The district of Coorg or Kodagu in Karnataka was until recently a well-kept secret. But its growing popularity has not dimmed its allure, for this entrancing verdant hilly corner of the country, bordering north Kerala, has a number of romantic nooks where couples can schmooze the days away. Sitting pretty in the heart of a 180.2-acre coffee and spice plantation is the resort of Tamara Coorg with a complex of 56 cottage style villas on stilts, shielded by thick vegetation and a virtual wilderness. We pressed the pause button in one of its cosy, woodsy villas, seemingly adrift in a sea of calmness. In this “adults only” resort (parents are discouraged from bringing kids under 12 because of the steep hilly topography), we communed with nature, trekked in a lush forest where birds trilled in hidden boughs and strolled past frothy waterfalls. In the course of our ambles, we met a local witch doctor and his wife who’s a high priestess of a tribal temple, stepped into the hushed precincts of a Tibetan monastery and an elephant sanctuary where the playful behemoths and their caring mahouts displayed a touching camaraderie. Back in our plantation resort, where birds roosted noisily for the night and the sawing of cicadas resonated in the forest beyond, we felt totally in sync with nature and each other.