I had heard a lot about this place and had known that it was a very beautiful resort set in a coffee plantation at Siddapura, which is a little village in Coorg district in Karnataka. We decided to spend a weekend at Orange County resort two years ago during the rainy season since you get extremely economical package that includes accommodation and meals. Orange county, we discovered later  was an excellent place to get the perfect coorg coffee plantation experience!

Although we had planned a weekend trip, we actually went in for a 3 night 4 day package that included accommodation for 6 people, meals included with unlimited cups of coffee at any time of the day or night and a few excursions and sightseeing expeditions organised by the resort. 

The resort

We drove down from Bangalore, making a stopover at Hunsur for lunch after which you take a diversion.The Bangalore – Mysore highway is very good being quite new , so also the Hunsur Madikeri Road, after which you take a diversion to Orange county. The directions are clearly marked. We arrived in the evening and were greeted by the most inviting visual of the resort covered with coffee plantation, trees and flower plants and neatly laid out paths.

The resort spreads over an area of 50 acres of cultivated land , where the cottages ,restaurants and other living area is located . There is also a vast stretch of coffee plantation and paddy fields , a lake, all measuring up to 300 acres and the River Cauvery flowing by the side of the resort . The resort is covered on one side by the Dubare and Nagara hole forest range where one gets to see wild elephants and many other wild life at close quarters. Our first impression of orange county was that it's one resort that delivers everything it promises! I have never seen a place that is as relaxing and refreshing and rejuvenating as Orange county . It was sheer bliss staying for a weekend at Orange County. It was calm and peaceful and the only sound one gets to hear is the birds chirping and the crickets and the sound of the rain...and it rained continuously all through the day and night.

The accommodation

After we checked in and parked our vehicle at the car park located at the entrance, we were taken with our luggage to our cottage on a buggy. Incidentally we cannot take our vehicles into the resort and the only vehicle that is allowed is  the buggy owned by the resort. One can of course ask for a lift if and when needed since old people and children may find it hard to cover the entire resort especially during meal times. The good thing about this is that one gets to do a lot of walking through all those lovely winding roads and paths within the resort. There are many different types of accommodation like the Tudor style cottages, Kerala style cottages, Twin cottages and Private pool villas..

All the different categories are extremely comfortable and air conditioned with squeaky clean bathrooms that is provided with the usual stuff like moisturiser , shampoos, Ayurvedic oil and creams. Each accommodation also came with an umbrella since it was raining heavily and supposedly it rains right through the year, which of course is the reason for all that lush greenery and part of its charm. The room service and generally the whole atmosphere is very cordial and pleasant which really makes a lot of difference .

The Restaurants

The food at Orange county is marvelous, cooked to perfection ..It was superb and there was a a great variety as well . The coffee shop overlooking the paddy fields with its comfortable seats and a collection of a variety of reading material was our favorite haunt especially when it rained!! It was sheer bliss having a hot cup of coffee and watch the rain from the verandah as we sank into those comfortable couches reading books from a really vast collection.

There is a Multicuisine restaurant by the swimming pool which offers a buffet during lunch time and one can have ones fill after a morning filled with other activities. There is also a vegetarian restaurant called Plantain Leaf, again serving lovely south Indian food, some North Indian dishes as well where we normally had our breakfast of Idli, Vada, Masala dosa, upma , Utthappa and cups of coffees brewed from their own Coffee beans. There is also a Non Vegetarian restaurant called 'The Pepper corn' which serves continental, thai, Chinese and Indian non vegetarian food.

So there is enough to eat and one can eat in any one of the restaurants depending on one’s mood.

Entertainment and activities

The package that we had booked included entertainment during the evenings and a few other activities like a Spice walk through the entire plantation with a guide who introduced us to all the exotic plants grown around there. We utilised it the very next afternoon after a heavy lunch and we wee shown the entire estate and introduced to the many varieties of herbs and other plants and trees growing around the resort.

There are many varieties of wild orchids and attractive tropical flowers and of course various spices like Cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, beetle nut and coffee...They have some rare trees like the mulberry tree on which the silk worms are bred, and a lot of herbs and medicinal plants used in Ayurveda.. The spice walk was supposed to be for 3 hours but since the weather had cleared we spent a little over four hours and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

On the evening after we arrived, we were treated to a local Kodava dance after dinner at the entertainment area. There were other activities as well and the guests were introduced to one another.But the cottages being secluded and each family or group keeping busy in their own way and the insistent rains made it impossible for us to socialise except greet each other during meal times.

Dubare forest range

We also visited the Dubare forest area , which was part of our package deal , with the help of two guides who were thorough with their knowledge.They were able to predict things just by looking at the sky and the trees.

Our walk through the Dubare forest range consisted of a trek of 8 kilo meters into the wild jungle . It was not easy as you go deep into the jungle because f the dense foliage and the leeches. We got to see some spotted deer, a really wild looking Bison that suddenly appeared ( we were asked to stay still and not make eye contact) and as suddenly disappeared into the forest , an Elephant family bathing in a stream and even a huge Cobra which was neither scared nor cared about us human beings. Both the guides were very capable and efficient in the way they handled such emergency situations and were well trained to act if and when something went wrong. They were in fact telling us an incident when a tiger came in front of a group and how they handled it. We all fervently prayed after that the tiger doesn't decide t pay us a visit, Bison and Cobra for a day was quite enough!

I have to make a special mention of the leeches, they manage to somehow leave their mark on any part of the human body that got exposed, one of the guests who was part of the group got badly bitten in the legs and the funny thing is that he dint realise it until the guide noticed a small trickle of blood coming down his ankle. We had been advised to apply Dettol on the exposed parts and carried a herbal cream which seemed to have helped the rest of us.

Places of interest around the resort

Other than nature walk and spending time in the resort, one can visit other places of interest like the monastery at Bylakuppe, Cauvery Nisarga dhama at Kushal nagar where River Cauvery divides and forms an island or Madikeri .

Bylakuppe - We visited the little Tibetan township of Bylakuppe one afternoon.It is amazing to see that the entire village looks as if it is in a hill station among the Himalayas because the settlement is meant only for them. The town is neatly laid out with small and medium sized houses, shops, schools and everything else that is needed for community living. There is a Monastery and a Buddhist temple close to the township run by the Buddhist monks who had to leave Tibet during the Chinese occupation. They were given sanctuary by the Karnataka government which also set up this town for them.

The Tibetans live in peace and harmony contributing i their own by way of making handicrafts and running road side eateries etc..

Cauvery Nisarga dhama Kushal Nagar - River cauvery which flows down from Brahmagiri muntains gains strength as she merges with many streams and riverlets and by the time she reaches Kushal Nagar through a series of Waterfalls, she is very forceful . Cauvery splits here and  forms an island . The  place is an ideal picnic spot.There are also many river side resorts here where one can stay overnight or for a weekend. The resort run by the forest department is enchanting since it is covered on all sides by water and one can see elephants come for a bath. There is a hanging bridge across the river which is a major attraction for tourists. We spend a night at the resort and were thrilled when it rained all night and cauvery had swollen beyond recognition.

The muddy swirling waters were a treat to watch, that too at such close quarters. This is the advantage of going for a holiday during the monsoons, you get such unexpected bonus.

Madikeri

Madikeri is the capital city of Coorg district. It is a very scenic place located right in the middle of the western ghats and covered with greenery and coffee plantations. One can spend an entire day in Madikeri since there are many things to see there like the Rajah seat a lovely spot right on top of the hill, a garden that over looks the valley below and temples and an old palace. Madikeri is also the best place to buy Coffee beans or powder, spices like cardomom and pepper and honey.Crg honey is very well known all over the state since it has a distinct woody taste.

Abbey falls

Close to Madikeri on our way back to resort we decided to visit the Abbey waterfalls.You have to walk 3 kms through woods and Teak plantations to reach Abbey falls.We got to see it st its wildest best since it had been continuously raining for the past several days. During summer months when the force of the water is relatively less, it is possible to go down and get drenched under the showers in some safe places, but now during monsoons it was unthinkable. In fact the water was so forceful that we could not even go close to it. All said and done it was an awesome sight not o be missed.

Elephant camp

At the Dubare forest range there is an elephant camp run by the forest department where elephants are trained to carry logs and help in rescue operations in the forest. It was a great experience watching the huge elephants trying to balance themselves on one leg and looking at the trainer with pleading eyes since it was a difficult task for them. After the trainer gave them the signal to get back to their normal position one of the naughty young elephant went up to the trainer and put his trunk around his neck to show affection. It was such a human like gesture and so very touching. One could clearly see the rapport developed between the trainer and the elephants

There is a stream and a large pool where the elephants take bath and we were all allowed to scrub the elephants .They waited obediently to be scrubbed, after which they went and immersed themselves in the pool of water.

We made our way back to Orange county after our visit to Madikeri and were happy to be back .The resort seemed so peaceful and inviting with the staff wanting to know how our trip was and offering us coffee and urging us to have dinner because there was more entertainment in store for us after that. That night a huge cake was cut by a couple who were celebrating their wedding anniversary and there was free wine and drinks for all the guests. Everything about the resort is charming and well thought of and well put together right down to the minutest detail. The staff is very well trained to cater to the comfort of the guests and they do it willingly, going that extra length if required without showing any reluctance. When it was time to leave we were given a gift hamper consisting of a large packet of home grown and ground Coffee powder ( which was delicious) and a large pack of cookies and two T shirts. A beautiful end to a fabulous holiday ! We also took a few pictures with the staff and promised to go back there again in the near future.

Conclusions

If you are looking for a holiday that gives you an opportunity to be close to nature, just be by yourself as a family or a group and introspect, then orange county is one of the places to be in. In my opinion it is the right place for a family to cut off from work and spend time together. They don't allow loud music within the resort and no high speed internet either which makes it little bit difficult if you are planning to do work or socialise on the net.

But the positive outcome of this is an early night and early mornings filled with activities like a game of shuttle badminton or a swim in any of the two swimming pools or a brisk walk through the resort and the adjoining woods, which would make you really hungry and you end up eating a healthy breakfast and go on to some more outdoor activities or visit the near by places of interest.