... continuing our experience from '
Dudhsagar Waterfalls'.
While coming back from the waterfalls, most of the guides and locals suggested visiting the Spice Farms as they were on our way back to Goa. At first, we didn't liked the idea as '
Being Indians' we assume to have all the knowledge about spices ...
and this visit proved us wrong!
We reached the place located at
Collem, and inquired about the tour and facility. The entry charge was
INR 400, which included a Tour of the spice farms followed by Lunch. Another attraction here was Elephant Bath for
INR 600 ... couldn't get the full idea about this thing from the ticket counter but definitely sounded something fun!
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| Entry |
The locals welcomed us with garlands at the entrance. This place is mainly famous with European Tourists but there were equal number of Russians too... you will hardly find Indian tourists in here. The guides were able to speak both English and Russian. We were taken to the dining area to have welcome drink (Lemon Tea) and a brief about the tour.
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| Hot Lemon Tea and some munches... |
The tour started with a glimpse of a traditional dance by the locals around Holy Tree of Tulsi.
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| Local women performing a traditional dance... |
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| Holy Tree of 'Tulsi' in the middle |
The Tour
Although we see all kinds of spices everyday, but it was cool to see and learn about the actual trees where the spices are actually being extracted from. It was an interactive tour, our guide asked us to guess the spices by smelling the leaves.
It was also nice to find out about health remedies these spices can provide. These guys have booklets having this information (you can purchase them, or take pics of the book itself.)
Tried to remember all the names, missed a few...
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| Vanilla Leaves (never knew these are the most costly one's out there...) |
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| Pineapple |
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| Kokum Tree |
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| Lemon Grass (was easily able to guess by the scent) |
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| Neem (very important in ayurveda) |
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| Our Guide .. explaining the importance of each spice... |
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| The Gardens... |
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| Black Pepper (see the small bunch of seeds near the trunk...?) |
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| Cashew Seed |
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| Cinnamon (this is extracted from inside of tree's bark) |
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| Aloe Vera... this one's very common in Indian Homes |
The tour was followed by a buffet style lunch, they had both veg and
non-veg offerings but was on a healthy eating theme (pure-veg people
might not find the food too promising).
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| The Dining area |
Elephant Bath
This was one of a kind experience, although we
imagined a lake where the elephant would take u when this 'Elephant
Bath' was described to us, but nevertheless even without it... nothing
stopped the fun!
There is a platform through which you will be
sitting on the elephant and then the elephant will bathe you by
showering you with cold water from his trunk! A total of approx 15 such
showers and the whole experience will leave you amazed and refreshed.
This is not to be missed kind of experience.
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| Amazing shower...!!! |
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| Small water reserve in front of the Elephant |
There are ample of changing rooms where you can change wet clothes.
This was overall a nice experience getting to know the spices and their origins and the refreshing bath... 3-4 hours worth it.
Cheers! +1 if you'd like this post.
