Exploring the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats of India

Travelogue | Photo Blog | Sabbatical Diaries

Day 1 at Nature’s Nest Goa

We dozed off on the car ride from Margao railway station to the resort. Blamed the perfect, cloudy weather.

Reached late afternoon on the 6th of October, checked in, and then gorged on a delectable buffet of Goan cuisine (at their beautifully-designed dining area, rustic bamboo/wooden pergola with the traditional cow dung flooring).

On our plates — gobhi rawa fry, batata bhaji, mix veg, dhoodhi, prawns fry bhaji, fish curry, fish fry, goan rice, basmati rice, chapati, and solkadi (not in frame). Burrrrp!

Followed suit a long, afternoon siesta…

Woke up at about 5:30 pm, had tea, and walked around in the property.

The micro flora and fauna stunned us!

Shaped like a humming bird. Buzzes like a bee.

RR and I kept arguing over the identity of this creature.

“It looks like a hummingbird.”

“No, hummingbirds are not found in India.”

“Has to be some kind of a bee, it’s buzzing around the flowers.”

Later, Mirjoy, one of the naturalists at Nature’s Nest, cleared our doubts. It turned out to be a moth, a hummingbird hawk-moth!

Zoomed-in pictures of the tiny hummingbird hawk-moth from different angles.

The flowering shrubs were filled with the stunning blue Mormon butterflies.

Around 7 in the evening, we wore our hiking boots (courtesy Quechua & Decathlon) to go on our first-ever night trail!

Vitthal, the naturalist, took us down the winding road and into the accompanying buffer zone of Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary.

As the darkness fell, he kept identifying different species of frogs, lizards, and crabs for us. And we kept marvelling at the wonders of nature hiding in plain sight:

A juvenile Amboli bush frog

Indian burrowing frog (L) and Leaping frog / Indirana (R)

A sleepy garden lizard, camouflaging the green surroundings

Tiny, freshwater purple crab

And then came the thrilling sighting!
Writhing away from the trail and into the safety of the thicket, we spotted a:

Hump-nosed pit viper — venomous, nocturnal, and hard to spot

Just 1–1.5 feet in length (human boots in the left picture for size reference)

Vitthal is part of the conservation project of the hump-nosed viper and his joy knew no bounds! We were lucky to spot one, indeed.

As the evening and conversations progressed, we were introduced to the breathtaking world of fungi!

They play the most important role in our ecosystem, that of decomposing and recycling of carbon and minerals.

Wallpaper material, ain’t it?

We went a little deeper into the jungle, shut off all the light sources to catch an out-of-the-world sight — rotting, soggy pieces of glowing wood caused by bioluminescent fungus.

(L) Bioluminescence in complete darkness and (R) same piece of wood under flash light for comparison

During monsoon season, from June through October, these rain-drenched tropical forests can give off an otherworldly glow, caused by a bioluminescent fungus that grows on rotting bark and twigs on the forest floor.

Although it occurs in other parts of the world — predominantly in old growth forests in temperate and tropical climates where there is the right mix of moisture and humidity for the bioluminescent fungi to thrive — this mind-boggling phenomenon has only been seen in a few patches of the Western Ghats, particularly in regions within the states of Maharashtra and Goa.

Source: BBC

Vitthal took us to another spot and introduced us to yet another marvel of nature.

Did you know fungi reproduce through spores, single-celled biological particles (mostly) released in the air!

Here’s a video of the ‘fumes’ that make a rainbow when light passes through:

Vartika Goel on Instagram: " The incredible night forest trail experience with Nature’s Nest Goa…”

Eyes wide, biggest smiles, and with a content heart, we walked back to the resort after spending close to 3 hours in the jungle at night.

Grateful to the team at Nature’s Nest for this incredible experience!

Day 2 photo blog coming soon…