This farmhouse retreat in Andhra Pradesh reminds us what it truly feels to be one with nature

How do you find your roots in a city that is not your origin? In a cosmopolitan city, sojourners such as us often find ourselves looking for pieces of our homelands in many cultural and culinary pockets every weekend—be it in a concert or in a new restaurant. But what if we had something with a bit more permanence? Perhaps a space amidst nature where we could not just stay—but live—every weekend? A farmhouse retreat at Abhivruddhi, a project by Bengaluru-based sustainable agroforestry enterprise Hosachiguru, takes us back to our childhood when summers were less sultry and more simple.

Here’s our review of Abhivruddhi, Hosachiguru

For the uninitiated, Hosachiguru aims to bring people closer to nature by enabling them to own and experience managed farmlands. Designed as serene, biodiverse green spaces—these projects combine traditional agricultural wisdom with scientific forestry practices to foster climate resilient ecosystems while offering a lifestyle rooted in sustainability, wellness and long-term value creation. Abhivruddhi is one such project, designed as a self-sustaining green ecosystem. It features a mix of timber and fruit plantations and professionally managed farmland parcels. It also offers a serene farm-stay experience, reviewing which was the reason for our visit.

For the journey, we set out from the east of the city at 9.30 am. The traffic is unusually unbecoming on Sunday but when our destination is at the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, we decide it is wise to plug in our earphones and delude ourselves into thinking we’re part of a road trip film. Eventually, we move past the city and remnants of spring on the flame trees become our only familiar motifs. When we’re close to our destination, our driver tells us that Adiyogi is nearby and so are popular tourist spots such as Lepakshi and BTP Dam.

As we enter the property, what meets our gaze first is that the architecture of the cottages sits comfortably within its landscape instead of competing for attention. A central building houses the kitchen and the dining space. Right outside is a shaded pergola with seating arrangement for guests. Smaller pergolas, draped in cherry vines, usher visitors into the cottages, offering pockets of shade in the scorching heat and framing views of the open skies. Rugged by exposed bricks and softened by climbing vines, the two-storey cottages draw from the visual vocabulary of rural South Indian homes. Deep sloping roofs, terracotta lattice screens and shaded balconies make way for an intricate interplay of light, shadow and texture.

The transition from outdoors to indoors feels seamless. Private verandahs furnished with simple wooden seating lure guests to linger a little before stepping inside. The rooms continue the property’s understated design language. The earthy décor featuring exposed brick accent walls, stone flooring, handcrafted wooden furniture and large windows lends the interiors a warm, grounded character. The window seats, tucked into a deep alcove, lure us to sit with a book for a while, but a hollow gurgle reminds us that lunch is long overdue. We make haste to the dining hall.

Chef Anthony Bourdain famously argued that food is one of the hardest things to fake — that a meal exposes character and craft in a way that marketing or rhetoric can not. Food at Abhivruddhi echoes this belief. The property hosts farm-to-table dining, with meals prepared using fresh, seasonal produce sourced directly from the farm. For lunch, we have a generous helping of the humble rice, dal, pan-fried beetroot, malai kofta (vegetarian dumplings in gravy), happala and green salad. It is nothing out of the ordinary and yet, it tastes so scrumptiously different—thanks to the optimal use of spices that lets the fresh produce take the spotlight. The simple-yet-wholesome meal makes us feel at home and we make our way to our rooms for a siesta.

As the afternoon light softens and the sun dips westward, we set out for our walk through the farm. Our first stop is the cattle shed where the farm houses cows and horses required for farming practices. Just outside, we spot one of the guest families in a tractor taking a drive through the property. “Our driver, who usually runs this tractor, arrived a bit late today and a guest himself took over to show his family and friends around the farm,” our host tells us. He beams with pride at having created a community where guests feel at home.

We then wander into the vast on-site nursery. Sheltered beneath sprawling green shade nets, hundreds of young saplings are meticulously tended to, giving us a tangible glimpse into the project’s long-term ecological vision. Just beyond the nursery, the farmlands unfold into lush orchards and we spot a grand mango tree standing out, its branches heavily bowed with thick clusters of unripe green fruits promising a sweet harvest. They don’t make ’em like this elsewhere; it makes you think about what organic fertilisers can do to a simple fruit compared to the adulterated ones you usually get in the city.

“So many of our co-farmers (owners of farmland plots) are techies who happen to come from a lineage of farmers—perhaps their grandfathers or great grandfathers used to practise farming or own farmlands in their native lands. Now, their profession fulfills them financially yet a part of them yearns for carrying forward that legacy in a way of reconnecting with their roots,” says our host. “So they visit to oversee their farm being built while also enjoying a stay at our cottages—doubling it up as a weekend getaway,” he adds. Our walk culminates at the edge of the property’s expansive water-conservation system. The quiet, mirroring pond acts as the vital lifeline for the entire ecosystem, our host tells us.

We get back to the farmhouse and join guests sharing tea and conversation at the central pergola as their children play on the grass—something that’s otherwise a luxury in the city with receding playgrounds. Dinner is served a while later: vegetable pulao, raita, green salad and coconut laddoos for dessert. We’re happy to report that the dinner was as satiating as the lunch.

If you want to turn the stay into an extended trip, you can explore nearby heritage spots such as Lepakshi, Madakasira fort, Penukonda, BTP Dam or even Hampi if you can drive for three to four hours more. As we hit the road the next morning to get back to the city, the extremely bumpy ride makes us realise that the only drawback of the stay might be the undeveloped roads that we have to get through to travel to and from the property. Perhaps the government of both the states can take note so that city-dwellers can diversify their weekend getaways?

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