Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Plantation tourism: taste of the Raj

Tucked deep in the plantations, estate bungalows are now being thrown open to tourists, as PRATIMA ASHER finds out

For those who like the wilderness and yet do not wish to be totally in the wilds there is a bewitching tourism option. A stay in the old, colonial plantation bungalows situated in locales with picture perfect surroundings. Lakes, mountains, waterfalls and lush greenery are ever-present as companions.

As tour promoters will inform you, the Chinese left behind fishing nets, the Portuguese and the Dutch, forts and palaces and the English, their plantations. And in the midst of these green expanses of tea, coffee and rubber, the plantation bungalows.

The old plantations, stretched over thousands of acres, now remain part of the modern folklore of the mountains.Often situated at high altitudes with a cool climate, were these warm and welcoming places. The owners had to wrestle with the elements and the homestead was a getaway, which by contrast, was equipped with every convenience possible. When the original owners left, their lifestyles were a legacy passed on to the new masters who lavished on their homes the same care as before.

Many of the plantations and homesteads are over a century old with the bungalows possessing fine wood work and period furniture, while others are mid-twentieth century pieces of good architecture, very often built along the same lines.

Part of heritage

According to Sunil of Indo-World Tours and Travels, the plantations owners have opened their bungalows to the tourist traffic for a variety of reasons, one of them being that this ensures their upkeep. Many of the bungalows have absentee landlords as different from the usual homestays where you can stay with a family. The estate bungalows, he believes, are "valuable parts of the State's heritage and the tourists enjoy a visit to the estates and a stay in these houses".

Sunil goes on to add that George Abraham, a history buff and a writer, has catalogued many of these estate bungalows and tours are offered there. In fact, Sunil himself has been a pioneer in marketing these bungalows and he believes that they are attractive options. Tour operators often arrange the visits to these estates and various other stops, though in some cases the owners can be directly contacted. Some of the bungalows and surroundings have been acquired by hotel groups and are marketed differently but many remain in private hands. As these are often in isolated areas, some kind of house service is always provided.

Many of the estates bungalows are in the scenic locales of the Western Ghats, in the Peermade or the valleys of the Periyar in Central Kerala, in places such as Kootickal, Kalaketty, Kuttikannam, Ellapara, Kumarakom, Kanjirapally, Vagamon, Kottayam and so on.

Ashley Bungalow, for example, is a typical old colonial homestay. Even the appeal generated by Arundathi Roy's `The God of Small Things' has been used as a prop to attract tourists to the properties along the Meenachil. Henwoods Bungalow is a popular haunt says a tour operator.

Often a stay at the bungalow forms part of an estate package with activities ranging from trekking, fishing, swimming, golf or just indoor recreations like billiards, tennis and cards. Visits to adjacent scenic and cultural spots are also offered along with the stay. A glimpse of estate life is generally a part of the package. On a tea estate you can watch or even participate in the entire process of tea making right from plucking to processing to packaging. Nature enthusiasts can spot a myriad species of flora and fauna or just while away a tranquil evening.

Rubber estate

Sometimes a visit to an estate or plantation forms part of a larger itinerary, which includes major tourism destinations like Thekkady with a stopover in one of the bungalows.

An example is the almost 120-year-old Plantation Bungalow in Kanjirapally. Three hours from Kochi, it lies along the Periyar-Kochi or Kumarakom-Periyar roads providing for a short visit to a rubber estate.

Plantation Bungalow has been awarded the prestigious `Grihasthali Award' by the Tourism Department. George Varghese and Rani Johny who run the show got into the tourism industry by chance when they responded positively to an enquiry about whether it would be possible for them to accommodate and provide food to a group of tourists.

Today, the hospitality they provide has received plaudits winning them many friends and recommendation from all over the world.

So, pack your bags and revel in an estate experience.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail