I have a strong association with this small property called Beaumont Plantation Retreat in Thekkady, amidst the Western Ghats on the eastern side. I have been associated with them with their marketing exercises for a while. Beaumont has an incredible view of the farmlands of Cumbam valley from their property. From the moment I first saw this view, I have been wanting to visit this beautiful valley of Cumbam and have a look, back to the mountains from here. It was very recently that this dream came into reality.
Cumbam is approximately twenty kilometers from Thekkady and will take about 30 minutes to reach there. We started from Thekkady and once we hit the plains the road is like a straight line. You can see farmlands on both the sides of the road; many varieties of vegetables, bananas, mangos, grapes, and much more. En route we stopped by a small shop where a lot of Mangoes were kept for sale by two old women. We bought some Mangoes for ourselves and headed to Cumbam town. En route, this very idea of visiting a farm popped up, and we deviated to a Pomegranate farm called the Harvest Fresh Farm. On this road, we could see a lot of farmlands with vegetables and fruits ready to be harvested. The gates were locked and on our arrival, they were opened for us.
As the gates opened, we could see a way to the farm with palms on both the sides welcoming us. We were at the Harvest Fresh Farm, owned by Mr. Kurien from Cochin. He has been cultivating pomegranates here for the past few years. The farm is a beautiful place to be ; there are different livestock here, chickens, goose, and ducks, a nursery, some ten cows, and different herbal plants. The thirty-five-acre farms are primarily of pomegranates cultivated organically. There are some watch towers at various parts of the property and atop these towers you get a nice breeze that flows throughout the farmlands of Cumbam plains.
The below video was shot on a seperate trip altogether - to Harvest Fresh Farm
For people looking for some farming experience, this would be an ideal place, and there are a few rooms available for guests who wish to stay here. The farm offers day visits to the farm where guests could come and explore the farm and its surroundings. They often offer juices for guests made from freshly harvested pomegranates. Another enjoyable activity that they offer is the Bullock cart village ride which they outsource and charge separately. Many guests have excellent feedbacks about this place, especially the bullock cart rides.
We headed to Cumbam town, and it was lunch time for us. We thought of having traditional Tamilian Thali meal from Cumbam. The Thali with “ponni” rice was wholesome and tasty; you have it served on a banana leaf with curries and other accompaniments in small bowls. Yeah! It was a heavy meal, and it was time for us to get back to the hills.
We were heading back, climbing uphill through the Bodimettu road. It was evening by the time we reached atop the Ghats that was when we saw long convoys of Jeeps speeding downhill. These Jeeps come from Cumbam to Idukki every morning with plantation workers and return to Cumbam with the workers by evening. There are around 2500 Jeeps that come to Idukki carrying around 40000 workers every day. The wages for plantation workers are more compared to the wages they get in Tamil Nadu. Secondly, the transportation cost is born by the employer. Third, the weather is pretty nice in Idukki than in the plains of Tamil Nadu. It was an awesome day and we reached back at Beaumont by evening. We were totally inspired by all that we saw. This is a very popular day activity that one could do, when in Thekady.
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