Pollachi Riverhouse

Pollachi itself is an hour from Coimbatore and a world away from the kind of Tamil Nadu that shows up on curated travel lists. This is coconut grove country, where the landscape stretches out in verdant fields with a river weaving through, and CGH Earth Saha has placed its three-bedroom villa right in the middle of it.

The avocados are the first thing you'll notice on the driveway, hanging heavy from the trees. It sets the tone for everything that follows: abundant, but quiet. The pool mirrors the river below, and a garden overlooks the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, bustling with wildlife. And you can sit with it all, at length, with a cup of tea.

The Pollachi Papyrus, a collective dedicated to documenting this specific part of Tamil Nadu, has curated the photographs on the wall, shot from the surrounding village and the forests of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. As for the decor, fabrics and textiles come from repurposed saris, cane-woven chairs and baskets do the furnishing, and Karaikudi enamelware, in the vivid colours of that craft tradition, turn up as pots and bins. The three bedrooms – Forest, Water and Ceramics – are each an extension of the landscape around them.

Food here is Kongunadu cooking, and it deserves your full attention. The cuisine of the region is distinct from the coastal traditions of Tamil Nadu and rooted instead in the inland agricultural landscape of Coimbatore. Horsegram rasam, say, or kara kuzhambu; fresh coconut-based chutneys and local millets that are only now trending elsewhere. Meals are elaborate, prepared to your taste and dietary preferences, and served with the expectation that you'll eat heartily.

The local experiences on offer suit the landscape: handloom weaving workshops nearby reveal how a Kanjivaram sari – yes, the kind that lasts a lifetime – is patiently woven into being; a visit to the village where palm jaggery is made is an education: the process and the smell and the extraordinary labour of tapping toddy palms and reducing the sap to something so delicious; coconut thatch weaving is more meditative, on the other hand. The Anamalai Tiger Reserve is close enough for an early morning excursion, if you can bring yourself to leave the villa.

Time Out tip: Slow travellers love to spend all their time at the property. But ask the team to arrange a half-day out to see the surrounding craft village. You can watch Kanjivaram silk sarees being woven on traditional handlooms, visit a village where palm jaggery is still made by hand, and see coconut thatch being woven for roofing.

Nearest airport: Coimbatore International Airport, around 40 km, and a one-hour drive, away.