This post talks about how we spent some time with a naturalist exploring the environment at Kurumba Village.  The previous post talks about how we arrived at Kurumba Village .

Night Walking in the Forest

As the evening paves way to the night and the winter chill sets in, I walk across the stone path from the dining place to my room. I can hear sounds of bats and crickets, and I find that the stone path zig zags a bit and goes down a considerable distance. I leave it for the day to explore, as it seems a little scary at night, and there’s a light drizzle that’s just picking up. I decide to come back post the rains, and discover that the path down basically goes to a beautiful tree house. There is a ‘buggy service’ for transporting guests to different parts of the resort, and I am far away from a resort staff at 9 in the night, and my phone is in the room, so I just walk back quietly. I am told that sometime elephants do come into the resort as the forest blends into the resort. As long as we don’t mess with the elephant, it will come by and go further down the hill, without really bothering about you.

Jaywalking at Night in the stone path within the resort at Kurumba Village

Jaywalking at Night in the stone path within the resort at Kurumba Village

On the Kurumbadis

The next morning I wake up early, and look at some of the paintings that adorn the wall of each of the rooms.  I also ask around, and figure out that the Kurumbas were hunters and gatherers, and usually exchange goods and services with the other 2 tribes. The Kurumbas had small dwellings with a garden patch, growing bananas, mangos and jackfruit. Most of their settlements have seen migration from the higher reaches of the nilgiris to just above the plains, owing to de-forestation. Some of the Kurumbadi tribes in the region, work in the ‘Kurumba Village’ resort. It is also said that the Kurumbas are known for their sorcery, but this yet to be verified. This website, talks a bit about the Kurumbas. If you happen to know a little more, do help me gather information by commenting on the post.

Painting/Sketchings of the lives of the Kurumbadi Tribes

Painting/Sketchings of the lives of the Kurumbadi Tribes

Planning the day ahead

At breakfast, Nandu and I decided to plan our day on what each of us wanted to do. I wanted Nandu to travel on the toy train and also attend a class on environment with the in-resident. Nandu wanted to play and read something on the hammock. So I had to sit and plan the day out. I wanted to go on a little hike with the in-house guide, who advised me on a hike nearby but he clearly said kids cant do the hike, so I postponed that plan to the next day to be done, when Nandu was sleeping.

Scenic Breakfast View at Kurumba Village Resort

Scenic Breakfast View at Kurumba Village Resort

Dining against the backdrop of the Bakasura Mountains

Dining against the backdrop of the Bakasura Mountains

So the plan for the day was to start with some hammock time, picking a couple of books from the room(Each room comes with a little library of books, apart from a library at the reception). It was initially a little tough trying to balance 2 bodies on the hammock, but once we settled down, it seemed a very relaxing thing to do.  Nandu went in first,  trying to play on the mobile, to discover that there was no network and no Wifi for him.

The lure of the hammock in a forest-Kurumba Village Resort

The lure of the hammock in a forest-Kurumba Village Resort

Morning Story Telling

Morning Story Telling

Naturalist Tour for kids, inside Kurumba Village

A resident naturalist called Dinesh, takes kids on little tours inside the resort and introduces them to the animals inside and gives them an introductory lesson on how children can get closer to the environment. I decided to follow them from a distance to try and see what Nandu learns, since I was trying to teach him something similar on our trip to the Andamans

Spot that Bird There!

Spot that Bird There!

Dinesh decided to divide the session into 2 parts. Nandu was with Rohan, another kid staying at the resort, and both of them had to go collect leaves and twigs from around the resort. After they had got about 5 leaves, they needed to pick up a paper and create a little art form by sticking the leaves on paper. While paper dried, Dinesh would take them around the resort, talking about the birds in the vicinity, spotting animal footmarks, learning to stay still and hug a tree, and about the Kurumbadi village. I was lapping all of what Dinesh was saying, staying happy that Nandu found an interesting activity to engage himself in.

Ambling our way within the resort (Kurumba Village)

Ambling our way within the resort (Kurumba Village)

Nandu reaching out for the adhesive at the Children-Activity center at Kurumba Village Resort

Nandu reaching out for the adhesive at the Children-Activity center at Kurumba Village Resort

Children's activity centre overlooking a beautiful view of the forests at Kurumba Village Resort

Children’s activity centre overlooking a beautiful view of the forests at Kurumba Village Resort

Tree Hugging Excercise at Kurumba Village Resort

Tree Hugging Excercise at Kurumba Village Resort

The tree hugging exercise is a beautiful excercise that teaches kids that the tree is our mother and feeling the vibes that flow from nature to us humans. One needs to spend about 5 minutes in silence trying to hug the tree, feeling the bark of the tree (preferably blindfolded as your senses of touch are heightened). Nandu is a kid who is high on energy, and it was a brief break to pause and connect with nature. I intend to do more such trips, that helps him connect with nature and grow up to be a environmentally conscious traveller.

The last time Nandu and I did this in the Andamans, I got an award from Indiblogger for being the best blog talking on the environment. While it was encouraging to see external people realising its importance, I realize these are still baby steps towards making him an environmentally conscious traveller, but If you have any ideas that could help and sustain learning, please do comment and let me know.

Nandu collecting all the twigs and sticking them in his slam book

Nandu collecting all the twigs and sticking them in his slam book

Kurumba Village certifies Naturalist Nandu

Kurumba Village certifies Naturalist Nandu

This series continues in Part-3

Have a look at Kurumba Village’s facilities

 

If you cant wait, and need a little highlights reel on what to expect in the other parts, do watch this below video

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. I dropped my S7 Edge into the waterfall, but thankfully my phone can remain in water undisturbed.

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.

 

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