Pongal Festival Class at a Working Farm in Coimbatore

Cook, celebrate and plant at a functional farm during Pongal season

Harvest Harmony is an eight-hour Pongal festival class at a working farm in Coimbatore where you cook traditional harvest dishes, decorate the house with kolams, feed farm animals, and participate in rituals that mark the Tamil new year. The experience unfolds in the farm's rural setting and farmhouse, mirroring the authentic environment where Pongal is celebrated, with the host sharing the history and meaning behind each ritual. Lunch, traditional attire, bottled water and air-conditioned transport are included.

The experience

You arrive at a functional farm outside Coimbatore and change into traditional drapes (a sungudi sari or cotton veshti) before stepping into the day's work. The farm itself is your classroom: you'll cook Pongal rice in bronze and mud pots over open chulas using stone grinders to prepare the spice pastes, boil fresh milk in the traditional way, and decorate the farmhouse with kolams (rice-flour patterns) and flower arrangements. Between cooking tasks, you walk the land to pick seasonal vegetables, feed the tamed farm animals, and learn the practices that keep the farm sustainable. The host weaves the festival's history and meaning into every activity, so the rituals (lighting lamps, arranging flowers, preparing each dish) become more than gestures. They connect to the Tamil calendar and the agricultural year.

Lunch is a spread of Pongal dishes prepared during the morning: sweet Pongal with jaggery and nuts, urad dhal vada, rice with locally grown vegetable curry, rasam, curd rice, and payasam. You eat what you've made, seated in the farmhouse. The afternoon brings lighter activities. You might experience the parai drums, plant a tree on the property, and take group photographs in your traditional attire before the day closes. A vegetarian menu is standard. Vegan options are available on request.

Transport from your hotel is included, along with coffee or tea. The farm is wheelchair accessible, and all surfaces and areas accommodate mobility devices. The day requires a moderate level of physical fitness for farm work and standing time. Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller.

What’s included

• Eight hours of hands-on cooking and festival preparation.
• traditional attire (sungudi sari or cotton veshti).
• lunch with multiple Pongal dishes and a vegetarian menu.
• bottled water.
• coffee and tea.
• air-conditioned transport from your hotel.
• farm walk and vegetable picking.
• animal feeding.
• kolam decoration.
• parai drum experience.
• tree planting.
• and group photographs.

Options for this experience

2 options

Farm food and festival, 8 hours08:00Lunch, snacks and tea; includes pickup

Pongal festivity at the Farm: Harvest Harmony08:00Includes pickup

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 08:00

Book up to2d before

AgesAdult (18 to 70 years) · Child (2 to 12 years) · Infant (under 2): free

GroupUp to 15

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 3 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Moderate physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendly

Operated by hperience

Is this one for you?Choose this class if you want to learn by doing rather than watching. You're grinding spices, stirring pots, and shaping the day's rituals yourself, not observing from the side. The farm setting and the host's storytelling make Pongal's agricultural meaning tangible in a way a city-based cooking class cannot.

Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (2 to 12 years); Infant (under 2): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What do I actually cook during the Pongal class?

You prepare sweet Pongal (rice with jaggery, ghee, nuts and spices), urad dhal vada (a savory fried cake), rice dishes with locally grown vegetable curry, rasam, curd rice, and payasam (a sweet wheat porridge). You use traditional stone grinders, bronze pots, mud pots and open-fire chulas to cook as families do on Pongal day.

Is the farm a real working farm or a demonstration space?

The farm is functional and active. You walk through the land, pick seasonal vegetables, feed farm animals, and learn sustainable farming practices directly from the host, who has a lifelong connection to the festival and the agricultural rhythms it marks.

What is a kolam and will I make one?

A kolam is a decorative pattern drawn on the ground or floor using rice flour, colored powders or flowers, traditionally created during Pongal to welcome prosperity. You'll decorate the farmhouse with kolams as part of the festival preparation, learning the designs and their significance from the host.

How much time is spent cooking versus other activities?

The eight-hour day centers on cooking and food preparation, but also includes farm walks, vegetable picking, animal feeding, kolam decoration, lamp lighting, flower arrangements, parai drum experience, tree planting and group photographs. Cooking and eating take up the bulk of the morning and midday.

Do I need to bring anything or wear anything specific?

Traditional drapes (a sungudi sari or cotton veshti) are provided as part of the experience. Bring comfortable shoes for farm walking and be prepared for open-fire cooking, which can be warm. Bottled water is included throughout the day.