Kodaikanal Coffee, Pear & Hill-Garlic Farm

The Hill Farm

Kodaikanal's cool climate supports crops that grow nowhere else in Tamil Nadu: pears, plums, peaches and the tiny, pungent hill garlic (malai poondu) prized in Siddha medicine and local cooking. This family farm, about 8 km from Kodaikanal town on the road to Berijam, has been cultivating these crops alongside coffee for three generations.

The Walk

The farmer himself guides you through terraced slopes where arabica coffee grows under eucalyptus shade, alongside rows of pear and plum trees. In the lower section, raised beds of hill garlic and wild herbs fill the air with a sharp, medicinal fragrance. The farmer explains crop rotation, organic pest management using neem and marigold, and the economics of hill farming.

Harvest & Taste

Depending on the season, you pick coffee cherries (Oct-Feb), pears (Jul-Sep), plums (Apr-Jun), or hill garlic (year-round). A simple tasting follows at the farmhouse: fresh fruit, roasted coffee, hill-garlic pickle, and eucalyptus honey from the farm's own hives.

The View

The farm offers panoramic views of the Palani Hills. On clear days, the plains below shimmer in the heat while you stand in comfortable 18-degree weather. The contrast is the essence of hill-station life — and the reason these farms exist at all.