This year on my annual Indian visit I had a yearning to spend some time in the jungle. I wanted to completely escape as much as possible from normal civilisation and be somewhere where I was in complete nature and where there were few people and no wifi. My lovely yoga teacher Orsi was organising a small retreat so I decided to go along. I was so happy that I went. We set off from the beach in Goa and drove around an hour and a half inland to where the Mangal Hill Jungle was. There were supposedly lots of wild creatures inhabiting including leopards, snakes and bison. We stayed in an authentic Indian guest house which was surrounded by its own organic farm. The food was absolutely delicious, with authentic traditional Indian cuisine taken from the farm. On arrival we were offered pakoras with atlaom a herb which is commonly used to combat colds and flu when juiced. These tasted yummy and were unlike anything i’d tasted before. The lunches and dinners were a combination of various Indian dishes including lots of spices, chutneys and pickles to compliment. The meals were planned using Ayurvedic guidelines. An Ayurvedic diet enables one to boost their health, prevent or manage disease and maintain wellness.
After our first sleep we decided to go for a walk to the waterfalls through the jungle. It was a long trek, around two hours. Our guide explained all the plants and trees and their medicinal purposes on the way. I was super excited to see a stevia plant, our ‘healthy’ sugar. The trek was worth it though as when we reached the waterfall we dove in to cool off. it was beautiful and very much appreciated as we were getting extremely hot by this time.
Stevia Plant
On our return we were greeted by Bibi, the lovely lady that cooked all our food with the most delicious soup I think I’ve ever had it was beetroot with mung beans and coconut. The ingredients may seem a bit weird but it really worked and extremely healthy too with protein from the mung beans, good fats from the coconut and lots of vitamins and fibre from the beetroot. I will definitely be useing this recipe. We were extremely exhausted from the walk hence Orsi my yoga teacher went easy on our evening class with lots of relaxation breathing as opposed to a full on vinyasa flow.
All in all the retreat was a great success. After dinners we just sat around the log fire and chatted until bed time which was a real treat and kind of therapeutic. There was generally no electricity in the evening so bed meant sleep. The jungle was great I was able to ‘recharge’ my batteries as well as learning about the Ayurvedic ideology of cooking and improving my yoga. I was also happy that I didn’t come across any leopards or snakes - Om Shanti.
