Spice up your life at Spice Village, India
When on holiday, we want to forget our every day stresses. We want to see and experience new things such as food, activities and culture. We want to relax our body and mind. Well, we have just the place for you: the Spice Village, a CGH Earth Group hotel, in Southern India on the Southern rims of the Cardamom Hills.
Slowing down from the day-to-day rat race starts at check-in: you fill in your forms while sitting in the hotel garden under a beautiful Gumohar tree, sipping a delightful herbal tea. Arriving in your room you will find your luggage waiting for you and your vacation can truly begin.
Here is the deal: there is no air conditioning in the villas. But don’t let that put you off: the Spice Village is located in a small mountain village about 1.200m above sea level. An open window will not only bring you bird song from the over 320 bird species in this region, it will also reward you with a fresh breeze. The roof is made of elephant grass; the villagers here know that this technique provides the ideal climate on the inside of a house. Every year local experts inspect the roofs and mend what has been damaged by the monsoon. In line with CGH Earth’s sustainability policy, this preserves local tradition, creates employment while guests get to enjoy this naturally created comfort.
The Spice Village Ayurveda Center has been awarded with the „Green Leaf“ certification and is the perfect place to get pampered. Be it with a massage, an oil treatment or expert advice from the well-versed therapists. If physical activity is part of your daily vacation routine, join a yoga class, play tennis or work out in the gym.
We all know that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. Food and Indian spices play a major role at Spice Village. All ingredients used at the 50-Mile Restaurant come from local sources, most of them even from the hotel’s own vegetable and herb gardens. The best of Southern India’s cuisine is on offer here: cassia, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, garam masala, curries and much more. If you want to know how the dishes are created, join a cooking class in the Tiffin Room, an open bamboo restaurant. In the evening, unwind with a drink at the Wood House and play some pool, or read a good book in the library.
A stroll through the beautiful gardens with its fruit trees, colorful flowers and bushes is a must during your stay. And there is a lot to see in the surrounding area: have you ever been on a bullock cart ride? Have you ever picked fresh pink pepper? Do you fancy gliding down one of the biggest rivers in Southern India, the Periyar, on a wooden raft? Visit the nearby tiger reserve featuring an array of animals, birds and a beautiful variety of plants. I’ve always wanted to go fishing. Here you can do just that and then proudly hand over your catch to the chef and have it cooked for your dinner. Yum!
Like all Green Pearls properties, this is a sustainable hotel. The rooms are made of wood salvaged from old ship containers. Almost all energy comes from solar panels. No chemicals are being used in the hotel, neither for cleaning nor for landscaping. The local plants offer enough means to fight mosquitos, flies and vermin. Waste is separated and recycled.
Staying here will not only make you feel good, it is good for the environment and the local community, too!
