A Wild Nesting (Wildernest) In Goa

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

- Marcel Proust (French Novelist and Author)

View of the valley en route to the resorts

Think of a holiday in Goa and the mind immediately renders images of  serene beaches, clear waters, cheap booze(!!), bike rides and wild parties. Never does one imagine hilly terrains, gushing waterfalls, winding roads and wild creatures. However, just like the country that the state resides in, Goa offers much diversity beyond beaches, booze and minerals. Owing to its location between Maharashtra and Karnataka a part of the Western Ghats passes through Goa, providing a biodiversity to the state.

Inside view of the cottages

View from the room

The Western Ghats frame the Eastern and Western borders of Goa, and stretch into Karnataka. Somewhere in the midst of these hills, on a road connecting the capital of Goa - Panaji - to Belgaum in Karnataka lie two secluded natural abodes - Swapnagandha & Wildernest. Nestled 700-800 metres above sea level, these eco friendly resorts are concealed by thick forest covers and offer beautiful views of the forest, valley and a couple of majestic waterfalls. Staying close to nature while offering all the comforts of modern living (except air conditioners) is the key attraction of these mostly word-of-mouth publicised resorts. Guests are logged in to mostly similar looking eco-friendly wooden cottages, with the difference being mostly the view offered from these cottages (one of our rooms had this magnificient view of a pair of 143 mtrs waterfall). While the cottages are eco friendly and made out of wood, they offer enough comfort and amenities for a good stay, with the only exception of an air conditioner.

Snake trapped in our water bottle

The way the cottages are designed provides enough ventilation to cool down guests even in summer with the cool breeze flowing through the valley. Each cottage has large vents on close to the roof as well as around windows. However, given that the cottages are placed in the middle of a forest, the slightest of openings give way to many creeping insects and reptiles. Given that our visit to this nature friendly place was in the monsoon, we were graced by high sighting of many crawlers and creepers. While the smaller ones - leeches, snails, worms etc - were relatively easier to ignore, it were two snakes - a colorful one smashed between the door and its panel of our friend's room and the a slimy black long one out for a stroll in our room - that brought discomfort.

Food is served in earthen pots

The spread is healthy and delicious

The random appearances of the creepers notwithstanding, these resorts offer a pleasant and 'different' experience. The food, for example, was authentic village food, low on calories and high on nutrients. Served in earthen pots, the meals were spread over 5 courses - salads/pickles, soup, vegetables/breads, dal/rice, dessert/fruit.  In keeping the 'fun-factor' of Goa alive, dining area is accompanied with a small bar that serves most liquors from beers to scotch to wines. Apart from lunch and dinner, breakfast is also a wide and delicious spread, while evening tea is mostly accompanied by a plate of pakoras (on request) and some form of bread/rusk/cookies. The two main meals of the day are only served at Wildernest, so guests from Swapnagandha are usually transferred to Wildernest by cars (the places are about a km or two apart).

No clear shot even from reasonably far-off

The infinity pool

En route the waterfall

Given the fact that the place is amidst a forest, there isn't much that one can around here except for the usuals like nature/bird trails and swimming (the bar is thus a real blessing unless you carry your own barrels). However, don't just write off these activities as usual just yet! The swimming pool (again, in Wildernest only), referred to as the infinity pool, is rather fascinating, in that it has boundaries on three sides, while one side just flows into the valley (and hence the name!). The nature trail is also no ordinary; the one that we did was a 6km walk (first in the woods and later jumping over large rocks, sometimes into a stream of fast flowing water) to a waterfall that was (we estimate) around 50 ft. So much was the force of the falling water that not only could we go right up to the waterfall, but we couldn't manage to get a decent shot of the fall even from a reasonably far-off distance owing to the mist. Nevertheless, as they say, the journey is more important than the destination, and that was exactly the case in getting to this gigantic waterfall.


Wildernest offers a rustic yet modern holiday experience for those whole like to be close to nature, away from the chaos and cellular networks (yes...no network in either of the resorts!!). Every effort is made in keeping the place as eco-friendly as possible (so carry powerful torches as the lights are quite dim at night!), and that to me remains the beauty of the place. As for the creepers, while they can be a put off, remember it is you who is encroaching their territory and not vice-versa.