Video: Harvesting Pepper

On the last TravelWise tour of Coorg, we interacted extensively with the planter who hosted us. He spent about three hours walking us around the estate and talking about every single plant within their property.

As we walked, he would look carefully into ground or into a tree, pick up some grass or a small leaf and ask us to chew or smell it. He would pick up a strange looking fruit from a tree, cut it into pieces and tell us to eat it. He would go on to talk about vegetation in the forest that effectively curtailed forest fire or about pests that are trapped by luring them into a bowl of alcohol! The session that we planned for an hour lasted three hours, but it never seemed like we were there so long.

Here is a short video of Mr. Prakash Poovanna explaining how Pepper is harvested.


Categories: travelwise

Travel Wise – The Hoysala Trail – February 13, 14

After a short gap, ‘The Tour of Less Known Hoysala Kingdom’ from Travel Wise is back again. We will be going on a tour on the weekend of February 13th, in which I will take a small group through some less known but beautiful temples around Belur and Halebeedu, built by the Hoysalas. The tour is not just about going from place to place, but involves knowing a lot about the dynasty and the temples. We will also do a walk inside a coffee estate and find out everything about growing coffee.

We had received great response in earlier editions of the tour, and the feedback was excellent. See details of the tour on travelwise.in.  The group size will be small, between 8 and 11, so register early.

Click on the image to see large version. See related posts at the bottom of this post to know more about the places we visit.

Hoysala Trail


Categories: travelwise

TravelWise on MyBangalore and The Hindu

My Bangalore, a city based postal has a write-up on TravelWise.

Lakshmi and Arun are two people who do not conform to norms. Lakshmi an ad professional and Arun a software engineer shed their corporate identities to do what they love doing. Travelling. They took this a step further to convert it into TravelWise…

…Lakshmi and Arun give a traveler more than just a travel experience. With Travel wise you get to see and explore places that the regular tourist map fails to show.

Today’s Hindu has a short feature on upcoming TravelWise trip to Coorg on the weekend of November 21st and 22nd.

Green hills, misty rivers, lost monuments and an endless fabric of coffee plantations. Add to this a distinct local culture and a history of conflicts and intrigue.

Meet the Kodavas, soak in their culture, follow the call of the birds, wet your feet in a creek, feel the rush of a waterfall, or visit an ancestral home. All, at ‘Vignettes of Coorg’. As you travel, listen to stories of passion and intrigue, myths and legends and blend with the rhythm of Nature. For details, call 99020-70689 or visit www.travelwise.in

Our upcoming tour to Coorg is scheduled on the weekend of November 21st. We are also launching a new tour in December. Join our facebook group or subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated.