Coffee Plantation

Local Culture

Flora and Fauna

Wildlife Watching

Working Community

fishing

Callicoon Hills ♦ New York · United States

DEMO

A five-night stay at Evolve Back Coorg, a working 300-acre coffee and spice plantation in Siddapura, balancing on-site estate immersion with day excursions to elephant camps, sacred river sources, a Tibetan monastery in exile, and the mist-covered peaks above the Coorg highlands.

6 / 5

Days / Nights

Postcards

Itinerary

STAR PARTNER

New York, United States

Ride the Plantation on a 4x4 at Dawn

Coffee Plantation Local Culture Flora And Fauna

Callicoon Hills

Coorg produces a significant share of India's arabica coffee, much of it grown under a canopy of silver oak — the shade slows ripening and concentrates flavour in the cherry. At Evolve Back, the plantation tour covers that full cycle: you ride out through the estate in an open 4x4 in the early cool, stopping to look at the flowering, the fruiting, the wet-processing station where the pulp is stripped and the beans are laid to dry. A guide walks you through the difference between the arabica grown here and the robusta common to the lower elevations nearby. Back at the resort, the morning coffee tastes different after you've seen where it came from.

STAR PARTNER

New York, United States

Watch Elephants Work the Cauvery at Dubare

Wildlife Watching Working Community

Callicoon Hills

Dubare is a working Karnataka Forest Department camp, not a sanctuary designed around visitors. The elephants are trained for forestry — historically for timber operations, now for ceremonial and conservation duties. Visiting as observers alongside that working relationship sits differently to a performance camp. You reach the camp by crossing the Cauvery on a small boat, arriving on the forested bank where the morning bathing and feeding routine is already under way. Mahouts work alongside the elephants in the shallows. You can watch the feeding, and in some seasons wade in during the bathing. The Cauvery here is shallow, wide, and clear over stones. The camp is a thirty-minute drive from Evolve Back — close enough to be back for lunch.

STAR PARTNER

New York, United States

Discover World-Class Trout Fishing in the Catskills

Fishing

Callicoon Hills

Just 10 minutes from Callicoon Hills, Roscoe promises unrivalled trout fishing adventures. Imagine casting your line into the legendary Junction Pool, where the pristine Beaverkill River and Willowemoc Creek merge, creating a haven for trout. This southwestern Catskills gem, surrounded by rugged mountains and clear rivers, offers an angling experience like no other.

Evolve Back Coorg — 5-Night Itinerary

Evolve Back Coorg sits on 300 acres of working coffee and spice plantation in Siddapura, in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. The estate borders the Cauvery River and the forests that edge it, with arabica coffee grown under silver oak shade, pepper climbing the same trees, and cardamom in the understorey. Accommodation is in private pool villas set within the plantation. The itinerary balances on-site estate life — tours, tastings, spa, coracle rides — with excursions into the wider Coorg region: the Cauvery headwaters at Talakaveri, the Tibetan monastery complex at Bylakuppe, elephant interactions at Dubare, and the misty ridgeline at Mandalpatti.

Day 1: Arrival & Resort Immersion

Morning: Arrive at Evolve Back Coorg. Check in to your villa. Welcome drink and orientation walk around the resort grounds.

Afternoon: 4x4 plantation tour of the coffee and spice estate — arabica cultivation, shade-growing under silver oak, pepper and cardamom in the same canopy system.

Evening: Spa session or pool time. Dinner at the resort featuring local Kodava cuisine. Stargazing from the estate.

Day 2: Elephant Encounters & River

Morning: Drive to Dubare Elephant Camp on the banks of the Cauvery River. Interact with the camp's working elephants — feeding and bathing under mahout supervision.

Afternoon: Return to Evolve Back for a coracle ride on the Cauvery River near the resort — a short, unhurried drift on the water in a traditional round basket boat.

Evening: Ayurvedic massage or resort leisure.

Day 3: Sacred Sites & Monastery

Morning: Drive to Talakaveri, the origin point of the Cauvery River in the Brahmagiri Hills. Visit the temple complex at the river's source.

Afternoon: Continue to Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe — one of the largest Nyingma Tibetan Buddhist settlements outside Tibet, established by refugees who arrived in the early 1960s. The main temple complex houses large gilded Buddha statues and detailed murals.

Evening: Return to Evolve Back. Coffee tasting session at the resort.

Day 4: Peaks & Reservoir

Morning: Early jeep ride to Mandalpatti Peak — a ridgeline viewpoint above the Coorg forests, reached by a rough track requiring 4x4, with views across forested valleys and, on clear mornings, layers of mist in the canopy below.

Afternoon: Stop at Chiklihole Reservoir for the landscape on the return drive.

Evening: Birdwatching on the estate, pool, or visit to Ainemane — a traditional Kodava ancestral house — on-site at Evolve Back.

Day 5: Local Culture & Departure Preparation

Morning: Optional visit to Abbey Falls or an extended walk through the resort plantation.

Afternoon: Spa, swimming, or a Coffeeology session at Evolve Back — the resort's guided deep-dive into coffee processing and preparation.

Evening: Farewell dinner at the resort.

Day 6: Departure

Check out and onward transfer, coordinated through the resort concierge.

Practical notes: Best season October to March. Carry light rain gear outside that window. All transfers and guided excursions coordinated through Evolve Back concierge.

Terms & Conditions

Inclusions

Five nights accommodation at Evolve Back Coorg in a private pool villa
Daily breakfast and dinner at the resort
4x4 plantation tour of the coffee and spice estate
Coracle ride on the Cauvery River
Guided excursion to Dubare Elephant Camp
Guided day excursion to Talakaveri Temple and Namdroling Monastery, Bylakuppe
Jeep safari to Mandalpatti Peak
Coffee tasting / Coffeeology session at Evolve Back
All transfers between activities as per itinerary, coordinated through resort concierge

Exclusions

International and domestic flights
Visa fees
Personal expenses, tips and gratuities
Any spa treatments or additional activities not listed above
Travel insurance
Meals not specified in inclusions

General

Itinerary is subject to change based on weather, road conditions, and availability.
Mandalpatti jeep safari is weather-dependent; the resort concierge will advise on conditions.
Dubare Elephant Camp interactions are conducted under mahout supervision as per camp protocols.
All bookings subject to availability at time of confirmation.