A Coorgi Retreat
It had taken us close to seven hours to drive down from Bangalore. We were tired, but we had finally neared our destination. As dusty patches gave way to tarred roads, we saw clearly on our left, a vast green area — the golf course belonging to Tata Coffee estates — bordered by silver oaks and rosewoods. There in the centre, in the cool Coorgi twilight stood a lone, leafless tree laden with delicate violet blossoms — a Jacaranda. It was as if I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life before…
Since then, I have returned to Coorg at least once every year. Be it summer, winter or monsoon, Coorg always has in store the one thing that most long-suffering city-dwellers like me crave for — peace.
About the stay
Our first trip to Coorg was in January 2018. After much research we finally settled on Tata Plantation Trails (now called the Amã Stays & Trails, managed by Indian Hotels Company Ltd, or IHCL). We stayed in Thaneerhulla Cottage, a humble single-storeyed building atop a small hill overlooking the coffee plantations.
Nor is it like any ordinary home stay. Spread across acres of coffee plantations, this property consists of majestic colonial-era villas that once served as homes to estate managers and officers. Some of these buildings even date back to the 1800s, I’m told. There is a resident supervisor and a chef for each of these bungalows and boy oh boy, don’t they pamper their guests rotten… And that was the main reason why we kept coming back year after year! Our hosts have always taken care of us as if we were part of their family…
I shall never forget the warm welcome given to us back then by the Cottage supervisor, Mr Sampath and the chef, Mr Velayudhan. As I settled into the lawn chair to watch the sunset, sipping a cup of freshly-brewed coffee, a sense of contentment washed over me — a feeling that I was one with Nature.
On our subsequent visits with family and friends, we opted to stay at the more impressive Thaneerhulla Bungalow which was next to the Cottage. The supervisors here, Mr Mahesh and Mr Lokesh, the chef, Mr Palani, and the operations manager, Mr Rejaul, also took very good care of us, often going an extra mile to ensure that our stay was comfortable.
With spacious rooms, a grand living room, facilities for playing indoor and outdoor games, and beautiful gardens overlooking the coffee estate, the Bungalow made me feel like a wealthy plantation owner of bygone times… If only I had a pipe in my mouth and an Alsatian dog by my side to compete the picture!
We also visited the nearby Cottabetta Bungalow — the iconic accommodation of Amã Stays & Trails displayed on their website. As we wandered in the garden below, Mr Pathak arranged the evening refreshments for us, without our even asking for it! The mild-mannered supervisor, Mr Gangadhar, graciously showed us around.
The rooms are a little smaller compared to the suites in Thaneerhulla Bungalow, but the view from Cottabetta (literally, the cool mountain) is so incredibly beautiful! One really has to see it to believe it…
One of the highlights of the stay was the home-made Coorgi cuisine, prepared fresh according to the guests’ preferences.
Kadumputtu, noolputtu, masala dosa, upma, akki roti, pumpkin curry, vegetable stew, pork (pandi) curry, chilli pork, chicken (koli) dry, dal tadka, paneer curry, rasam, coffee soufflé, lemon soufflé, and why, even the masala omelette were all dishes worth dying for…
So for our last couple of stays, we gave our chef a free hand to prepare whatever he liked and we just sat back and enjoyed the spread!
Another unique part of the stay at Amã was the bird watching experience under the expert guidance of the naturalist, Mr Uday.
Trust me, we weren’t much of bird enthusiasts until then. Personally I saw those creatures as the poop-bombing squad of the natural world! But armed with a camera and a pair of binoculars, Uday had an easy unassuming way of endearing them to us. He took us around the golf course patiently explaining the daily activities of those feathered beauties, helping us spot them amidst the foliage and mimicking their calls to draw out the more reclusive ones!
More on our Nature Walk experience in another post, soon to come!
Afterwards we also went on a Plantation Tour in a jeep with Uday where he introduced us to the crops (such as coffee, pepper, cardamom, areca nut, orange, bird’s eye chilli, avocado and vanilla) cultivated in the Tata estates and the steps involved in their processing.
It is amazing the way he knows each and every plant and tree in this plantation spread across acres of land! Through him we came to know and appreciate the robust ecosystem nurtured by the estate. From the tiny termites feasting on rosewood barks to the giant elephants snacking on coffee berries, every living creature, wild and beautiful, has a place here.
Amã Stays & Trails also has a beautiful property in Madikeri, called Rare Earth Estate. It is a traditional style single-storeyed bungalow with airy, well-lit and spacious rooms. The painted floor tiles, heavy wooden furniture and the ornate pillars and doors give it an old-world charm.
The quaint countryside garden around the bungalow cannot be compared to the acres of well-maintained plantations surrounding the Tata estates. But as I wandered around the property along narrow muddy tracks bordered by shrubby palisades and tall nameless trees, I felt as if I was transported back in time to our old ancestral house where my grandmother spent her childhood days…
With all the comforts it offers, it is extremely tempting to stay put at Amã Stays & Trails property for the entire duration of the vacation! But Coorg has many beautiful places in store for an interested traveller to explore and it would be a pity to give such an opportunity a miss... To know more, please continue to my next post — Top Five Places to Visit in Coorg!
