Editorial | Year-End Tourism is Pushing Kodagu Beyond its Limits

December is the peak harvest season for paddy and coffee, the backbone of the district’s economy.

Every December, Kodagu, also known as Coorg is marketed as a perfect year-end escape. Misty hills, coffee plantations and a promise of calm lure thousands of holidaymakers. But for those who live here, the year-end tourist rush has become less a celebration and more an annual ordeal. This year, visitors would do well to pause and reconsider whether Kodagu really needs another wave of holiday traffic.

The most visible impact is on the roads. Kodagu’s geography was never meant to accommodate endless lines of private vehicles. Narrow, winding roads connecting Madikeri, Gonikoppal, Virajpet, Kushalnagar and Somwarpet routinely grind to a halt during the holiday season. For tourists, this means inconvenience. For residents, it means disruption at the worst possible time. December is the peak harvest season for paddy and coffee, the backbone of the district’s economy. Delays in moving produce, labourers stuck in traffic and missed workdays translate directly into financial loss for farmers.

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The strain extends beyond traffic. Kodagu’s towns lack the infrastructure to handle a sudden surge of visitors. Parking is scarce, and vehicles are casually abandoned along roadsides, often blocking emergency access and daily commuting routes. What might seem like a minor inconvenience to a visitor becomes a daily frustration for locals trying to go about essential tasks.

Perhaps the most worrying consequence is environmental damage. Kodagu’s appeal lies in its forests, streams and estates, yet the holiday season leaves behind a trail of plastic bottles, food wrappers and other waste. Littering along roads, inside coffee plantations and even near forested areas has become distressingly common. Increased vehicle movement also worsens air and noise pollution, eroding the very tranquillity tourists come seeking.

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Crucially, tourism is not Kodagu’s lifeline. Unlike destinations that depend heavily on visitor spending, Kodagu’s economy rests on agriculture coffee, pepper and paddy. The year-end influx adds pressure without offering proportionate benefits, especially during a season when farmers are already stretched thin.

Unchecked tourism threatens both the rhythm of local life and the region’s fragile ecology. Sometimes, responsible travel means choosing not to go. This year, the kinder choice may be to let Kodagu breathe, harvest in peace and protect what makes it special in the first place.

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