In our experience, pottery in a farm fits perfectly which is why we'd like you to experience a glimpse of it during our weekend staycations during the months of September & October 2023.

As you scroll down, you'll find the following details -

- About Velanga Orchard

- Weekends Available

- The Slow Pottery Workshop

- Activities at our farm

- Phone & Internet Connection that work in the farm

- Accommodatio type, Gallery, Tariff

- How to reach us

- The road trip details from Bangalore airport

- Cancellation Policy

About Velanga Orchard

Weekends Available 

1-4 Sep | 8-11 Sep | 15-18 Sep | 22-25 Sep |

29 Sep-2 Oct | 6-9 Oct | 13-16 Oct | 20 - 23 Oct

Friday to Monday 3 Nights, 4 Days

Check In - Friday Post 2pm, Check Out - Monday before 12pm.

-We do not allow pets into our farm. Sadly, our own dogs are very territorial and stress out with other animals here. 

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The Slow Pottery Workshop

We know it's not always easy to take a long vacation or break to do some pottery, which is why I've curated a short yet immersive hand building worksop as a part of our Velanga Orchard Staycation.

Note that you can also just stay at our farm and not register for the workshop. For that, check details of the regular weekend stays.

Timing

Saturday & Sunday 10:30am to 1:30pm

Fees 

Rs.3,000/- per person inclusive of all materials, firing, courier to your city.

Here's what you will learn 

-We will be using wild clay or local clay which is not as processed or finished as market clay to make sure that you feel the energy of the earth around you.

- Hand building Techniques - Coiling, Pinching, Slab Building

- Surface Decoration techniques using farm material. 

- You can make 5 pots (per person) which will be fired and couriered to you within 2-3 weeks of the workshop. These pots will not be glazed, only fired to make them usable.

To book your slot, please email us at hello@slowpottery.com / velangaorchard@gmail.com / DM us on Instagram with the accommodation type, number of people joining the workshop, weekend dates & your contact number.

If you'd like to book the regular stay without the pottery workshop, you can send us details on the same email id above.

We'll get back to you with the booking details within 24 hours.

Activities on request at no extra charge

( please inform us half a day prior or before coming for the stay)

- Trip to the lake, kayaking, night swimming

- Cycling, Motorcycling

- Early morning hike up the hill

- Extra-long walks into the shrub forest

- Evening Bonfire 

Activities at the farm

(no extra charge)

- We have some board games, cards, hoola hoop, paints and canvases for you.

- Our common dining space also has plenty books that you can pick and read.

- Spend your time lazing around in a hammock.

- Strolling, napping, resting!

Phone & Internet 

We do not have common wifi here and only Jio Connection works.

Please get a Jio sim or dongle for connection.

Accommodation & Tariff

All accommodation have the following- 

• Living space: Single bed / Double bed with a side table, a study table and chair with enough electric points, Storage space for your belongings, with some décor elements. Natural light from the tiled ceiling is customisable.
• Kitchenette: kettle, hot plate, basic utensils, mini fridge (with beer sometimes), a clay water dispenser
• Washroom: the usual, we can customise day light upon request by adding more transparent glass tiles to the roof.
• We do NOT have air conditioning in the rooms. At the same time, our cottages have Kerala tiled roofs to keep cool.
• Patio area
• Farm access: other than our private space which will be clearly defined in the house rules, you have access to 50 acres of farm.

1. The Totapuri Cottage

Independent cottage

- Can accommodate maximum 3 people. 

- Has a big room with a double bed and a small room with a single bed. 

- Shared washroom for both rooms (attached to the big room) and an out door open to sky shower area.

- Common courtyard, outdoor kitchen

- No air conditioning

Tariff for the weekend for the entire cottage (3 people): Rs.45,000/- inclusive of stay, all meals, snacks, activities, tax.

 



2. The Benesha Cottage

( There may be small variations in the furniture design, decor and layout from time to time )

Shared Accommodation for two people

- Can accommodate 2 people max.

- Two single beds with a shared washroom inside in the cottage.

- No air conditioning

Tariff for the weekend for the entire cottage (2 people) : Rs.25,000/- inclusive of stay, all meals, snacks, activities, tax.

3. The Sindhura Cottage (Couple) 

( There may be small variations in the furniture design, decor and layout from time to time )

Private Cottage for a couple

- Can accommodate 2 people max.

- Double bed.

- No air conditioning

Tariff for the weekend for the entire cottage (2 people) : Rs.25,000/- inclusive of stay, all meals, activities, tax.

4. The Rumani Cottage 

( There may be small variations in the furniture design, decor and layout from time to time )

Private Cottage for an individual 

- Can accomodate one person.

- Single Bed.

- No air conditioning

Tariff for the weekend for the entire cottage (1 person) : Rs.15,000/- inclusive of stay, all meals, activities, tax.

 How to reach us

Please Check in to our farm between 12pm to 7pm. Post 7pm and before 12pm, we don't check in our guests.

We are 172km from Bangalore airport and 170km from Chennai Airport.

You can reach either airports and take a cab to us. Airport taxis/uber/ola/ Gozo cabs are few that work for us.

Our location 'Velanga Orchard' is on google maps. It'll get you to us without any issues.

Fresh Bus - An electric bus service from Bangalore to Tirupati. You can go to their website here  and book the bus from the nearest bus stop. Enter destination as Tirupati and get off at 'Nandi Hotel' from where our farm is about half an hour away by auto. We will book an auto for you which we can coordinate on Whatsapp once you have booked your stay,

There are local buses too that come from nearby cities. You can find that out from your local bus stop. The nearest bus- stop is a nearby town 'Bangarupalem'. From there we can arrange an auto for you to come to us. Do make sure to let us know about this way in advance so we can book an auto for you. 

Important

The road close to our farm is a mud road. It can be an issue for people who are not used to driving on dirt roads or may have an issue with scratches from branches sticking out. Please keep this is in mind if you're planning to drive down. We can also pick you up from the nearby village (On request, post 12pm, before 7pm) before the mud road starts. Let us know on whatsapp about this after you book your stay.

The Road Trip

The road from Bangalore to our farm is smooth, makes for a fun road trip. It'll take you around 3.5-4.5 hours depending on how long you stop. 

Stops we recommend that you can find on google maps -

- Cafe Coffee Day(Decently clean restrooms)

-Woodys 

- Torino (Good variety of food)

- Highway Star ( Food Court, Restrooms, Petrol Bunk, Coffee and the rest )

- Basappa Dhaba. Close to our farm - we love this dhaba. Dhaba food with a nice cup of joe from a shop next to it. Request for brass filter coffee cup. Its a nice touch :)

- Banagrupalem Market is the closest town from our farm which is around 7km away. If you'd like to stop for any basic grocery shopping, alcohol, cigs, this would be your last stop before you leave civilisation.

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Cancellation & Refund Details

- We take the full payment during booking.

- 50% refund is provided if cancelled anytime between the date of booking to 15 days prior to the  date. 

- No refund - We provide no refund if cancelled within 15 days prior to the confirmed date.

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To book your stay, email us at velangaorchard@gmail.com with the dates you'd like to book, accommodation type, number of people attending the workshop and your contact number. Booking is done with 100% payment.

You can even send us your inquiries/doubts to the same contact.

We will get back to you with further registration details on your whatsapp number with 24 hours.