A workation in Kerala's hills takes a little more planning than booking a co-working desk in the city. The roads are slow, each season changes the landscape, and you need to know the internet will hold. This is what we tell every remote worker who messages us before they come to Work From Village in Pachady, Nedumkandam, Idukki.

Pick your season

Idukki is good for remote work all year, but each season gives you a different kind of workation.

October to February: cool and clear. Comfortable working weather, misty mornings and the clearest views for weekend trips. The cardamom harvest runs through these months, and black pepper and coffee picking start in December.
March to May: warmer and drier. Long, bright days and quiet roads. A good time if you want to settle in and get through a big piece of work.
June to September: monsoon. Green, dramatic and very quiet. Heavy rain can bring power cuts in the hills, which is why the house has 24/7 power backup and three separate ways to get online. Waterfalls like Thooval are at their fullest after the rains.

If you'd like to join a spice harvest, ask us what is being picked during your dates. Harvest timing moves with the weather each year. The experiences page has a month-by-month chart.

Decide how long to stay

A weekend is a holiday. A workation needs time for a routine to settle. We'd suggest at least a week, so the journey up the hills is worth it, and two weeks or more if you want it to feel like normal life rather than a trip.

Longer stays of a few weeks or a month are welcome. With three private bedrooms, the house also suits a small team or a few friends working remotely together.

Getting to Pachady

Pachady is 7 km from Nedumkandam in Idukki district, between Munnar and Thekkady. These are the usual ways in:

From Bangalore or Chennai: an overnight bus to Cumbum (10 to 12 hours), 39 km from the house.
From Kochi (Cochin International Airport): about 113 km, roughly 3 to 3.5 hours by taxi.
From Madurai: about 150 to 160 km, roughly 4 to 5 hours by taxi via Cumbum.
From Aluva or Kottayam railway station: Aluva is about 114 km away and Kottayam about 128 km, roughly 3 to 4 hours by taxi.

Times are approximate and run longer in the monsoon. Try to finish the hill section in daylight, and if you can, arrive the day before your working week starts so your first morning at the desk is a calm one. Every route, with bus options and taxi rates, is on our How to reach page.

Check the work setup before you book

Ask any workation stay three questions: what happens if the internet drops, what happens if the power goes, and where will you take your calls. Here are our answers.

Internet: one fibre connection as the main line, one AirFiber connection if the fibre drops, and mobile internet as a third backup. Speeds of up to around 90 Mbps.
Power: 24/7 power backup keeps the router, the Wi-Fi and the workspaces running through outages.
Calls and focus: ergonomic desks and quiet call corners, away from the kitchen and the rest of the house.

If your work needs something specific, such as large uploads or long live streams, message us before you book and we'll tell you honestly whether it fits. We wrote about the setup in more detail in Internet and Power in Idukki.

Plan your working hours

India is ahead of the UK and Europe, so a workday here falls into a natural shape: your longest focus block in the quiet morning, lunch, then calls in the afternoon as UK and European colleagues come online. If you work with teams in the US, their mornings land in the Indian evening or late at night, so agree call times before you travel. The workspaces page shows how a typical day can look.

What to pack

Laptop, chargers and a spare cable
Headphones with a microphone for calls
A plug adaptor if your devices don't fit Indian sockets (types C, D and M)
A light jacket for cool hill evenings
A rain jacket and closed shoes from June to September
Comfortable walking shoes for the spice garden and weekend trails

Meals are home-cooked Kerala food, so there's no need to plan groceries. Tell us about any dietary needs when you message us.

Leave your weekends open

The best part of working from Idukki is what's around you when the laptop closes. Approximate road distances from the house:

Thooval Falls: 3 km
Ramakkalmedu: 21 km
Thekkady: 47 km
Munnar: 49 km

Hill roads are slow, so allow extra time. For ideas, read Weekend Trails Around Pachady.

Bring the laptop for the week. Leave the weekends for the hills.