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Somanahalli is a small hill station and village in Arakalagud Taluk of Hassan District. It is located near Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu(Coorg), in Mysore Division. It is in the Malenadu Region. It lies in a mountainous rainy Malnad region. It is located 49km towards south from Hassan by road. This village experiences temperate/cool summers and very cold winters with extreme cold typically starting in October with frost being a very common occurrence in farms, forests and shola grasslands. The climate here in summers is cool with the high being 25 degree Celsius. The low here in winters is -3 to 0 degree Celsius. This area is very wet with the average rain being above atleast 4000mm with the record wet year exceeding 10000m of rain. This village experiences dense fog as it is a part of the Malenadu Region. This village and this region have an elevation ranging from 1250m to 1900m. This village and the surrounding villages contain a large number of the rare Sankethi Dialect speaking people. There are many lakes and mountains near the village. The people here are farmers of Coffee, Tea, Coorg Ginger, areca nut, Coconut, Banana, Coorg Oranges, black pepper, Guava, Citrons, Amla, wheat. This place has many tea and coffee plantations. Some species of tea and coffee like Assonne and Arabica respectively are native to Malnad, hence they grow naturally in the landscapes, forests of Somanahalli and Adjacent areas in Malnad. Special variety of Ginger called Coorg Ginger is also native to Malnad and can be found naturally growing in this village. The native species of tree in this village region like Atti, Honne and Basari are endangered because of the invasive species Silver Oak used in Tea and Coffee plantations instead of the native trees for selling of wood. This region is also native to the Nilgiri Rhododendron, and they are abundantly found in the shola forests near Somanahalli. The mountains and forests in and near Somanahalli like Malambi, Pushpagiri are native to the endemic Western Ghats' Pines. They are native to pine trees typically found in Himalayan region like firs, deodars, cedars, spruces, pines which is a popular attraction. But the population of these pines are depleting due to the highly invasive Silver Oak which is taking over the shola forests in which these pines are found. The village also has honey collectors, and known for Coorg Honey. Coorg Oranges are also native to Malnad(Coorg and Surrounding Areas), and this village contains many groves even though Coorg Oranges are naturally found in Somanahalli. Cultivation of Coorg Oranges is depleting sharply due to low demand and Mangoes are in high demand hence Coorg Oranges are replaced by Mangoes. Coorg flowers are also grown here. The village is very fertile as it was historically a forest region part of Coorg. Before 1900, Arkalgud, Holenarasipur, and parts of Sakleshpur Taluk were in Coorg. Coorg was attacked in 1900 by Mysore Kingdom and the Mysore Kingdom annexed parts of Coorg like Holenarasipur, Arakalagud, and Sakleshpur and made it part of former Manjarabad Faujdari(Now Hassan District). From then on, Somanahalli is a part of Hassan District. This village and the surrounding region also has a diverse variety of fauna, with animals like leopards, snakes, and elephants being common. Tigers can also be found in this region with its population significantly dropping due to human animal conflicts. The village and the surrounding villages serve as an alternative to Coorg and Chikmagalur as these popular hill stations have crowd in summers and Somanahalli doesn't have much crowd. This village has many tea and coffee plantations. It is 5 hours from State Capital Bangalore. To reach this village from Mangalore/Bengaluru, there are many ghat roads with Bisle-Somwarpet Ghat being the closest. The ghat roads are covered in thick fog. This village offers stunning mountains, and views of the Sahyadris. Coorg, Handli, Keralapura, Bidarakka, Shanivarasanthe, and Nerale are the nearby villages to Somanahalli. This village is surrounded by Somwarpet Taluk towards west, Alur Taluk towards north, Sakleshpur Taluk towards north west, Piriyapatna Taluk towards south East. Towns near Somanahalli are Coorg, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Chikmagalur, Somwarpet. Somanahalli is situated in Hassan District near Coorg, hence it has many Coorg Homestays and Hotels, and people choose this village and the surrounding villages as an alternative to Chikmagalur and Coorg when the above hill stations have high crowd. One can see the mountains of Sahyadris(Western Ghats) from this village, for example Maalambi Betta. These mountains look beautiful in winters. This village is extremely beautiful full of mountains and is full of lush greenery
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