Vythiri Resort - Gateway to Wayanad. Review on Kerala, General

On those rare occasions when the temperature drops in Cochin, when the monsoons create a mini winter in the city, we look delightedly at each other, exclaiming “Vythiri!”

I am not a fan of cool climes. A slight shower is enough to send me under the blanket, teeth chattering. So when my husband (then fiancé) said he’d booked us into Vythiri Resort for our honeymoon, I shivered.

Towards Vythiri

Vythiri Resort is in Kerala’s Wynad district, probably the only part of the state that is still determinedly rural. Set in the Western Ghats, Wynad is famous for its coffee and spice plantations, tribals, forests etc. The resort is set in the heart of this forest terrain.

We were based in Calicut (Kozhikode) at the time, one of Kerala’s 3 big cities, a historical locale in its own right. This was where Vasco da Gama first landed in the 15th century, on his quest for a sea route to India. From Kozhikode, Vythiri is a mere hour and a half away by car. A great deal of this journey is through hilly ghat terrain. The route to Vythiri is also the one that leads to Mysore in Karnataka. The last 10 minutes of the journey is through a ‘kaccha road’.

This way, your highness….

At the end of this bumpy ride, you reach an imposing gatehouse made of red laterite. Go over a bridge across a pond and you are in the reception area. Vythiri offers a choice of cottages (with tiled roofs) tribal huts (thatched) and rooms. Cash strapped newly weds that we were, we opted for the rooms. We got the furthest one of all, room no.6.

The décor was a mix of blond wood and laterite. Floors were polished with red oxide. Blinds on the windows. Fresh crisp cotton linens. The mattress, a kingsize one, was placed on a raised wooden platform on the floor. It really felt as though we were camping on the floor in the forest! Each room had a portico under a gabled roof, with wooden seating. Even the locks on each door were things of beauty! Over all, the resort really lived up to the ‘eco-tourism’ tag. The cottages and huts were dotted on the slope below the rooms.

A dinner and a walk…

Dinnertime, and we got a pleasant surprise. The attendant led us to the multicuisine restaurant over a hanging rope bridge! It was obvious that the bridge was not constructed as some kind of a showpiece, but only to ford the rivulet that ran through the property! Over the next two days, we looked forward to mealtimes, just to cross the bridge.

The food in itself was quite good. Nothing outstanding, but uniformly good. The breakfast on my first morning there is memorable. Fresh pineapple juice. Crisp toast with generous cubes of butter. A wonderfully tasty omelette. Or appam and stew for those who preferred it (and many did).

Carry that sweater please….

You won’t really need it much, because Vythiri is not at as high an altitude as say, Munnar or Ooty. During the day, it is pleasant; as the website says, it is like putting on the AC to a temperature of your choice. Less hardy ones like me can pull out the woolies at night.

The resort arranges trekking expeditions. Or boating in the nearby Pookot Lake. But you can choose to laze around in the resort, which works just as well! Now, I believe, they have a tie-up with Serena Spa. Plus the almost mandatory ayurvedic centre, pool, conference facilities etc.

Vythiri is definitely one of the best resorts in the state. The con is that it is also fairly expensive. This is primarily a forest resort, so you are totally cut off from the city. Get a cab to drop you and pick you up, so you can enjoy the journey to and fro without fears of getting lost. Keep an eye out for wild elephants and monkeys. Be vary while stepping out on the grass – you might have a leech or two clinging on for dear life.

Sigh! It’s back to the heat and dust now. Until the next rainfall, and memories of Vythiri.