Our family, our hill
A family home on a hill, with six cottages and the door always open.
Surya Holidays began the way the best places do: with a family that fell in love with a hill. Sorab Ahmed Koya came up to Kodaikanal from Calicut many years ago, farmed this land, and slowly turned it into a home that guests could share.
More than a decade on, the idea hasn't changed. You aren't checking into a hotel. You're coming to stay with us. The first words most guests hear are "feel like home", and judging by the notes they leave behind, most of them do.
We still cook the way we cook for ourselves, still light the bonfire when the chill comes down, and still love that moment when new arrivals step onto the balcony and see the lake for the first time.
"From the very first conversation he made us feel at home."
Your hosts
The Sivaganga Estate was built in 1865, one of the very first houses in Kodaikanal, and it still belongs to the royal family of Sivaganga. Its 32 acres sit on Observatory Road, about 2 km above the lake, wrapped in reserved forest.
That forest is never quiet for long. Bison wander through at dusk, Malabar squirrels leap between the treetops, the elusive barking deer calls from the woods, and the birdsong starts before the sun does. Some evenings, the pine-lined estate road is the best show in town.
1865
Built
32
Acres
6
Cottages
Small on purpose. We get to know every guest by name, and every guest gets their own quiet corner of the hill.
Home-cooked meals made the way you like them, and a hearty South Indian breakfast on the house every morning.
Kids get acres of open grass to run on, and your dog is every bit as welcome as you are.
When the chill comes down, the bonfire goes up. It's where most of our favourite conversations happen.
"The place would definitely bring out the poet in you."
Amrita Hameed, Bangalore