Elephant Valley, eco farm Hotel is a nature reserve, organic farm and plantation welcoming eco-tourists and nature lovers all year round. Belonging to the Dune Wellness group, Elephant Valley is located on an old elephant migration route in the forest near the wildlife sanctuaries of Kerala.
It is located on 100 acres in the Palni hills, Tamil Nadu, an area of the Western Ghats in South India known to be one of 25 most important Biodiversity hotspots on the planet. Kodaikanal, the well-known hill-station is just 20 kms away.
Eco friendly stay
Elephant Valley offers twenty uniquely designed bungalows and the Valley restaurant serves gourmet cuisine using our organically farmed vegetables.
There is Maison Aventure, Serene Houses, Deluxe Houses and Houses with two rooms. Each one is equipped with solar lights, low consumption bulbs, and firewood fuelled hot water showers. During the winter nights you can warm up our cast iron wood stoves.
The bungalows have been tastefully and artistically created using local products– locally sourced granite, reclaimed doors, windows, pillars and wood from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The hotel has used tasteful antique colonial and art deco furniture to decorate each bungalow in a unique way. Each cottage has its own private garden overlooking the Gangavaar River and our coffee plantation.
At the Valley Restaurant, natural organic food grown right in the inhouse vegetable garden, plantation and orchard, is served.
The menu fuses together Indian and Continental cuisine, offering a wide variety of delicious dishes. The restaurant is located amidst lush green coffee-spice plantations with a spectacular view of the valley and the mountain.
The Valley Lounge next to the restaurant is the social meeting point of the hotel. There is a collection of entertaining games, such as wooden backgammon, a traditional Tamil game played with seashells, carrom, Scrabble and many more. There is a small book and DVD library.
Sustainable bio-intensive vegetable garden
In the Elephant Valley vegetable garden the hotel follows a crop management system inspired by lessons learnt from Mother Nature. Guests can visit the garden and pick-up fresh veggies for their lunch or dinner. Elephant Valley is organic certified by I.M.O Suisse.
In the hotel’s 7 acre vegetable garden, biodiversity is maintained by cultivating more than 25 species and varieties of vegetables and by rotating crops around the year and around the garden. In its 100 acre plantation, there are more than 100 plant species grown per acre of natural forest.
Agri-mono-culture makes for an unstable ecosystem that is susceptible to pest outbreak and mass failure.
Fertility Management System
The hotel uses a combination of various ancient and modern fertility management systems on its farms:
Composting
The process of composting can be defined as the decomposition or breakdown and integration of organic materials with mineral matter by a large mixed population of micro-organisms in a warm, moist, aerated environment in order to create a humus end product.
Green Manure Crops
The leguminous and carboneous plants grown in site have rootsystems which are freely left in the soil and turned into humus by micro and macro fauna & flora. The aerial growth of these plants is used as mulching material, controlling weeds, water evaporation and providing a long term feed to the soil.
Worm Culture
Earthworms represent a key component in the biological strategy of the soil nutrient cycle. Earthworms feed on nutrient rich waste, transforming them down into simpler substances, which facilitates further microbial action and ejects compost high in nutrition value and enzymes.
EM: Effective Micro Organisms
A modern mixed culture of micro organisms beneficial to soil fertility.
Panchakavya
An ancient Indian plant growth promoter made out of the five products of the cow (Vrikshayurveda) : Urine, dung, milk, ghee, curd.
Elephant Valley Organic Coffee
This blend is a mix of organically grown Arabica from the finest coffee growing regions of South India. This limited edition of gourmet coffee is processed, roasted and packed at the Elephant Valley plantation which is certified Organic by IMO Switzerland. The coffee is available at the Dune Eco Village & Spa, Dune Mansion, Tanjore Hi. It can also be delivered anywhere in India.
