Rain, rain, don’t go away...

While Coorg goes into hibernation during monsoon, this hill-top resort promises a chance to enjoy the rain from wooded comfort

Romancing Nature The Tamara Coorg

It isn’t often that while you’re sipping tea, a cloud of mist suddenly surrounds you. But then, it isn’t often that we, city folks, find ourselves dining in an all-wood restaurant built over a stream, surrounded by woods on three sides and with gorgeous views of a valley in front.

What sets five-star resort The Tamara Coorg apart from the others is the all-wood rooms — a living, bath and a balcony — sitting on stilts on the edge of the hill and offering unparalleled views of the valley and Virajpet.

Best of both worlds

The resort covers 170 acres of plantation, and to those bogged down by urban jobs, provides the perfect cocktail to de-stress — a ‘connection with Nature’ while enjoying all the material comforts. With a plantation that big, on request, guests are taken on golf-cart buggies from the rooms to the restaurant and back. The fine-dining restaurant serves buffet and Nouvelle cuisine. The restaurant and bar, as mentioned before, is built on a stream, and has a see-through dance floor. The floor offers the view of a gushing stream nearly 30 feet below.

So, what does one do when the resort sits cosily on Nature’s lap? Trek! There are three trekking trails from the resort, and we are taken on the least stressful one. After a 4.5-km walk, with a few stops on the way to remove leeches from our shoes, we reach the top of Manje Motte Peak. Seen from a boulder on the edge of the sloping hill, the view of the Chelavara valley in front is breathtaking. Tiny puffs of clouds hang about amidst lush greenery. There’s Kerala on one side, a forest on the other and a waterfall gushing at a distance. For bird watchers, there are Malabar trogons, hornbills, wild pheasants and scarlet minivets.

The nights at the resort are remarkably silent, with only crickets chirping for company. Take a stroll around the estate, and you see hundreds of fireflies floating around — giving the impression of Christmas decorations.

During peak monsoon, when the rest of the region goes into hibernation waiting for the downpour to stop, The Tamara Coorg hopes to offer a unique monsoon experience — gazing at the rain, the play of thunder and lightning and the severity the storm unleashes on the valley, from the comforts of your room. Tempting!

(The writer Hindu was at invited to spend a weekend at The Tamara Coorg at the invitation of the resort)

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Things to do

Visit Igguthappa Temple, Nalknad Palace, Talacauvery, Bhagamandala, the Tibetan camp at Bylakuppe, Dubare Elephant Camp, Madikeri. Trek to Thadiyandamol (the highest peak in Coorg), Chelavara Falls or stroll around the plantation

How to get there

While travelling from Virajpet to Medikeri, turn off to Kabbinkad through many hair-pin bends. The Kabbinakad junction is 310 kn from Bangalore; 195 km from Mangalore; and 210 km from Kozhikode

Tariff

Rs. 18,000 for the luxury cottage and Rs. 20,000 for the suite for a day. Includes three meals, plantation trail and Nature walk. For details, visit www.thetamara.com.