Ilog Maria Field Trip

One of the things I remember about my childhood is visiting Ilog Maria. I think it was almost 15 years ago when a friend went with us on a Tagaytay roadtrip and showed us this place. 

Ever since we knew about this place, we have fondly been coming back whenever we visit Tagaytay, or whenever we run out of bee-based products. 

This is more of a bee farm that has items for sale, and not a legit commerical shop. The bees can only produce so much each year which is why they don't advertise heavily-- there's no use creating such a demand when you know you won't be able to supply enough. 

And to the curious ones, you can get to this place if you go to the stretch of Aguinaldo highway in Cavite. Even if you're on the highway, it's still not easy to find. It's got a simple wooden signage, and basically if no one's ever brought you there before, it's just really difficult to find, and there's a big chance you'd miss the signage.

A lot of first timers will also probably be scared that upon entering the property, you'd still need to make a three minute drive in woody areas before you actually reach their property.  

Ilog Maria is named after a lake in the depths of the property, and in one of our trips long ago, Violane (the owner), was nice enough to accompany us to see the stream. It's a twenty minute hike from the bee farm, and I'm not sure if they do it regularly anymore. But if you're really curious, I think it's worth asking about. 

The reason why they can't really make this a large scale production is because everything is nature based. To have bees make great honey, you must also have great plants for them to suck nectar from. This is why virtually all the plants in the property have a 'don't pick' sign as these are meant for the bees to feast on. 

They had a bee museum built, but I'm not really sure if it really took flight. I'm not sure if they regularly play videos regarding bees as intended...

This is another thing I remember vividly from my childhood-- their viewing pane. I've always stared at this with fascination at the bees, trying to figure out what they're dancing about.

And well here's what I mean that this is a place that revolves around bees. They have beeswax, bee product based lip balm, candles, oil, soaps, moisturizer, feminine wash, leather balsam, and virtually everything you can think of. Of course, they also sell the usual honey, propolis, royal jelly, and bee pollen. 

Or maybe I was wrong about the revolving around bees part because they actually have quite a lot of pets and lovestock in the property...

This car has the most striking eyes I've ever seen.

I was told that the geese are here to bring luck and scare burglars away.

They're in Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Cavite. They're closed on Mondays so you might like to schedule your trips on other days. They're open in the daytime (like 8am-5pm ish).