Chikkamagaluru: Many growers in and around Kalasa and Horanadu areas of Chikkamagaluru switched over to tea plantations instead of coffee considering the increase in demand for tasty tea, both in national and international markets and the increased losses incurred by coffee planters.
Coffee plantations have dwindled mainly due to stem borer disease which destroyed coffee plants in total. It is now learnt, tea grown in Malnad areas has a unique flavour and suddenly people within the state and outside are taking a special liking for the produce grown in Malnad areas. Assam and Kerala tea used by tea lovers within the state of Karnataka is slowly getting replaced by Malnad tea.
Heaven on earth for tourists
Lot of tourists visit Kalaseshwara temple in Kalasa, Annapoorneshwari temple in Horanadu and Kudremukh. To reach those destinations the tourists have to go through Kelagur tea estate. When they come across the tea plantation on their way, tourists alight from their vehicles to spend few moments in the midst of nature. Newly married couples and live-in partners enjoy romantic moments of their relationship and some time fall so deeply in love with the natural surroundings leaving their partners alone at a distance! Many slopes in the hill district are now covered by tea plantations where coffee was once grown in abundance.
It is a dual package where one can sip a delicious cup of tea and lose oneself in the midst of nature. When aged people head towards the table to sip a cup of tea, young couples elope for a photo shoot session to capture the ‘moments of life’.
