Introduction

2½ hours from Calicut airport or 5 hours from Trichur or 6 hours from Cochin airport or 3½ hours from Mysore at an altitude between 3750 - 4500 feet, Vythiri is known for its evergreen rain forest and coffee, tea, cardamom and pepper plantations. Half an hour drive by jeep from Vythiri through coffee and spice plantations leads to the location of treehouse.

Hotel Specifications

Accommodation

There are two treehouses, plus a row of ecolodges for anyone who likes the attitude but not the altitude. The treehouses were built over a period of five months, by a team of local Paniya tribesmen (well versed in the art of making secure sleeping platforms). They may occasionally sway and creak, but rest assured they won't do anything more drastic.

Both of them have a wraparound balcony with wooden banister, coir matting and rattan chairs; a proper sit-down loo and (cold) shower; and a bamboo-walled double bedroom. Both of them are double-decker constructions, with a second bedroom up a winding wooden staircase. Being way above mosquito-land, you can roll up the blinds at night and fall asleep wrapped in nothing but a cotton sheet and the tropical night air.

Power comes from solar-generated energy; water from a mountain lake a mile away, light from a kerosene lamp and the moon. Room service comes in the form of a tray of tea or coffee hoisted as if by magic at breakfast time, or whenever you lean over the banister and call like a cuckoo

Dining

The dishes are cooked over a gobar-powered fire (from the lodge's 6 bullocks, naturally) in an open-access kitchen, which would pass any hygiene test. An equally heartening breakfast of local tea or coffee, fresh fruit, omelette, ghee, toast and baked banana is hoisted to your room every morning. Please note that there are no conventional soft drinks or alcohol on site.

Menu is not complicated. Meals are prepared from the vegetables and fruits grown in the organic farm without any pesticides or chemical manure.

The aroma of spices from the kitchen stimulates the intestine to secrete the right gastric juices. The traditional and authentic Kerala delicacies usually served on banana leaves without forks and knives lead you to a finger licking experience.

Recreation and Health

Visitors may choose to explore a number of walking trails, each promising a different adventure. These trails are made carefully so as not to disturb the surroundings.

The choice is wide from climbing to hiking across places of exceptional beauty observing indigenous fauna or exuberant vegetation.

The abundance of flora and fauna, which can be found amidst the landscape, is characterised by its great bio-diversity. As you wander through the forest following its natural pathways, which leads you to charming beauty spots, view points with spectacular view of the valley below.

Basic Data