Cherambadi beckons with quiet tea gardens

If you are surfing through options for a weekend getaway within six-hours reach from Bengaluru, I would suggest the small plantation town of Cherambadi.

The place is 20 km from Sulthan Bathery facing the Nilambur Forests. This picturesque quaint village in Tamil Nadu has some of the best colonial bungalows which the plantation companies have now opened up to tourists which were once reserved for its visiting managers.

Once such bungalow is ‘Wentworth Heritage Bungalow’, which is run by Harrison Malayalam Limited Guest House that is owned by the Goenka group. Built in the early 1900s, the British planters constructed this bungalow in the topmost point of the 2,400 acres tea estate overlooking the entire estate, with the Western Ghats in the background.

The bungalow have three spacious bedrooms with attached toilets with all modern fittings. Like all Colonial bungalows, the place has spacious verandahs overlooking the scenic valley ahead. One will wake up in the morning facing the picturesque valley all around the bungalow.

The tariff includes breakfast and meals like lunch and dinner are separately charged. Both veg and non-veg fare are available cooked in the regional style.

The company offers estate tours to its guests, giving them an overall feel of plucking tea to packing it at the factory. This can prove as a great educational experience for young children. The estate has many vantage points which make for picnic spots, especially one by a stream.

Cherambadi houses spots where one can go for trekking or visit with a jeep ride. There is a tribal colony which is just 4 km away, where one can go to understand and observe their lifestyle.

A hydraulic equipment, Blake Hydram, can be found in Cherambadi. This was set up in the early 1900s and only two of them are believed to exist in the country now. This unique structure helps in the extensive use of water throughout the estate.

For those who would like to get a view of the surroundings from a peak, a high peak point called Neelimala viewpoint, which is 6 km away from the estate is a good spot to visit. It offers a great respite to nature lovers. It is under the Forest Department and is not open during the monsoons.

The forests surrounding the estates can bring in occasional visitors like elephants and leopards to your doorstep. So venturing out late in the night is not advisable.

The place is best suited for families who are travelling as a group for a relaxing weekend far away from the maddening crowd.

On your return trip, you could drop into the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary for a safari trip.