Overview

Kurumbas

The kurumba tale

Kurumba! exhale it like a sigh, a mantra… In this one word is compressed the past and rich culture of a forgotten tribe! The kurumbas are one of the five ancient tribes of the nilgiris – the todas, kothas, kurumbas, irulas and badagas.

The kurumbas lived in tune with the forest, with nature, the earth and the sky… they understood mother nature’s moods, her tantrums and her ability to give generously of her bounty to those who protected her and cherished her.

The kurumbas led simple lives, living off the land – on the roots of wild yam, honey and some of the animals that they hunted. They never took more than what they needed; there was no sense of greed; the land could breathe free and remained lush and fertile.

The names of the different sects of these people give an insight into their deep connection with mother earth. The kadu (forest) kurumbas were the original people. From them emerged various off-shoots such as the betta (mountain) kurumbas; ane (elephant) kurumbas; bevina (neem) kurumbas; jenu (honey) kurumbas; mullu (thorn) kurumbas; and mannu (earth) kurumbas.

The tribe that inhabited our burliar region worshipped kuribattaraya (a male deity which translates to the lord of many sheep) and musnie (a female deity). They also worshipped another deity called hiriabetta.

The kurumbas had a relatively sophisticated concept of right and wrong. They believed that after death, human beings morphed into devas – the good ones into creative devas and the bad ones into destructive devas!

Our resort enjoys the blessings of the creative devas for we love and respect our earth mother!

Nilgiris

Discover the nilgiris

Nilgiris – it’s easy to get poetic when pronouncing the name; to linger over it; to stretch out the word like a song… So evocative is the name of the misty beauty of these blue-green mountains, shared by tamil nadu, karnataka and kerala…

And nothing is lost in translation for nila means blue and giri means mountains… blue mountains is an equally enchanting name.

One of the earliest descriptions of the nilgiris where the kurumba village resort is situated was the one by captain s. b, ward, dy surveyor general of the then madras government. “The climate of these mountains,” he said “is the finest known in the tropics.”

And we at kurumba village resort intend to keep it that way – the rain forests that surround the property are dark and deep; the stream that runs along the border of kurumba village resort is pure and pristine; and the mountains – tall and sentinel – guard the secrets of the past in their stony folds.

Ootacamund, queen of the hill stations, is only 32 km away while coonoor and kotagiri are other spots that visitors can explore at leisure. Scale the highest peak in south India – dodabetta – all of 8,649 ft; head out to mukurthi, another lush rainforest area; or the hills and dales of upper bhavani.

We can also help you to forge ahead to kanyakumari, the tip of india where three oceans meet; to chennai by the sea or even to the neighbouring states of kerala and karnataka.

Responsible Tourism

We are “earthy,” we love our planet and will go the extra mile to preserve it for future generations. Our resort is built to emerge in an organic way from the earth (it is located in a former spice plantation) much like the dwellings of the eco-friendly kurumbas, one of the five ancient tribes of the nilgiris. In our interiors too we have used local fabrics and tribal motifs to try and give our guests the best and most authentic experience possible. We also strive to leave a light footprint – minimize use of plastic, over-use of detergents, have good waste management practises, enhance the quality of soil, water and air and purchase everything locally. We want to keep our corner of the earth as pristine as when it first awakened to life!

Our green code

We have installed a sewage treatment plant

• The treated waste water is used in the spice plantation
• Degradable / bio degradable waste is segregated
• Plastic / paper / glass / metals (cans) waste are recycled
• All the shampoo, conditioner, lotion bottles are returned to the supplier so that they can be sterilized, refilled and recycled, in some cottages we use hand made pots to reduce the plastic used in the bottling of these products
• We have installed acoustic enclosures for our kitchen exhausts
• We are continuously working at minimizing noise levels at the resort
• Vehicular movement has been minimized within the resort premises
• Pooled transfers provided for staff living in town
• The majority of our staff is accommodated within the property
• Energy-efficient cfl bulbs are used on the property
• Electronic key tags minimize wastage of electricity
• We encourage the use of bags made of cloth and newspaper
• Our cottages have been constructed so as not to disturb the serenity of nature.
• Fertilizers used in our plantations are organic. Hence the spices and fruits are organic
• We have planted more than 3,000 native species of trees within the resort. These include fruits and plants that are a natural habitat for birds and amphibians
• Usage of lights optimized to minimize disturbance to nocturnal wildlife
• Cultural programmes are organized in the resort to showcase and preserve local traditions and culture
• These shows feature locals which provides them with supplementary income
• We encourage local youth to learn their traditional art forms by way of dance and music.
• Activities like plantation tours and guided forest walks encourage our guests to appreciate local culture and nature.
• The theme of the resort showcases local architecture. Material used in the construction of the resort has been sourced locally
• Our meals showcase local cuisine
• About 90% of our staff is local
• Our resort supplements the income of local taxi drivers, doctors and families
• We purchase our groceries and vegetables from local markets
• The resort complies with all the labour laws of the state
• Wherever possible, we ensure that products used at the resort are not made by child or bonded labour
• We ensure that suppliers are paid a fair price for their products and services.

Climate

The kurumba village resort is located at an ideal altitude in the nilgiris. The climate, therefore, is temperate and there are no extremes in temperature. Even during the monsoons, there is magic and romance in the air as mist sweeps across the mountains like the flutter of a seductress’s veil.

Remember to bring swim wear and comfortable sports shoes no matter what the season.

Travel

Travel information

Kurumba village resort nestles in the folds of the blue mountains, between the number fourth and number fifth hairpin bend on the scenic mountain road between mettupalayam and coonoor.

Closest airport: coimbatore (56km)

Closest railway stations: mettupalayam (18km) on the main line and coonoor (14km) on the toy train line between mettupalayam and ooty (34km).

The toy train

The journey on the toy train in the nilgiris is indeed the destination. For this quaint little train that recently chugged into the listing of unesco world heritage sites, brims with raj nostalgia. Built over a century ago, the 40 km track that ducks through 16 tunnels and trundles over 362 bridges, snakes up mountains that are carpeted with virgin forests, rolling meadows and the neat geometric patterns of tea plantations. And if you are lucky, you might even get to see a herd of wild elephants crossing the track.

According to discovery channel, the narrow gauge track between mettupalayam and coonoor is one of the steepest in world and it was one of the very first railway projects to use the cogwheel to negotiate the incline.

The toy train is a year-round service. It chugs out of mettupalayam every morning and returns in the evening. Its timings tie in with the overnight nilgiri express between chennai central station and mettupalayum vis coimbatore.

The railways run an additional train between mettupalayam and ooty to cope with the summer and diwali vacations rush.

In addition, there are morning and evening shuttle services between coonoor and ooty – 19 km apart.

Getting to the kurumba village resort by road

(Distances in Kilometres)

Time taken to travel by air and rail to coimbatore

(The closest airport and main-line station to the resort)

Time in Hours

The drive from coimbatore to the resort is about 1hr 30m.

Location

Latitude : 11.3364231

Longitude : 76.8297397

Altitude : 3181 feet or 969 meters above sea level.

Map