baguio Bulalo and chicken sisig.

We waited around 45 minutes before they served the food. It is a quite short time actually. However, we were dining with our kids, who are now hungry and super kulit, thus making 45 minutes feel like forever.

We were so hungry that time that we eat immediately the moment the food reached our table. I was only able to take photo of the sisig.

It was a very good lunch. The Baguio Bulalo and chicken sisig tasted very good. Our little ones also like it and we had little difficulty feeding the picky eaters.

Cinco Antonios Bistro had a good view of the mountains of Baguio, as if you are in Mines View Park’s Observation Deck. Unfortunately, the tables near the overlooking window were all occupied. The restaurant also has a second floor that also has a good overlooking view of the old mines.

We had a very good eat in Cinco Antonios Bistro. We enjoyed the Baguio Bulalo and also the sisig. This place is highly recommend Cinco Antonios Bistro.

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Read more about our adventures in Baguio City:

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 1): The Family Adventure Begins

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 2): Our AirBnB Experience in Wharton Condominium
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 3): Family Fun in Burnham Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 4): A Refreshing Stop at Baguio Cathedral

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 5): Picking Strawberries in La Trinidad, Benguet
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 6): Underwhelming Experience in Mines View Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 7): A Savory Lunch of Baguio Bulalo at Cinco Antonios Bistro
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 8): Buying Our Favorite Good Shepherd's Ube Jam

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 9): Strolling Right in Wright Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 10): The Mansion House - City of Pines' Most Historical House
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 11): Our Family Tour Finale in Botanical Garden

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Let's Go to Baguio (Part 5): Picking Strawberries in La Trinidad, Benguet

After enjoying the serenity and rest provided by Baguio Cathedral, our family continued our tour and decided to go out of Baguio City to pick strawberries. My Beloved Wife, the one who is responsible for our itinerary, thought that the kids would love going to the farm. Also, she wanted to buy fresh strawberries. So, off we go to the town of La Trinidad, which is touted as the strawberry capital of the Philippines.

How to Go to the Strawberry Farm (from Burnham Park or Baguio Cathedral)

From Baguio Cathedral, we walked to Baguio Center Mall where the terminal of jeepneys going to La Trinidad is located. We paid 13 pesos per person and it took us around 45 minutes to reach the entrance to the Strawberry Farm. We easily found the path to Strawberry Farm, not only because I used Google Maps, but also because it is conveniently located across Benguet State University and it has this big sign:

I read in other blogs that jeepneys going Strawberry Farm also pass in front of Baguio City Hall, which is just across the northwest end of Burnham Park.

Jeepneys to Strawberry Farm also pass near two tourist spots, namely, Bell Church and the colorful Stobosa Hillside Homes. I suggest that you go these spots first before proceeding to Strawberry Farm. If you do otherwise then you may be carrying baskets of strawberries and other goodies while you visit these places.

Going back to Baguio City is easy because jeepneys pass along the highway in front of the big sign of La Trinidad Strawberry Farm or just across the Benguet State Unversity.

Our Strawberry Farm Experience

We followed the sign and after a few steps, the kids were surprised and amazed upon seeing the biggest strawberry!

It was so big that the Samuel and Samantha were too afraid to get near it. :-P

Of course we did not pass the opportunity to take selfies with the giant strawberry.

A few steps away is another big strawberries on a "cake".

The strawberry farm is amazing. The plantation of strawberries, lettuce, cabbages, and other veggies extends far beyond what our eyes can see. How I wish that we live near this farm so that we can eat fresh vegetables every day.

Benguet State University developed Strawberry Farm, which is used as a sort of "laboratory" where the best ways to grow strawberries and vegetables are being studied.

Now, the farm is source of livelihood and pride to the people of La Trinidad.

I am glad to know that there is no entrance fee to Strawberry Farm. We were only required to follow these rules while inside the farm: (1) No eating inside [the farm], (2) No entrance fee, and (3) No pets allowed.

Sorry dog and cat owners. Your pets are not allowed inside the strawberry farm. I guess the farmers are enforcing these rules to prevent the dogs from destroying their strawberries and other crops.

The farm is divided in the middle by Sweet Charlie Road. I don’t who he is and why he is considered sweet. Maybe he is the sweet hubby of the farmers here. :-P

Our eyes feasted on fresh vegetables! It was very rare for us to see such freshness.

We have seen green lettuce…

...red lettuce..

...sunflowers…

...and rows upon rows of strawberries!

The best thing to do in La Trinidad Strawberry Farm is to pick strawberries. So, after much consideration and negotiation with a lady farmer, My Beloved Wife allowed our little kids to pick strawberries.

We were told that the strawberries that we picked from the farm costs 450 pesos per kilo. This is much expensive than just buying the strawberries at the stores outside the farm. The lady farmer said that it is more expensive because they already factored in the possible damage that we might inflict to the strawberry plants. The lady farmer gave us a small basket where we can place our harvest.

Before we entered the farm, the lady farmer reminded us to just follow her lead and do our best not to damage the strawberry plants. She also taught us how to choose the ripe strawberry and how to pick it.

The kids very much enjoyed strawberry picking! They almost wanted to pick every red fruit that they saw, including the unripe and the overripe ones. Good thing that the lady farmer is patient with kids and she really helped them in picking the right strawberries. She even carried my little son on her back!

We were lucky because we went to La Trinidad during the strawberry season. I read horror stories of tourists who visited the Strawberry Farm during the Ber months when it is off season for strawberries. They just went their gawking at strawberry plants without any fruit.

My Beloved Wife and the kids filled the small basket in no time. The Little Ones truly enjoyed their strawberry picking experience. My daughter didn’t even want to let go of the basket full of strawberries.

We went out of the farm and then went to the nearby shops.

The shops, of course, sell farm produce. There are loads of strawberries, lettuce, and broccoli. They also sell favorite pasalubong yummies from Baguio like strawberry jam, ube jam, peanut brittle, and lengua de gato. What caught my fancy, however, are the different fruit wines for sale. The vendor humored me and allowed me to taste all the wine that they sell.

They gave me a shot each of rice wine, strawberry wine, blueberry wine, and bugnay. I became tipsy because of so many wines that I drank. Some of the wine that I tasted have strong alcohol content while the others taste sweet and smooth.

I read from PNA that the town of La Trinidad also pride itself as the winemaking center in of the Cordilleras. In fact, they launched the brand La Trinidad as the formal name for strawberry wine that the town produces.

My Beloved Wife bought one bottle of rice wine for 120 pesos. She planned to use it for cooking. I wonder what yummy dishes will she concoct using this wine.

Tips for a Very Good Strawberry Farm Experience

I mentioned that some visitors were disappointed because they went were not able to experience the fun of picking strawberries. Well, you don’t need to feel the same disappointment if you will follow these tips:

1. When is the best time or months to go to La Trinidad Strawberry Farm? I recommend that you visit Strawberry Farm during the strawberry season, which are months of December to February. January, I think, is the best month for strawberry picking because it is right in the middle of the strawberry season. March to November is off season for strawberries and also typhoon season so is a big no no for visiting the farm.

2. Typhoons can also damage the farms in Benguet thus there is a possibility that you cannot pick strawberries even during the strawberry season. My parents and siblings visited La Trinidad Strawberry Farm last December and there were no strawberries. The farmers told them that Typhoon Ompong destroyed their strawberry plants and other crops.

3. Follow the instruction given to you before starting strawberry picking. The farmer will help you distinguish unripe and overripe strawberries.

4. Early morning and late afternoon is the best time to pick strawberries because it is not too hot.

5. Make sure to keep the stem attached to the strawberry so that he fruit will last longer.

6. Strawberries get bruised easily so you should handle them properly.

All in all we had a very good time at the strawberry farm. I also had a good time drinking the authentic fruit wines of La Trinidad. If we will ever go back to Baguio, I will make sure to visit the Strawberry Farm again.

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Read more about our adventures in Baguio City:

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 1): The Family Adventure Begins

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 2): Our AirBnB Experience in Wharton Condominium
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 3): Family Fun in Burnham Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 4): A Refreshing Stop at Baguio Cathedral

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 5): Picking Strawberries in La Trinidad, Benguet
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 6): Underwhelming Experience in Mines View Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 7): A Savory Lunch of Baguio Bulalo at Cinco Antonios Bistro
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 8): Buying Our Favorite Good Shepherd's Ube Jam

Let's Go to Baguio (Part 9): Strolling Right in Wright Park
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 10): The Mansion House - City of Pines' Most Historical House
Let's Go to Baguio (Part 11): Our Family Tour Finale in Botanical Garden

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