our story

The Fragrant Sun is a labour of love - love for the land, for the earth and everything beautiful. The 18 acre property housing 8 cottages, a meditation room, a living room, kitchen & dining are all designed and handcrafted by Kavita - the owner of the property herself.

Kavita & Sanjeev built The Fragrant Sun in 2012 on a small 2 acre patch in the middle of the Sahyadri mountains to manifest their dream of growing their own food and also to have a comfortable place to stay in while trekking in the hills. Kavita also wanted to create an aesthetic space that would enable people to connect with nature without feeling the discomfort often associated with wilderness. Since 2017, they started hosting guests to share the beauty they experienced around them and to make the property self-sustainable.

The Fragrant Sun has since evolved into a living, thriving space filled with love, light, happiness & memories.

THE PROPERTY

At the Fragrant Sun, we believe in living naturally - using the gifts of the earth and crafting a lifestyle experience that helps our guests connect with nature and themselves.

Our cottages are built using local mud, stones and wood while each element of the decor has been hand-picked, handcrafted or up-cycled from vintage pieces while tastefully blending them with luxurious ethnic designs.

The property has organically evolved over the years, adapting to the land and the increasing number of guests who have come to love The Fragrant Sun as much as we do.

COMMUNITY

One of the great pleasures of hosting guests is the opportunity to meet like-minded people, make new friends and broaden our understanding of the world.

The raw, natural environment around us enables one to let go of biases of gender, age, culture and community that create barriers to connection. We have discovered that being in nature, nourishes only the very authentic versions of ourselves. This has drawn towards us many interesting guests from various walks of life - each with a remarkable story of their own.

Over the years, The Fragrant Sun has become a way for us to meet, interact and learn from some truly incredible people who have come to become a part of our community.

sustainability

One of the goals of building The Fragrant Sun was for Kavita and Sanjeev to be able to grow their own food - without chemicals and to be self sustainable in all ways.

It has taken years of labour to understand the land and its specific requirements and nurture it through natural, organic, earth friendly ways. We now grow our own native crops like rice, ragi, jowar, vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, rocket, green peas, cabbage, raddish, cucumbers, pumpkins, beans, parsley, basil, brinjals, chillies to fruits like avocado, bananas, papaya, chickoo, mulberries, mangoes, citrus, guava along with several local species like karvanda, amgoli, jackfruit, amla and many others! All these are used to prepare meals for our guests as the season allows!

THE EXPERIENCE

The Fragrant Sun isn't just about the stay but about nourishing your mind, body & soul. We serve elaborate 4 course meals with fresh ingredients, some of which are harvested from our natural farms (as the season allows) for breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner. From greek salads, kanji wada and smoked dal makhni to nutella biscotti and citrus cheesecakes - all meals are prepared by our experienced cooks who have been personally trained by Kavita & Sanjeev - both of whom are hospitality professionals.

Guests can also explore the lush surroundings, walk down to the lake, rent a standup paddle board, explore trekking routes, use our meditation room or simply spend time with a good book on the hammock amidst the chirp of birds and rustle of leaves.

Activities & Amenities at the Fragrant Sun Include:

Treks - Andharban Trek, Dev Kund (best in monsoons)
Nature walks across the landscape
Standup Paddle-boarding
Bonfires (best in winter)
Board Games
Table Tennis
Meditation Room
Outdoor dining
Pickle Ball Court (work in progress)