Carousing in Cardamom House.
Route : Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Karur - Dindigul - Turn right (twds Sembatti after the second overbridge) - Athoor Village - Cardamom House.
Cardamom House - Dindigul - Karur - Salem- Dharmapuri - Rayakottal - Palacode - Beerjepali - Hosur - NH 47 - turn left to Bangalore.
Started very early in the morning and it was a dismal morning with persistent rains and gloomy weather. But inspite of that we were excited to ride to a new place..
We had Doc, R Pai, Tana and Love, Prateek and Nita and yours truly with Rocky. Doc and Mr Pai got their car at the last minute since it was raining so hard and well we started our journey at 5:00 AM sharp.
After reaching Dharmapuri, the weather changed and rains had stopped and it was getting drier. My throat was parched. We were getting hungry and wanted to stop to eat.
Somewhere in Dharmapuri, Doc and Mr Pai’s car were deviated to a different route while we continued on the narrow roads.. I spotted some hot puris being made at a roadside joint and had to stop there. The puris looked delicious.
While we were having breakfast, we met RTMC riders on their way to Dhanushkodi. It was good seeing them.
We had our fill of hot puris and masala and continued our journey. It was terribly dry and humid and no matter what I ate, my throat was parched and remained so.
We took short intermittent stops to wet our throats and we reached Dindigul sometime around 2:00. We did good time since the roads were good and it was almost empty. Maybe because of Independence Day. We were happy we would reach the destination early.
As soon as we turned towards Sempatty, the weather changed again. It was cool but humid.
Reaching Cardamom House was a bit tough since its way inside the mountains.. We had to read the map in detail provided to us in the website which took us to that place at one go.. 
As soon as we entered the porch, we were greeted with this beautiful view of the lake and the place seemed just perfect to settle down for the weekend. We took a cottage a level above the main house.
After a mocktail of mango juice with cardamom and a really warm welcome by Chris, the owner of this place, we went to our rooms to refresh ourselves.
The weather was languorous and I just wanted to languish.
While the gang sat around a beer, I went to my room, refreshed myself and opened a book. After a few minutes, I just slept so deep that I did not know where I was when I awoke.
Some of us went and checked the lake out. We had a wonderful dinner hosted by Chris. There were travelers from all over the world and well we were the only Indian travelers there.
Dinner was elaborate and a celebration of Indian independence. We conversed and fed on some delicious tandoor dishes and meal preparation on the terrace of the main house.
After dinner, we spend some time talking beneath the moonlight by our cottage over drinks. Good friends, good company, good service and a great host.. what more can one want from a place ??
After the short exploration of the lake and its natural flora and fauna, we had a sumptuous breakfast.
You have to try Shankar’s Toast if you are here. Its awesome.
There were loads of fresh fruits which you could bite into it and get lost in its flavors. Freshly squeezed orange juice to jumpstart your day, and whole lots more. All of us thought we would not be able to eat another bite for lunch.
As the day progressed, I just decided to while it by myself and finished a book and took my nap. My whole aim was to do NOTHING and I succeeded.
My friends went for a walk and came back to rest . I sat and watched the rain washing the mountains all by myself and it filled me with a sense of utter contentment and bliss.
Rocky joined me after the first spate of rains and we experimented with some clicks while it rained. It was beautiful watching the rains over the lake and the mountains.. Slowly it was time to have tea after which we had an American dinner celebrating belated American Independence.
In the evening I took a walk with some new friends I made there.. who were curious to know our way of life. They were from New Zealand. I was hoping to catch some peacocks who were calling loudly after the rains.
My friends also took a walk to the cave temple which was closed but went around the dam itself.
We caroused the whole weekend over the beauty, the food the hospitality and everything that made Cardamom house worth making a beautiful memory over..
We waved goodbye to this place while knotting and placing yet another memory pouch for us to open in one of the rainy days in Bangalore.
Important Info:
- Cardamom House Website
- Map to reach there from Sembatty courtesy Cardamom House. Please follow the directions to the T.
- Room Tariff
- Meal Tariff
- Pictures from my clicks here.
Recommendation:
- Great for family and friends..
- Good to start early morning to this place and back. You will avoid the heat of Tamil Nadu.
- This place can accommodate 17 people at one go.
- Highway is dry.. so carry a lot of liquids when traveling by car or by bike. Electrol is helpful.
- Lot of hiking activities in and around the place.
- August-September is a good time to visit this place.
- Do try the Palacode road while traveling via Dharmapuri. Its a beautiful uninterrupted scenic highway.
- Kid friendly and very neat accommodation.
- Very warm hospitality and an ideal place to have a quiet vacation.
- Place is closed from March to June 14th for maintenance.
- Alcohol is available at a decent price unlike other places.
- Kodaikanal is about 80 kms from here but keep it as a different trip or divide it up between this and the next stop. It takes 6 hours and more to do that.
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