Eco Homestay, Nilgiri hills, Tamil Nadu, India

The Nilgiri Hills where we are located nestle in the south western fringes of the western Ghats of India. The Nilgiris are an exotic nature lover's paradise with a fascinating ecosystem. Listed as one of the 400 natural wonders of the world it is a unique expanse of green on the planet with a vast range of flora and fauna. Looming over and above all the surrounding hills in the north eastern escarpments, its climate is claimed to be one of the best in the world.

The main economy of our region is tea based and the entire area is covered by rolling "Green Gold" tea plantations. Our FamilyStay – "Aakriti" is nestled at an altitude of 2050 Metres in the midst of a Tea Estate and its environs provide enthralling excursions into the tranquil naves of nature’s sanctuaries. The accommodation that we provide is your own independent place in our premises where our home is situated…..thus ensuring proximity to your hosts while at the same time giving you much required privacy and quiet time that you may need whilst on holiday.

We are plastic free, tobacco free and do not serve any meat ... and as a step to counter the ever depleting reserves of the Shola Trees( Indigenous Species ) of the Nilgiris we are encouraging every visitor to "Plant a Shola". We provide the sapling and by making our visitors plant them we are in a small way spreading awareness on the need for afforestation making this our SOS call…(Save Our Sholas).

Your Host chefs will provide mouth watering vegetarian cuisine ranging from the far flung areas of the Northwest of India to the local delicacies of the South where we live. We bake our breads each morning and juice our fruits each day thus ensuring that you start your day healthy.

While you are with us you can also use our place as a base and after a few days of exploring and understanding our region, we can drive out with you to nearby state of Karnataka on one side and give you insights into wildlife and temples that are on offer therein whilst also giving you the possibility of taking you into Kerala for its beaches and culture… both being less than a 3 hour drive from us.

Our FamilyStay concept is one which is unique wherein we don’t charge you for your stay here with us. We charge you for the services that we, your Hosts provide to you while you are here and for our exclusive time that we give to you during the course of your stay.

We recommend a minimum length of stay of 5 days. This will be appropriate for the cooking courses as well. However if you are short of time, we will tailor make a small program for you so don’t hesitate to get in touch. A themed cooking holiday: Everything we eat affects our body and mind; therefore food should be pure, from nature and balanced.

This formed the basis of the 4000-year old origins of Indian cuisine in our ancient civilization along the Indus Valley. Indian cuisine, with its ancient ayurvedic traditions, has however evolved and has become richer with the assimilation of myriad influences over these centuries by various rulers and travelers, both foreign and domestic.

We encompass these significant influences over these centuries and have packaged a unique culinary experience that showcases cuisine styles that have had the most significant influence over Indian cuisine, dating as far back as 600 B.C.

Our themed cooking holiday begins with the influence of Jainism and Buddhism on vegetarianism in India in 600 B.C. We maintain a fully vegetarian theme during this cooking holiday as we showcase the immense variety in this form of cuisine and the health benefits as a result. Logically we begin this experience with simple, easy to prepare Rajasthani cuisine.

Use of grains proliferated from 400 B.C. under the Buddhist Kings of the north. A fine example of the use of grain is in the creation of ‘parathas’; a typical Indian flat bread. We introduce you to the vast variety of options available in creating the Parathas of Delhi. Moving on, we shift focus to the Steam of the South; South Indian cuisine made popular by the great kings during 1200 A.D. Here you explore their repertoire in creating steamed delicacies that are not only very light, but also filled with good health!

Mughals and the invading muslim rulers from Persia and Mongolia brought about a significant and lasting influence to north Indian cuisine, especially cuisine from Kashmir, between 1200 to 1800 A.D. Better known as ‘Mughlai’ this style of cuisine combines nuts and dry fruits, aromatic spices and the exotic saffron to create exotic curries and rice in the uniquely Mughal procedure called ‘Dum.’

We give you a complete and comprehensive culinary experience while never forgetting our environmental and social responsibilities to our local region. Hence you will be part of this entire experience that begins with a personal selection of fresh organic vegetable and fruit produce from the local farmers market, selection of specific spices required and then the final hands-on cooking experience under the skill and guidance of your chef and professional nutritionist, Renu.

Walking: There are ample trekking paths through forests and grasslands teeming with wildlife, and scenic walks trough forest trails that are gentle on the legs. We can organize a walk that can take care of any special walking needs that you may have as well.

Exploring: The option to explore the Touristy and not so Touristy parts of our mountains as well as the way of living here by the locals is something that we are happy to introduce you to whilst you are with us.

Tea Production: Learning what it is you savor in that cup of tea is something that is close to us as we are a family of Tea Planters and hence would be happy to show you the various methods of tea production as well as the various grades of tea as they are processed fresh in the tea Factory on a daily basis.

Heritage Train Ride: We would be happy to book you on the Steam Train called the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR in short) for a journey through the hills at their euphoric best.

You will be staying in our Home Property in your own independent accommodation. We have a unique concept at our FamilyStay where we don't charge you for staying at our place but we charge you only for the exclusive services that we offer to you as well as the time, effort and energy that we, your hosts, will take to personally serve you and address every one of your needs while you are with us. All food will be prepared by us in our Home Kitchen and food served is Vegetarian and we can also address the special needs of Vegans and people with special diets.

All aspects of your holiday will be taken care of by us so all you need to do is to let us know what you expect from your holiday and leave the rest to us... The Best way is to Email us or call us. We as a family believe that there are many things that are important to be seen along the route and not just the destination and that's the reason we prefer to come and pick you up from wherever you are or at least organize a way to get you to a half way point where we can pick you up from.

To put things in perspective, we are in the State of Tamil Nadu and very well connected to Kerala and Karnataka, our neighboring states by Rail, Road and Air. We would be happy to make all your travel arrangements to get to us and to get from us.