Goa’s best kept secret: Wildflower Villas, A Forest Estate right next to Anjuna

Goa has a peculiar north-south dilemma, that regular visitors to the state are mindful about. Despite the smallest state moniker, it is true that location determines the kind of holiday you have ahead of you. The north is typically known for high voltage partying, bar and restaurant hopping, while the south has more villas, beachside resorts with private access and a more reclusive holiday. Considering the distance between the north and south is several kilometres, it can take hours in-between, and people have to determine this early. Hence our surprise at discovering Wildflower Villa, truly one of those rare finds in Goa.  

It is an unsaid rule that if you want solitude amidst Goa’s natural heritage, it is best to travel away from the north. Hence, our amazement at Wildflower Villa, about a kilometre and half from Anjuna, which even our local friends in the city had never heard of till then. Run by locals Nishad and Richa, on Nishad’s family estate established generations ago by Mr. Amol Navelkar, Wildflower Villa is hidden away from the crowds, in the sense not many estates of a similar kind exist.

It is the sort of destination where one can study ornithology, or botany, or simultaneously write a book undisturbed in one of the busiest areas of Goa, without turning a hair. One could do that, and spend evenings either at their eclectic bar, or walk out and find the whole world at one’s disposal.  

The old-world charm of Wildflower Villa pours into its design. It’s warm-toned floors are a rarity nowadays, as steeped in nostalgia as a coke glass bottle.  

We drove into the property and had to promptly park our car as a golf cart rushed in to escort us the rest of way. It was evening, and we crossed the glistening pool, surrounded by wrought iron furniture painted white. The entire property consists of villas in different sizes, and are named after local flowers, from periwinkle to golden lupin and evening primrose.  

We checked into the Golden Lupin, that offered an ‘immersive experience’ of living in an old Portuguese villa. Their website claims that its perfect for families with small children, and I would have to agree, with interconnected bedrooms, four poster beds, a bathroom with an open shower and a lovely garden and porch overlooking the nearby backwaters, supplied with a couple of planters chairs.  

We had reached in the evening, so we regaled ourselves with some hot coffee and bhajiya, while we enjoyed the sunset. Once the sun sets, the entire resort steeps into darkness, with discreet lighting that keeps the peace (and the resort’s ecosystem) undisturbed.  

Our circadian rhythms approved of the peace and quiet, and we were able to turn in earlier, but not before sampling some of the in-house restaurant’s superb chicken xacuti and poiee.  

Next day over breakfast we went around the entire hillside, where we could spot ample pepper vines, kaju trees and spice plants. The breakfast was served in their restaurant, where instead of a buffet, we found a fruit and juice platter waiting for us. Conscious of wastage, guests can order hot food from the daily changing menu, which they can do a day before. We went in for some dosas followed by a side of eggs.  

Our next stop was outside Wildflower Villas, to Mandrem Beach, one of the few public beaches of Goa that still offers a secluded experience. If you’re travelling with children, I highly recommend Bagheera Kids, in Sangolda, where the cosiest reading nooks in the warmest colours can keep kids occupied throughout the rainiest of days. There are mangroves to be explored a short distance from Wildflower Villas. 

The hotel concierge or the founders can help plan your itinerary or add some suggestions.  

The most fun part of my trip ironically were the nights, sitting out on their old-school balconies, where twilight would melt into pitch dark, except for the light of fireflies and warm lamps here are there on the estate. While we didn’t spot stars, we enjoyed the silence, sitting in the dark lit only by the warm light filtering out from the curtains of our villas, with our thoughts for company, the white noise of dragonflies in the distance. And in that moment, the magic of Wildflower Villas presented itself to us in its full glory, its not just the green, not the nostalgia, but the choice of preserving and growing the estate to be a quiet forest haven in the midst of a steadily deforested state.

Next day was checkout, so we headed out to Pincode, Kunal Kapoor’s latest in the city. Vagator is about half an hour’s drive away but we came back in time to see the sun setting as we rushed for a cocktail class, and downed a couple with vindaloo and poee while we were at it.  

Wildflower Villas is the closest one can come to living like a local, in an inherited (rented in our case) Portuguese style villa, watching orange mangrove sunsets, and dunking our bread in a gravy of the same colour later at night. Will we come back again? As I write this, I remember the sweet wooden dressboy inside the bathroom holding all the towels, the fragrant pepper leaves that we had plucked on our way to the restaurant, and the fluffy poee that we enjoyed at the quaint restaurant, so that’s a definite yes on our part.  

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