Rainforest retreat at Galli Gudda Coorg is an Eco Resort (http://www.rainforestours.com/index.htm). This plantation is an unique project that combines eco-tourism with organic farming and believes to the core in having an environment with bio-diversity. The whole farm is self sufficient with water (there are streams running through the plantation), power - solar generated power, food - most vegetables and fruits are grown organically at the farm and remaining grains/pulses are sourced directly from farmers. Checkout their website for more details. Icing on the cake about this place is - there is absolutely no network. The phones are operational only from a point on a hill within the property and WIFI is available only between 2pm-5pm in the office area with minimal bandwidth. Because of heavy rainfall during monsoons, the property remains closed during Monsoons.
When we were planning for a trip this summer, we were looking for places which would be little different from the regular homestays or resorts. We had visited Coorg several times, hence wanted to find a place which was different and would give us a WOW feeling after the vacation. Once we went through the details on the website, we fell in love with it. Awesome reviews on Tripadvisor helped us make the decision faster. Apart from it being an eco-lodge, the deciding factor was the "Fireflies" at night. Because of the unique bio-diversity and organic plantation, the property is blessed with thousands of fireflies during the month of April and May. These fireflies lit up the whole valley in the property once it gets dark. It is just mind blowing.
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| Cardamom Plantation |
We were 2 families (each with 2 adults and 2 kids). We decided to take a Deluxe Cottage and 2 Plantation Cottages. Deluxe cottage are big and can accommodate 4 adults easily and are very close to the dining area. Plantation Cottages are about 500m walk with some climbing. Plantation Cottages are in the midst of the forest and at a higher elevation. These are not recommended for families with small kids and elder members. However, trust me these are the best cottages in-terms of every aspect - location, privacy, views, weather... They are very rustic and blend very well with nature. Power is provided only by solar, which is 12v and is available only at night. But the rooms and bathrooms have got good skylights and ventilation. Best part is, if you are travelling in month of April and May, you get to see the fireflies right from porch of the plantation cottages. Which is a huge plus for the plantation cottage.
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| Firefly in the daytime |
Deluxe cottages are big and comfy and right opposite to the dining area. Hence it is easy to come over for all meals and breakfast. Also it is closer to the parking area. On the other hand, to go to Plantation cottage one needs to cross the road and then walk for about 500m with some climbing - but definitely worth it.
We started from Bangalore at 6AM, stopped over at Kamat Lokruchi for some yummy breakfast. Our next stop was Bayalukoppe - Tibetan Monastery. Since Maithree and Goldie had not seen this, we stopped over here. Lots has changed in the last couple of years. Tourists aren't allowed fully into the main Monastery. Some of smaller temples were closed for public. It was blazing hot when we reached here. We quickly checked the place and left. We stopped over at Shanti Bites - Kushalnagar for lunch. The food here was good and very reasonable. After lunch, we went straight to "Rainforest Retreat". It was 3:30PM, when we reached here. Not much sign-board for Rainforest retreat. One needs to reach Galli Gudda and then we saw a sign-board. It is beyond Club Mahindra - Coorg. As soon as we reached the property, Shivani greeted us. We did not expect a young lady as a manager in middle of nowhere. This was the first unexpected thing. Little did we know that there were more surprises. We got to experience a lot of good, new and exciting experiences in the next couple of days.
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| Sunset from Sterling Hills |
We checked into our cottages. Meera and Venki preferred the Deluxe cottage. However, their daughters wanted to stay at the Plantation cottage. Hence Meera and Venki stayed at Deluxe cottage and among the 2 plantation cottages, girls decided to have one for themselves and we took the second cottage. The plantation cottages and tents are on the other side of the road from the main office, dining and deluxe cottages. These are remotely located into the forest and are perfect is all sense. We just fell in love with them immediately. As the plantation cottages and tents are at an elevation and surrounded by forest, it is much cooler here. We had to use blankets in the night and early morning - even during peak summer.
After refreshing with a hot cup of coffee, we went to explore the surroundings of the property. Very beautiful place and totally secluded from the outside world. We only heard birds, crickets, bees and rustling of dried leaves when the wind blew. Absolute silence. We literally had to reduce our volumes as it sounded very loud in this environment.
Around 6PM we went to Sterling Hills - this is a small hill right next to Plantation cottage. The views at Sunrise and Sunset are amazing from here. Only on this hill one gets mobile network. So if you have to make any calls, you need to go to this hill. We spent some time here, chit-chatting about some random things. As the dusk set in, the sky looked beautiful. Once it started getting dark, we came down and walked to the dining area.
At the dining area, we met 2 more girls - Shreya and Amrita, who were interning at the plantation. It was fun chatting with these three girls - Shivani, Shreya and Amrita. All of them were bubbling with lots of environment related information, why organic, general topics etc. Soon we spotted a couple of fireflies and we were excited. Shivani told us, she would take us to the valley around the plantation coattages after dinner, where we would get many more fireflies. We happily agreed!!! Little did we know what she meant by MANY MORE...
Until dinner time, we played some card games. At plantation, they also had some interesting drinks - Cardamom Rum, Vanilla Rum, Beer etc. We had a delicious dinner made from organic ingredients. Salad, tasty brown rice, nice sambar with tons of veggies, curries and payasam. After dinner, we were given solar powered torches to help us find our way. With all the excitement, we started following Shivani and Shreya to the valley. And what a sight it was - just superb. It cannot be expressed in word, nor can it be captured in a camera. It just needs to be experienced. Thousands of fireflies had lit up the whole valley. The trees in the valley looked like Christmas lit trees. With just the moon light and the light from fireflies we walked around the valley to the plantation cottages. From the porch of the plantation cottage and tents, the sight of fireflies was mesmerizing.
The funny part was, we were living in such natural habitat and there wasn't a single mosquito. There were all kinds of insects - flies, moths, spiders, tons of butterflies, frogs, snakes, birds. But NO mosquitoes. We spent about an hour sitting on the porch of our cottage, admiring the beauty of nature without having the mosquitoes to bother us. It was pure BLISS!!!
Meera and Venki walked back to the Deluxe cottage and we and kids stayed in the plantation cottage. By now, the weather was pretty cool. Morning was cooler. There was lot of mist. We got up early and went straight to the Sterling hills. Since it was cloudy, we could not see the sunrise. But the view of clouds floating below us was amazing. We also saw lot of different species of birds.
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| Sunrise from Sterling Hills with Drongo Bird |
We had good breakfast of Idlis, whole wheat bread and home made jam, and fresh fruits. After breakfast, we headed to a 3 hour trek. Ravi (he plays different roles at the property - guide, helper, caretaker...) agreed to take us on a good trek and he kept his promise. The trek was just right for us. Not very strenuous at the same time took us through different areas - grasslands, forest, valley. He stopped at places to show us some interesting plants and trees. The spot overlooking the valley was picturesque.
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| View on Trekking Trail |
We decided to head out to Madekari town for lunch and check out some place. In the hindsight, we felt we should have just stayed at the plantation. Madekari town was blazing hot. There was hardly any water at the Abbey falls. There was a time when we could get into the waters at the foot of the falls. As the number of tourists have increased, so have the accidents. Because of this, the authorities are forced to close the provision to get into waters :( Raja seat, also has lost its charm. Too many tourists and also stalls/hawkers. We did not wait for the sunset. The sunset view from Sterling hills was much better.
We planned to have campfire and barbecue at night. We shopped for some vegetables and stuff for marination and headed straight to the plantation. Ravi had got things ready for campfire and barbecue. We enjoyed making and eating some yummy barbecues on the campfire. It was fun with family and friends. The team of Rainforest retreat gave us good company. It felt as though we knew them from a long time.Dinner was served at 8:30PM. After dinner, it was time to checkout the fireflies. This time we went on our own. It was as beautiful as previous day.
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| Hardly any water @Abbey Falls |
Next day, it was time to check-out. But before we checked-out, we had an epic plantation tour from Shivani. She showed us around the bio-diversity that has been cultivated around the plantation. How each tiny insect is helping other living organisms. This was an ecological session for all us. This gave us a glimpse of effort that has gone in from Anurag and Sujata (owner's of this plantation). They really have put lot of effort to get the plantation to this eco-friendly state and still maintaining it. They have set an amazing example for all of us to follow and think before we spray pesticides.
Half-heartedly we had to part. We wished we could stay for one more day in this lovely place. This reiterated that simple living admist nature gives more joy that any material living. The whole trip, left us thinking on how we can make a difference in our own small way to this planet. For starters, we decided to go organic. Hopefully, we will be able to keep up this.
