KatchutravelsWhen I woke up on the last day of my trip, I decided I will maybe spend the morning sitting on the balcony waiting for the morning to slowly show its colours. It was lovely listening to the sound of the birds. I woke up early, and I was pleasantly surprised that I did. The previous evening, I was treated to a fantastic dinner by Chef Murali.
Our little private garden wakes up to the dawn at Kurumba Village
I had their chef arrange a special halogen lit dinner by their beautiful treehouse in the woods. It took me 10 minutes to reach there as I had to walk down on the path, to find the tree house within their huge resort-cum-forest complex. I loved his pepper corn starters, Herb infused salads and his concoction of a coconut-ginger soup that had me going on for more. I had about 3 extra servings because it was so tasty. I was always a fan of the Burmese-Thai soup that Freshmenu makes, but this was better than that.
Tree Top Dinner at Kurumba Village
Chef Murali is from the town of Palakkad nearby, and has come up the hard way by doing some great dishes and takes a lot of interest in making sure his guest’s eyes light up. People going beyond their call of duty, makes you develop a huge affinity with the brand-Kurumba Village. I certainly had! When I left the tree house, Chef Murali, briefly mentioned to me, that I should not be scared when I walk my way back, because elephants sometime get into the resort. The buggy was arranged to transport us safely.
Chef Murali of Kurumba Village
The following morning, I woke up and spent my time looking at the valley from our garden, and walked up to the little stream that flows beside the resort’s eating area. The sound of a flowing stream, amidst the birds chirping is all you need on your ears, early in the morning. It has a way to make your brain soak in just the right vibes and feel at ease with the world. The resort not having telecom signals and a very fragile Wifi connection also helped me be disconnected from the world.
Our Portico overlooking the Garden! Chai Time!
Know more of how the last day went in this little video. It features the following
- My little trip down to the stream
- Epic views of the clouds and mountains during breakfast
- Nandu getting to do activities with the naturalist
- Nandu and I playing in the pool all morning
- Our rides in the buggy back to my car
Cost of Staying
The resort is priced above 12,000 INR onwards on its rooms, and it differs depending on the room type. Browse through their website to book directly
Best Time to Go
There is no best time for a place steeped in the hills, but if you can just before the Europeans come here for their winter season (Dec-February), the resort is flush with the freshness of the onset of the North East Monsoon(Oct-Nov) and the Pre monsoon showers (June-September)
Getting There
From Chennai– You could take the train 12671 to Mettupalayam via Coimbatore and then take a taxi from there to the resort. If you are flying down, take a taxi from the Peelamedu airport in Coimbatore.
From Bangalore-The best way is to drive, through Mysore and Gudalur into Ooty, Coonor and then Kurumbadi, but if you dont prefer the hills, you can drive through Salem, Erode, Avinashi keeping the ghat roads to a minimum of 14 kilometres. For those flying or taking a train, you need to come to Coimbatore to then take a taxi.
From anywhere else in India-Fly in to Coimbatore and take a taxi/train to Mettupalayam
To get to Kurumba Village, its best you travel on your own in your vehicle. Whether you travel on your own or take a taxi for your rides, it should be another 6000-7000 Rs on your driving costs at the minimum.
If ever you wish to be adventurous, the way to do that is to take the train at Mettupalayam and get down at HillGrove, and trek down into the Kurunji flower areas, cross a little waterfall hoping you dont slip, and you will find yourself in 20 minutes at the resort.
The resort has only BSNL signals, so if you have anything else, it makes sense to call the resort from Mettupalayam/Coonor for directions, as there is no easy signboard to spot on your left, where you need to make a V shaped turn down the valley. If you are not sure how to drive down or drive up a hill, it helps if you can drive in 1st gear or get a driver who is at ease with driving in the hilly regions.
