Mystic woods, Ponda

Mystic Woods - A Butterfly Conservatory of Goa

    Who is not enchanted by the colorful butterflies flying around them? I am sure we have all tried to catch them as kids? Have we not wondered at these fragile being’s that carry so many colors. Just like each one of us, every butterfly is uniquely beautiful. They represent new beginnings, giving us hope for what the future has to bring.  Read on this blog to uncover a beautiful place called mystic woods which is a butterfly conservatory of Goa.

WATCH THIS INTERESTING VIDEO ABOUT MYSTIC WOODS 

        Located on a remote hill in Ponda district of Goa, this conservatory is designed as a sanctuary and not as a zoo. This place was a piece of  barren land just a few years back.  I was fascinated by the fact that it was made by the collective efforts of a couple who have converted it into a forest complete with a stream flowing through it. This place is marvelous and friends if you are looking for an offbeat activity in Goa, then this is the place for you. This place is good to go in any season of the year and looks lush green especially in monsoons. This place is never crowded and is not famous among the tourists till now. You can visit it along with your partner, family or friends. You can easily reach the place with google maps and is hardly 10 minutes from the main ponda city.

    

     

          It remains open from mrng 09:30 to evng 4 o’clock. But you may remain there upto 5 o’clock if you are lucky enough.The fee for a single adult person is Rs 100/- .You will hardly find any maintenance staff at this place. You will have to climb up a little on the hill to find the main entrance of this place. You will find beautiful flowers at the entrance itself. Well I visited this place with one of my friend who is from ponda itself and the guy from the maintenance staff we met here was  pretty cool anyways and he helped us to take a free tour around this place. He told us all about the butterflies there and also about the various kinds of birds that have been carefully kept in the bird’s corner. There are so many birds of different colors at this place in variety of sizes. Well I had never seen a few of those birds in my entire lifetime. And about the butterflies….. They have documented close to 100 species of butterflies in this sanctuary. But at any point in time, you can view up to 25 varieties.  An interesting corner of the sanctuary has been curiously named The Butterfly Pub. A place primarily visited by the male butterflies – instead of a bar, it is a mud puddle, though. Apparently, this is where the males come before mating.

                Well there is one more section to this conservatory which is a man made pond with small fishes inside it. You just need to put your feets inside the pond and will experience that all the fishes have surrounded your feets. They will give u a natural pedicure or spa whatever u may call it. Well that was the first ever pedicure I had got and I just loved it. Must say that the place was very silent and you will hear variety of birds enchanting and making amazing sounds that will surely make your mind to calm down and will heal you from top to bottom. You will never feel like leaving this pond. Its beautifully designed and maintained. I have not clicked many pictures of this place otherwise I would have definitely shown it to you.

             The Heblekars, owner of this place  also have a beautiful house next to this hill that has a green cover and a collection of cactus on top. The roof of the house is like a garden where you can sit and admire the butterfly hill from a distance. This has also been gorgeously designed and is lush green with colorfully designed bottles hanging on the trees. This place is photogenic and attracts a lot of people.

            The only thing you must keep in mind while visiting this place is that you need to go on your private vehicle because it is not accessible by local buses at least as far as I know. Other than that you will surely love the place if you are looking for a silent place or an offbeat activity in Goa. You will not see many butterfly conservatories of this type at least in India. Must congratulate the owners of the place for building it up and maintaining it. Must have taken a lot of efforts.. so remember not to spoil it when you visit this place.    

  If you have any questions...pls write them down in the comment box below :)