A trip to the Tropical Spice Plantation in Goa
Q. Did you know which is the King of Spice ?
A. It is Pepper .
Q. Did you know which is the Queen of Spice ?
A. Green Cardamom is the Queen of spice .
During my last visit to Goa , I missed visiting the Tropical Spice PlantationSpices have long been a part of the Indian way of life not just because they impart rich flavor and fragrance to our food but also for their medicinal values and how can we forget that it was the lure of these spices that brought the colonial rule to India .
Parking - The parking is free , they do note down the number of your vehicle .
Entry Fee - When we went there, we were charged Rs 400 per head that included a tour of the Spice Plantation and Lunch Buffet . Children below 5 years are given free entry.A short wooden bridge connected the tropical spice garden to the ticket counter which itself was thrilling for my kids .There were some ducks and geese waddling around which my son really enjoyed watching.
The Welcome - We were given a warm welcome with traditional Tilak and showering of flowers petals at the entrance .Once inside, we were seated in the large waiting hall cum dining hall and served warm and fresh lemongrass tea till our tour guide arrived .
Our tour guide arrived 5 minutes later ,she was a young lady who also spoke fluent Russian ,since this plantation attracts a lot of foreign nationals , the guides are multilingual. She took our group of ten people for a 45 minute tour of the spice garden.
She showed us Betel nut or Areca Nut Palms (सुपारी in Hindi ) and explained the use in Indian households as well as the medicinal values of the betel nut.It was a revelation for me , as I had no idea that these small nuts grew on such tall trees.She also gave us the Areca fruit to see closely.
Other spices and their mother plants that we got to see were the Green cardamom , The black cardamoms ,The All spice ,The Nutmeg tree, The Ocimum sanctum plant (Tulsi) , The Neem (Azadirachta ) tree, The Curry leaf tree, Bayleaf ,The Fennel Plants , The Vanilla Creepers ,The Peppercorn tree , the Cinnamon Tree and the Clove tree besides some common trees like Mango,Coconut and some ornamental trees that are indigenous to Goa .
After the 45 minute spice plantation tour ,our tour guide also showed us how the natives made Feni - a local alcoholic brew made from fermenting the cashew apple juice .
At the end of the tour she asked us if we wanted to have a bath with a relaxing medicinal mixture.This was a watery liquid which she poured down our spine.The liquid caused a tingling and hot and cool sensation and thus made the muscles relax .It definitely helped but also made us wet !
For non vegetarians , there was a dry Prawn curry and Chicken Xacuti with steamed rice.
The food was fresh, hot ,lightly spiced and easy on the stomach. While we were eating, our guide asked us if wanted to try the Feni ( Goan alcoholic drink made from Cashew apples) and gave us small samples to try.
Do visit it whenever you are around ,specially if you are in Goa with your kids ,you will have a great time I guarantee!
A. It is Pepper .
Q. Did you know which is the Queen of Spice ?
A. Green Cardamom is the Queen of spice .
During my last visit to Goa , I missed visiting the Tropical Spice PlantationSpices have long been a part of the Indian way of life not just because they impart rich flavor and fragrance to our food but also for their medicinal values and how can we forget that it was the lure of these spices that brought the colonial rule to India .
The Tropical spice plantation in Ponda, Goa is spread across many acres .There is another Sahakari Farms nearby which is also a spice plantation but we had time to visit only one of them so we chose the Tropical Spice Plantation and I shall be sharing my experience about this one.
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| Lobster Claw or Heliconia or Wild Plaintain -an Ornamental tropical tree |
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| A Vanilla creeper |
Entry Fee - When we went there, we were charged Rs 400 per head that included a tour of the Spice Plantation and Lunch Buffet . Children below 5 years are given free entry.A short wooden bridge connected the tropical spice garden to the ticket counter which itself was thrilling for my kids .There were some ducks and geese waddling around which my son really enjoyed watching.
The Welcome - We were given a warm welcome with traditional Tilak and showering of flowers petals at the entrance .Once inside, we were seated in the large waiting hall cum dining hall and served warm and fresh lemongrass tea till our tour guide arrived .
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| image source :wikipedia |
Our tour guide arrived 5 minutes later ,she was a young lady who also spoke fluent Russian ,since this plantation attracts a lot of foreign nationals , the guides are multilingual. She took our group of ten people for a 45 minute tour of the spice garden.
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| Our Guide explaining about the #AllSpice |
Other spices and their mother plants that we got to see were the Green cardamom , The black cardamoms ,The All spice ,The Nutmeg tree, The Ocimum sanctum plant (Tulsi) , The Neem (Azadirachta ) tree, The Curry leaf tree, Bayleaf ,The Fennel Plants , The Vanilla Creepers ,The Peppercorn tree , the Cinnamon Tree and the Clove tree besides some common trees like Mango,Coconut and some ornamental trees that are indigenous to Goa .
After the 45 minute spice plantation tour ,our tour guide also showed us how the natives made Feni - a local alcoholic brew made from fermenting the cashew apple juice .
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| The fresh Green Cardamoms,generally are found near the base of the plant in contrast to the black cardamoms that are found among the higher branches of the Black cardamom plant |
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| One of the hottest chilli in the world - the Thai Chilli or Bird's Eye chilli |
The tour was now over and we were back to the dining-cum-waiting hall where our guide informed us that lunch was ready.It was a buffet with both vegetarian dishes and non vegetarian dishes .
The buffet that day consisted of - Yellow Dal , Zeera Rice ,Potatoes and Peas curry, Cabbage dry curry and a sweet rice dish for dessert.For non vegetarians , there was a dry Prawn curry and Chicken Xacuti with steamed rice.
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| Lunch Buffet at #TropicalSpiceGarden |
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| The vegetarian buffet at #TropicalSpiceplantation |
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| A model of #Feni making -A local Goan Liquor made from fermenting and distilling ripe Cashew Apple juice |
Me and my Husband tried Feni but it had a strong taste and very strong hit of alcohol so we could not have more than a sip.
With the hearty lunch and Feni, our trip was concluded ,there were spices and handicrafts for sale at a special counter but seeing the price tags , we avoided buying any.
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| Handicrafts display for sale at Tropical Spice Plantation |
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| Handicrafts made from coconuts at display for sale at #TropicalSpicePlantation |
We did not return empty handed though, there were huge smiles on our faces as we felt quite enriched with seeing all that greenery and the sources of all those spices that are intrinsic to our Indian cooking.
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| Nutmeg,Cinnamon,Green Cardamoms ,Cloves and Pepper etc. spices for sale at the #TropicalSpicePlantation in Goa |
Do visit it whenever you are around ,specially if you are in Goa with your kids ,you will have a great time I guarantee!
Indeed very interesting place, would like to visit and take foods there, never heard about it, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will love Goan food as it is heaven for fish lovers.
DeleteThis is surely is an informative and nice trip. I went to Goa on my honeymoon and does not know about plantation .next time surely will visit
ReplyDeleteGoa is perfect for honeymooners with its lovely beaches and laid back atmosphere.
DeleteWhat a neat place to visit and educational too. I have never been outside of the USA. I would love to visit another place one day!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kim! I am sure you will love Goa when you visit - it is very popular with foreigners.
DeleteThis information is so helpful - what a great place to venture to. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteGoa is one of my favorite place. This is such a useful post. I know what to do next time I visit there :-)
ReplyDeleteThat I didn’t know about Goa at all, i’ll certainly make time to visit the plantation on my next trip to Goa
ReplyDeleteIndeed there is another Spice Garden the Sahakari one - which I missed ,so a lot more needs to be explored!
DeleteThis is a very interesting place and an equally interesting post written by you. Thanks for sharing.. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Uttpal!
DeleteWow... this place in Goa is surely in my top visit list. We are planning Goa trip soon.. Saving ur post for reference. Thanks for the such informative post.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a nice time - Sahakari farms is nearby and I hear quite good too.
DeleteI've lived in coorg, surrounded by all these spice plants but had no idea that Goa also had plantations like these
ReplyDeleteGoa has similar climate and you are so lucky to have lived in Coorg, I wsh to visit it soon.
DeleteI love the detailed article. I have heard about this place but never got a chance to visit it yet.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words Kiara!
DeleteWhat an interesting place to visit. I love visiting spice plantation.
ReplyDeleteHope you will be able to visit and see for yourself Garf!
DeleteI have never been to India, but Goa is definitely on my places to see. This plantation looks really cool.
ReplyDeleteThis is a place I've been planning to visit for a long time. Thanks for the virtual trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this wonderful tour experience of Goa, These all images looking so beautiful that you have shared with us.
ReplyDeleteYou have mention good picture of Goa and I have seen your post for Our Trip to Goa which is nice to see it.
ReplyDeleteGoa really amazing place to spend some good time with our love and you shared good information about that place. Its really enjoyable and thanks for sharing this post us.
ReplyDelete