Backwoods Camp is a birding camp in Goa's Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary close to the border with the state of Karnataka in northeastern Goa. The camp is located in the forest close to small villages where life is simple and quiet. Accommodation is in tents with a set floor, in small cottages or in rooms in the farm house. It's all basic and rustic but fine. All food is provided as part of the package and the food is simple, yet delicious. A typical package lasts 3 or 4 nights and includes pick-up by car at one of Goa's many beach resorts and transportation directly to the camp and back, all meals and accommodation, and 3-4 birdwatching tours in the vicinity per day. Most birdwatching takes place from the small roads around the villages or in the fields but you also get to go into the forest to look for birds. The guide that accompanies you on the tours is one of the three owners of the camp and they are all local Goans that are extremely knowledgable about local birds and wild life and very good in spotting all sorts of birds. You can swim in the nearby river.

You should know a bit about birds in order to fully appreciate the stay and you should bring your own binoculars, but apart from that the guides will reveal the rest to you and at the end of your stay you will have learned a lot of bird names you didn't know of unless you're an expert on South Indian birds. For us it was a great contrast to the lazy beach life in Northern Goa and I would love to go back to Backwoods.

Check out Backwoods homepage: http://www.backwoodsgoa.com/