"What was difficult was the travel, which, on arrival, is forgotten.”— Louise Gluck, poet, 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature winner
We have been friends for decades, the passage of time or distance not even a blip to our desire to ‘hang out’ together, for a few days, stealing her away from her pressing schedule to have an immersive vacay, just the two of us. We ditched the usual getaways and accepted an invitation by a legendary man in his field, N.K. Mohamed, to visit his resort, which by itself is a destination and has been playing host to celebrities from all over the world. It is quite a topper, as we discovered, on most travel suggestions sites and the Internet reviews of various travellers. So, on the sidelines of a film festival in Bangalore, we blocked time for a very quiet getaway, ready to discover a new edge to our friendship and, of course, the destination!
Most will agree that it is during our travels that we challenge ourselves, our mental and physical limits, while being steeped in fun, some exercising caution and some throwing it to the winds. We unassumingly walk out of our own knots, in the body and mind, feeling satiated and remapped from the inside and return to our bases with moments of epiphany as fine memories from a visit.
It was a dear friend’s birthday the previous evening and I had barely managed to excuse myself out of the bar offerings, knowing there was an unearthly hour morning flight to Bangalore. It was almost red-eye to me, who hits the bed usually at that hour on usual days. We reached Bangalore, checked in at a luxury hotel to attend an ongoing film festival.
Exhausted by the day-long itinerary, we were ready to slump into our beds when at the entrance of our terrace suite we saw a battery of boys and women trying to figure something out with machinery in-place. We soon realised that our suite was flooded because of the incessant showers. It was our warm-up experience for more rainfall awaiting us ahead.
As the clean-up continued, we slept-in for just a few hours (more like refusing to wake up) and left for the destination ahead at 8am.
I like road trips, driving around, discovering my own country and its people. For the 300km journey from Bangalore to the resort we settled on a BMW 7-series. Our chauffeur spoke both Hindi and English, the latter better. So, after navigating long stretches, we eventually reached Mysore, which is now a spa retreat town in Karnataka. On recommendation of friends, we stopped for a hearty lunch at the historic The Metropolitan hotel, now better known as The Royal Orchid. Then we kept going again and between being awake and slipping into slumber, the driver alerted us that we should be sharp-shooting with our eyes to enjoy our drive through the famed Bandipur Tiger Reserve, a world heritage site as designated by Unesco as is known in Karnataka, and glide through it, into the state of Kerala, where the same forest is known as Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary.
It is home to royal Bengal tigers, gaur, four-horned antelope, chital, mouse deer, sloth bear, Malabar squirrel and more species of flora and fauna. The gates for vehicular traffic open at 6.30am and close at 9pm. Timelines are strictly adhered to for protection and safety of both animal movement and us, using their territory.
It is advisable to start early from Bangalore to be able to witness animals early in the morning because with the increase of traffic during the day the chances of up-close sightings from passing vehicles become less and less. We crossed it towards dusk, so besides falling in love with the picture-postcard road, mapped completely out of a fairy-tale setting, egging us to stop at every turn (prohibited), we managed to spot just a deer.
We crossed various stores as we approached the resort. The place is a paradise of green, with blue skies, rain-washed misty mornings, where you can feel traditionally-trained warm hands on your body at the spa and dip in innumerable action areas and things-to-do for adults and children. Truly, the drive left me stunned and also assuaged me on the super condition of our modern-day highways connecting states in India. Zippy, safe, with adequate signs and Google Maps doing much of the rest.
One of the dining areas at the resort
A pool villa
A cottage at the property
It was dark, I could not make much of the green gem except it looked well-appointed, welcoming and the reception was buzzing with constant activity of guests checking in because of the festival of Onam. It seemed like an easy space, accepting of all, less restrictive, bespoke luxury commensurate with the natural surroundings of the locale, architecture largely in wood and a natural ventilated breeze soothing the space.
We were soon transported to our luxury pool villa. In a small van, we made ourselves go room-finding, through vistas of winding narrow roads, uphill with sharp turns, while crossing several signs promising various adventure and activities. Then we arrived at our villa, a beautifully lit pathway bridge guided us to our suite.
The villa was replete with all modern amenities, adequate air-conditioning, two bedrooms, one which housed a pool and two well-appointed bathrooms, a flight of stairs for a living space and a balcony sit-out overlooking the jungle and mountains around, even a peek at a faraway coffee plantation.
We changed and headed over, after calling for a van again, to take us to the dining place, Spice Bowl, where the owner of the resort N.K. Mohamed hosted us with a mix of food from the region, a few from North India, and some Chinese soups and desserts. Known to host various performers from all across the country, even Grammy Award winners, we enjoyed listening to a lady who is currently ruling music charts in Bollywood and the South Indian music industry.
The next morning, a shout-out and rap-on-my door woke me up. In an excited voice, my friend asked me to rise and open the main door of the suite and look out. It was 6am. For me, it was midnight. The rain had thankfully stopped. The sun was not really bright, but the rays had just begun to play the notes. I saw a monkey staring back at me from trees around the room, I was almost perched atop one or so it seemed.
Our villa seemed like a jutting-out tree house surrounded by a thick forest-like cover, birds chirping with all candour, a buzz permeating the space. Animated mornings, I thought to myself witnessing in-between the thick growth of trees, clouds floating across the hills, over green coffee plantations, an envelope of seducing-mist wrapping what the eye was trying to see, the whole atmosphere akin to a scene from a film.
The resort looks quite charming at night
I had seen the activity chart at the reception when we came in and knew one had to set out early to discover the resort by itself and partake of various facilities. So with a backpack, I read up the literature in my room and decidedly headed out to the hanging bridge, artificial waterfall and the infinity pool overlooking the entire “Vythiri Village,” from a vantage point right at the top. We dressed to undress easily to enjoy the cascading waterfall and even attempted a swim in one of the many nature-surrounded swimming pools outside the pool villas.
It was a trek to get to the top, so attempt if fit or accompanied with fit friends, like mine. Do trek the rise slowly. The view is organic to each from the top, a personalised memory card. It may stir a range of emotions as you witness the beauty around (I motivated myself with this true thought to climb up the steep terrain).
The natural mountain stream gurgling below and flowing through the resort initially used to be accessible to tourists, where it was fun to dip one’s feet and walk through it, but the path to the stream is now full of thick forest cover, hence it is advisable not to attempt such a misadventure wading through it. The resort has refused to cut these trees to clear the path because it is a resort built on the principle of maintaining and helping the ecosystem.
A zip-line extends itself from the top to the base of the hanging bridge, it was only natural that we tried it. From the top sliding down, it felt like an adrenaline rush, short-lived as the distance is small. The whole place is a perfect setting for short stays, group vacays, conferences, romantic getaways, to shoot films on location, try out videos or reels.
Ziplining is one of the activities on offer
We hoped for a lazy vacay nap once done with these adventure actions, but we spotted two art corners, one promoting tribal art and the other offering to sketch me at a rustic set-up. My starry friend took up the offer and then waltzed to my room, but not before stopping by at the houseboat for some tea and savouries.
After lunch, we made a booking at the Nawa Spa, where an ayurvedic doctor, young, pretty and very knowledgeable met me first, asked all the relevant questions before suggesting therapies suited to my body and to meet the purpose of my visit. We decided that I needed a facial and went in for Mukhalepam to begin the initiation. I went to sleep, indulged with those magic hands and aroma oils, packs prepared my mind for the next session.
Nawa Udwarthanam is a traditional full body massage followed by an exfoliating scrub and steam bath. These were just two samples of the many offerings. You can actually sign-in for packages for proven and popular weight-loss therapies, rejuvenation, anti-ageing therapies and many more. Check their website for spa packages.
Most of the food on the table served to guests at the resort is organically grown in and around the resort or carefully sourced. The resort has a few restaurants. Constants like Spice Bowl, where lunch and dinner is served as buffet and a la carte options, is the one most tried as is Sky for breakfasts. Operational during different seasons, they have a special set-up for couples for candle-lit evenings in surreal surroundings. Bonfires happen and even requests for picnic baskets are entertained, even on the spur for families so that they can partake of the massive resort which seemingly looks like a forest, but with well-appointed luxury amenities.
Me, being quite a nature-overdosed-person-at-play, am already looking forward to going-back to this adventure haven. Two obvious changes we seek to make. One, arrive at the Kozhikode airport, taking along our respective partners (giggles) and yes, having those fragrant candles and rose petals in the pool villa room, just to read a few more books or romantically do more. Each to their own, as they say.
N.K. Mohamed
"They say one should retire at a certain age, for me the challenges and thrill of life in creating this natural haven, Vythiri Village — a luxury spa resort, for my guests, completed itself, at the age of 65. It began operation with only 100 rooms and at present we have 333 rooms and we are still expanding. The resort is located in the oxygen corridor of Kerala, in the Wayanad district, with nature being its strongest point, sans any pollution, artificial noise or otherwise. We have tried and almost perfected little damage to our environment we received, from our natural habitat. Our resort has played host to numerous celebrities, both national and international, however for their comfort we have always kept their visits discreet. With 30 years of experience as a guest at various hotels and hotelier training, I do set a high, non-interfering, but comfort-gushing atmosphere at my property. My staff have been there for years together, they are like family, they know my vision and try toeing that line when attending to our guests, who come here from across the world for our ayurveda packages, to enjoy nature in quiet and do touristy visits outside the resort to nearby attractions. We boast of a state-of-the-art auditorium. I am an old man now, but with dreams and energy of a youth.
Vythiri Village is a unique, involved and esoteric destination in God’s Own Country. Our resort has been proudly representing India to the world. Happy to have won the Best Boutique Hotel Award as number one in India, fourth in Asia and 14th in the world. Our patrons have used various social media platforms to extend us huge accolades and we value them all. We make love to nature to stay awake in health and conscience. We try to imbibe the same sentiment and experiences in our esteemed guests."
— N.K. Mohamed, founder of Vythiri Village
Places of interest outside the resort
- Pookode Lake: 3km
- Thusharagiri waterfalls: 11km
- Chembra Peak: 23km
- Banasura Dam: 23km
- Sulthan Bathery Jain temple: 27km
- Heritage Museum: 28km
- Edakkal Caves: 31km
- Pazhassi Park: 36km
- Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary: 43km
- Karapuza dam: 43km
- Kuruwa Island: 43km
- Nagerhole: 63km
- Pakshi Pathalam: 73km
- Tholpetti: 73km
- Muthumala Wildlife Sanctuary: 78km
How to reach Vythiri Village
- Nearest Airport: Kozhikode (Calicut) 60km
- Nearest rail head: Kozhikode (Calicut) 60km
- Distance by road: Kozhikode (53 km), Ooty (107km), Mysore (143km), Bangalore (293km), Goa (593km), Cochin (240km), Thiruvananthapuram (600km)
Contact: sales@vythirivillage.com, reservations@vythiri.com, info@vythiri.com
Phone: +91-49362-56716/717/718/719
The author is a communications professional and a passionate traveller.
