Coorg: Nature trails and a home-stay experience

Coorg or Kodagu in Karnataka, is a hill station nestled in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, South India. A lush plantation wonderland infused with the intoxicating fragrance of coffee and spices, it’s a perfect get away from city life into the lap of nature.

Much of Coorg is used for agriculture with coffee and pepper as the main crop and they grow together! In an approach called Agroforestry, combining benefits from trees and shrubs with crops. Pepper is a vine that grows on tall trees and in Coorg it’s grown on Silver Oak trees. The coffee plants need shade, which is also provided by the Oak trees. This shade grown coffee is a traditional and more eco-friendly way of growing coffee.

Fruits like Chikoo or Sapota, Oranges, Passion fruit, lime and Lychees are also common. Supari – Areca nut or Betel nut tree, used for Paan, is a kind of palm, which grows up to 20 m tall and is quite difficult to harvest, as the trunk is quite thin.

There are three wildlife sanctuaries – the Brahmagiri, Talakaveri, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Nagarhole National Park in Coorg. Talakaveri is also the place where river Kaveri originates. It’s a nice drive with waterfalls and beautiful views of the valleys & meadows sprinkled with bright-colored flowers.

There are several home-stays that are a part of working plantations and serve traditional Coorgi food. A home-stay is a unique and relaxed way to enjoy the local culture and life of Coorg. It’s an insight into the culture and life of the people, and a warm, comforting feeling to know you’re staying at ‘home’. It’s refreshing to wake up to chirping birds, sit in a garden sipping coffee and wait for a delicious meal cooked specially for you! My first home-stay experience at Ashraya in Coorg, was a beautiful & memorable one; one of the most relaxing holidays that I’ve had in India! 🙂

All images are from Ashraya home-stay in Coorg.

Advertisement