We've all heard stories in our families of hot summers and long days spent outside, and how our grandparents spent a lot of time lazing under tall fruit trees in the neighborhood, picking the best harvest to eat for leisure.
You can continue to experience those memories when you next travel as there are a number of places from south to north and east to west to admire the lovely sight of large fruit orchards and even gather some of the harvests to keep (and eat) as a memento.
Here are 7 of our favorite places to go fruit harvesting in India, from the crisp kinnows of Punjab to the delicious strawberries of Meghalaya, the luscious lychees of Bihar, and the sweet mangoes of Ratnagiri:
Pineapples in Manipur
Manipur is famous for its beautiful farms and pineapple festivals and is India's leading region for pineapple growing. The main pineapple-producing district in the state, Churachandpur, hosts a Pineapple Festival in late August or the first week of September. In particular, Thayong village is home to numerous lush pineapple farms.
Plums, Peaches, and Apricots in Uttarakhand
Ramgarh in Uttarakhand popularly referred to as the "Fruit Bowl of Kumaon," is home to many plums, peach, apricot, pear, and apple orchards. A well-known location, especially for residents of Delhi and the surrounding areas, it boasts a wide range of orchards and homestays where you can not only while away your summer but also enjoy the fresh harvest, ripe for the plucking.
Meanwhile, you’ll also find immense beauty and fresh produce in Mukteshwar, Nainital, Almorah, and Bageshwar regions. Other than peaches and apricots, regional fruits like Ghingaru, Kilmode, and Dadim are also cultivated here.
Chikoos and Mangoes in Maharashtra
The coastal towns of Gholvad and Dahanu are famous for their ripe repositories of sapodilla, known to Indians as chikoo. There are several different accounts of how these fruits came to be grown in these areas. One of these states that textile tycoon Seth Dinshaw Petit was the first to plant a chikoo seedling he acquired from Central America. Thousands of Parsi families still farm these fruits on their ancestral grounds today, and they sell the produce throughout the nation.
Alphonso mangoes, which are delicious, are also cultivated in abundance in Ratnagiri and Palshet; the former is a significant exporter of the fruit to other Indian regions. In reality, there are thousands of mango plantations throughout the entire Konkan region. Take, for instance, the Farm of Happiness, an agro-tourism farm stay where guests can engage in activities like trekking, bird watching, stargazing, and fishing in addition to learning about organic farming.
‘Kinnow’ in Punjab
Thousands of hectares of lush kinnow orchards can be found in districts like Abohar, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Muktsar, and Bathinda. One tree can produce over 1,000 fruits from this high-yield cultivar of the mandarin fruit. This fruit can be used to produce cakes, warm winter beverages, squashes, and more.
Lychees in Bihar
The aromatic and delectable Shahi Lychees, which are known to contain the maximum amount of pulp and are exported all across the country, are a specialty of Muzaffarpur, the "Lychee Kingdom" of India. In the districts of Vaishali, Samastipur, Champaran, and Begusarai, you can harvest these scrumptious fruits from a variety of fields and orchards.
Apples in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh
According to legend, Samuel Stokes, also known as Satyananda, traveled to India on a spiritual quest and fell in love with the nation, deciding to settle there permanently. He committed his life to the farm and is credited with introducing a fresh American apple variety to Himachal Pradesh, sparking the state's apple revolution.
We now know that the mountainous area is the origin of a huge variety of fresh apples. Today, more than 1.75 lakh families depend on the fruit.
Strawberries in Meghalaya
In the Ri Bhoi district's little village of Sohliya, where practically every home grows the fruit on its own land, strawberries are famous for their abundant cultivation. In fact, this village is credited with catapulting the strawberry revolution in the state.
