Are you from Tamil Nadu? Are you fed up of visiting Ooty and Kodaikanal for umpteen number of times? Do you want to connect with unleashed places of the state?

Head to Kotagiri!

A quaint little sleepy town, popular for it’s unadulterated nature, offering various spots for trekking in Nilgris.

Kotagiri houses various tribal settlements like Kotas(from whom the name Kotagiri came), Todas, Kurumbas, Kattu nayakars.

Adorned by greener tea estates, Kotagiri has been a summer vacation centre since British era.

The quaint hill station far from the tourist radar, is often overlooked by travellers for it’s famous twin sister, Ooty.

If you are looking for offbeat options to spend your time in Kotagiri, you have come to the right place! Head further to know what all we did!

Stay in a modified colonial bungalow

Located just one km from Kotagiri bus stand, we had booked this modified colonial bungalow to experience Kotagiri like British did.

But what awaited was a beautiful bungalow with poor service and maintainence. Surrounded by tea gardens, this humble bungalow has got a good scope to attract large number of guests if they improve upon their service.

Meander through the tea estates

Looking back, now I realise how much I miss walking through the tea estates to reach our stay, listening to the chirping of birds and the occasional barking of dogs in the houses(Of course our fear of being chased).

Stumble upon interesting vistas at every turn

As we were early, we meandered in the other direction aimlessly to ultimately stumble upon a home like these at the end of the road. Who doesn’t want to live in a house like this with such a beautiful garden?

Visit a Toda mund and learn about their culture

One of the very reason, why I planned this trip to Nilgiris was the quirky hut which I chanced upon Internet. Inquisitive to know more about it, we visited a Toda mund in Kotagiri to interact with a local and also to see the hut ourselves.

Constructed in the shape of half barrels, Toda huts called dogles are built of bamboo fastened together with dried indigenous grass.

Buy a Toda embroidery shawl or bag as souvenir

Your trip to Kotagiri is incomplete without buying yourselves a Toda embroidery product.  This red and black embroidery on white fabrics are sure eye-catchy and comes in various patterns to make it a perfect souvenir.

This embroidery has also been given a geographical indication by the government.

Hear the adventurous stories of Kattu Nayakars(Honey hunters) of Nilgiris

As one of the honey hunters narrated his old ways of life, living in caves deep inside jungle amidst wild animals eating wild produce and hunting for honey, we couldn’t but marvel at the simple yet adventurous lives these people have lived.

Discover your way to a Church on hill top!

While walking from NAWA(Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association), we saw a beautiful church perched on a hilltop of tea plantation offering some surreal views.

While on our way back to our stay, we asked few locals on how to reach the church atop the hill. They happily showed us the way. We had to walk through a private property to reach this church.

But what came in as a pure surprise was the stunning setting like this just before the climb to the church. When I say interesting vistas at every turn, I meant it.

It’s totally frame worthy right?

As the sun was about to set, we climbed to the church to be mind-blown again to dreamlike scenes like this.

Visit a old age home and watch them involving in creating endeavors

When I found myself sitting in an old age home, I wasn’t expecting much more than a quaint conversation.

But when I saw them weaving floor mats using old sarees, I was awestruck of their dedication at such age.

Be it the breathtaking views or the serenity of the place or the super friendly people, Kotagiri has it all. Kotagiri sure is a must do for those seeking a quite vacation amidst nature.