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Evolve Back, Coorg

Coorg, India
Evolve Back, Coorg — hotel photograph
On the richly forested eastern slopes of the Western Ghats in Karnataka lies a 300-acre coffee and spice plantation, the Chikkana Halli Estate.

Cocooned among its dense vegetation are a selection of individual villas, each built to blend seamlessly into the environment yet provide the ultimate in luxury and tranquillity for their guests. Welcome to Evolve Back in Coorg. The heritage Kodova villas take their design inspiration from the architectural style of the indigenous communities and feature hand-cut red sandstone bricks, neutral décor with dark wood furniture. They each have a spacious bathroom, private courtyard and pool.

While the Lily Pool villas echo the design of the plantation settlements, with terracotta tiled floors and thatched roofs, they sit around serene lily ponds that lead seamlessly onto the private pool. The hotel has three restaurants: the ‘Granary’ is a cultural melange of international cuisine, ‘Peppercorn’ is an ode to the grills and kebabs of the Coorg region and ‘Plantain Leaf’ is vegetarian speciality restaurant set deep in the plantations of the estate. An onsite Ayurveda Centre offers a broad range of treatments and there are two large, shared swimming pools.

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What we love

    • Coffee is central to a stay here with tasting sessions, plantation walks and an onsite coffee museum all on offer
    • Meals shared under the hugest of skies are a real highlight, we loved the moonlit lakeside dinner for two, but you can choose from a myriad of settings
    • The infinity pool surrounded by lush vegetation is a dreamy space to float away your stress
    • Drifting in the neighbouring Cauvery River in a traditional circular fishing boat or ‘coracle’ is an experience not to be missed
What we love — gallery photograph
What we love — gallery photograph 2
What we love — gallery photograph 3
What we love — gallery photograph 4

Coorg is not an easy place to reach, with both international airports and train stations being a good distance from the hotel, but the journey to get here is more than worth the effort for the peace, tranquillity and unique insight into these ancient hills

Children are welcome with nature walks and treasure hunts laid on for their entertainment. There is a palm-shaded family pool at the hotel with child-safe depth zones. The villas can be set up to accommodate families and babysitting services are available on request

The hotel places huge value on establishing and managing a sustainable and environmentally friendly infrastructure. An organic farm within the estate’s plantation supplies fruit, vegetables and spices for the hotel’s kitchen. Hotel staff are employed in good numbers from the local community and Evolve Back also offers skills training and development to empower and support employability. Evolve Back is committed to ensuring the preservation of the indigenous Kodeva traditions, with cultural performances, crafts and culinary experiences on offer.

The nearest international airport is 160km away at Mangalore, Mysore Junction offers the nearest train station, 120km away. The hotel is close to the stunning waterfalls at Abbey Falls (7km), the Western Ghats sunset viewpoint of Raja’s Seat (10km) and Nisargadhama island (12km) known for its bamboo groves and deer park.

What our travellers say

We went to Sri Lanka as a three-generation family of three. The superb trip was organised by Samanthie and the team and it's difficult to see how it could have been bettered.
Roy Wood (February 2026)
Red Dot organised the most wonderful 3-week holiday for us. Samanthie built a trip around the amazing sights we had requested visiting, together with her own suggestions and a wide mix of hotels, which gave us the flavours of both traditional Sri Lanka and the sleek, stylish contemporary version of the country. Our Driver made the whole experience incredibly special for us.
Alie C (February 2026)
I can’t thank Cherylle and the Red Dot team enough for their meticulous planning of our family holiday to India travelling through Rajasthan over Christmas. As a family of all adults, every suggestion from daily activities to hotel choices was simply perfect. We travelled through Delhi, Ranthambore (an unforgettable tiger safari!), Jaipur and Agra and I truly feel we experienced the very best of each destination while moving at a relaxed, well thought out pace
Daisy Stanton (February 2026)
My partner arranged a holiday trip at fairly short notice to Sri Lanka with Red Dot on a recommendation, Samanthie was so patient & helpful with her suggested itinerary which we followed with some minor amendments. On arrival at Colombo we met Manjula our chauffeur/guide who was absolutely brilliant!
Andrew S (February 2026)
Dulmini and the Red Dot Team arranged a fantastic trip for us around Assam and North East India. Faultless service. I cannot recommend them more highly.
Martin Thomas (February 2026)
Wonderful company. Our holiday in Sri Lanka was perfect. Local knowledge made all the difference
Sandra Nicholson  (February 2026)
We looked up, and communicated with umpteen tour operators. Though Red Dot seemed to have offices in Sri Lanka and the UK, they seemed to have the best reviews. We were fortunate enough to correspond with Cherylle, who not only assured us of the safety of our friend, but created a personalised, and flexible, itinerary which we could not have done ourselves.
Jayant Banerji (February 2026)
A 14-day tour with Red Dot Tours was the perfect antidote to the bleak UK winter. After a glowing recommendation from a friend, we contacted Red Dot Tours and were not disappointed. Our consultant, Lahiru, curated a seamless itinerary. Throughout the planning phase, Lahiru was incredibly responsive; the final itinerary—delivered via a user-friendly 'Guest Portal'—was impressively detailed, covering every hotel stay and excursion.
Phil Blair ( February 2026)
Traveller testimonial from Roy Wood (February 2026)

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