Tamil Nadu accommodation, Western Ghats
| country: | India |
| location: | Dindigul, Tamil Nadu |
| price: | From Rupee 2750 (approx £33) - Rupee 4800 (approx £58) per room per night |
description
This homestay with its exquisite location in the middle of the pristine countryside is just the perfect place where one can seek a respite from the hustle and bustle of urban India and the roads! This is an “off the beaten track” family homestay located amidst stunning mountainous scenery at the foothills of the Western Ghats overlooking a 400 acre, monsoon dependent lake. The area attracts many bird watchers as it is home to a multitude of our feathered friends. Here guests find serenity, comfortable accommodation, friendly service, excellent food, and lots of things to do in the surrounding countryside.
Although we suggest guests take advantage of all we have on offer, many wish just to settle down with a good book on the veranda, or catch up on those postcards that they have forgotten to send. The atmosphere just has that effect on people!
special things to do and see here
facilities
Family & baby friendly: Families with children are welcome. We have a cot for small babies. For older children we can arrange a programme with one of our English / Tamil speaking staff. This introduces them to the skills of basic bush craft including animal spoor recognition, bird watching, flower identification and pressing etc. Adults are welcome to join their children if they want to.
how to find us
We are located between Dindigul (27Km) and Madurai (70Km). Dindigul has a major train station on the main rail route from Chennai (Madras) to the South of India. Madurai has both a rail station and an airport.
how this holiday makes a difference
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We firmly believe in the concepts of responsible tourism and eco friendly environmental practices. We attempt to contribute to and continuously integrate with the local community. To achieve this we have made certain commitments. We only employ Tamils as staff. For maintenance we employ local village artisans, plumbers, painters, masons, etc. We purchase most of our food from local markets. Guests visiting Athoor are accompanied by a knowledgeable staff member to allow them to experience true village life. We contribute directly to the local community by supporting a project aimed at helping the poorest of poor children.
We use Solar Voltaic Technology to generate electricity for pumping water to irrigate the farm. We heat all water in the house using Solar Collector Heaters located on the roof tops.  We pump our drinking water directly from deep mountain aquifers and do not add any chemicals such as bleach etc. We grow vegetables using predominantly organic methods and using only natural compost and insecticides as far as possible. We conserve water using drip irrigation. All of our waste that can be, is recycled. That which is unsuitable is either turned into compost or burned in an environmentally friendly manner in an incinerator which emits only a small amount of smoke. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |