Goa trip - Spice Garden !!!

While in Goa, do NOT miss this great opportunity of visiting the biggest spice garden, managed by the professionals with in-depth knowledge of the spices and herbs

The trip itself is like a trip back in time to the Goa of old where life was simple and beautiful.We put our sight-seeing once again headed north, this time towards the ruins of Old Goa. The first building we saw was the church of Bom Jesus. It looks like a relic of the industrial revolution from the outside, but is majestically adorned inside. Across the road is another large Church, where the patron saint of Goa, Saint Xavier’s body lies to this day.Quickly tiring of old musty churches, we decided on seeing something more animate and journeyed into the jungle to try and find a Spice Garden. Just when we thought we were hopelessly lost we came upon our destination, marked by a majestic elephant wandering the car . The garden was not to disappoint. We saw vanilla, cashew, banana, pineapple, cardamon, nutmeg, wild coriander and Peri-Peri chili all growing amongst the swaying palms. I was fascinated by the story of nutmeg trees, which require a male and female of the species to grow alongside each other to produce fruit.

The way into the actual plantation itself from the car park leads over a murky colored river, on a rackety old wooden bridge that at some points misses some wooden planks, so it’s a real challenge getting across! We were greeted with flower garlands and led into a cozy wood and bamboo open air restaurant overlooking the river where we had a nice lunch.

The tour around the plantation was really interesting and I for the first time saw where Pineapples come from, something I had wandered about for years. This is a very successful spice garden that is absolutely organic, no chemicals are used as pesticides or fertilizer. A guide explains the intricacies of growing spices, their uses and he demonstrates the distillation process where the juice of cashew fig is used to make the delectable Goan feni. Guests are welcomed to the restaurant with a ‘bath’ which is a ladle of cold spring water poured down their backs after the tour..

Must watch place !!!