Name: Indhrivanam
Address: Valiyapara Road Chakkupallam,Valiyapara Road, Kuttikkanam, Kuttikkanam, Kuttikkanam, 685509, India
Rating: 10

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Security guard

Washing machine

Express check-in/check-out

Garden

Terrace

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Hairdryer

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Rooms

Iron and board

Luggage storage

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Wake-up service

Telephone

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Coffee/tea for guests

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Airport transportation

Transfer services

Transfer

Hiking

Recreation

Parking

Doctor

First Aid Kit

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Extra decontamination measures

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

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Indhrivanam

Kuttikkanam

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

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6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

As a couple, my husband and I have always been veered towards destinations that involve a large dose of forests, wilderness and nature. While exploring the places to stay in the vicinity of Periyar tiger reserve, we came across this heavenly place, Indhrivanam. Our stay, including our daughter, was of 3 days and 3 nights.

About Indhrivanam, I do know that it will feature in my conversations about hospitality and homestays till the end of my very being! Full credit goes to the hosts, Sarah and Morten who have carefully and thoughtfully managed the place. 

A few highlights that stood out have been….

Foooood: As a family, we unanimously voted that the food was amazing. And what took the cake literally was the vegan vanilla lemon zest birthday cake presented to us at 6.30am!!!! Cutting the  birthday cake this early in the morning was a very memorable experience for me not to mention the fact that the cake was finger licking good. Food was a delicious affair all through, Sarah has been so meticulous in the way food was delivered and served to us in huge steel drums hung right outside the guest cottage, that the sight of it’s arrival would make my daughter delightfully scramble to unpack and discover the contents. Being vegetarians, the food perfectly suited our palate :-)

Atmosphere: Nestled away from Kumily town, the place offers lush green cover replete with local flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Its a pleasure to sit on the porch, soak in the air and hear the birds. For anyone keen on seeing the surroundings at a closer distance, there was a pair of binoculars thoughtfully kept in the cottage. An added delight was the birthday song sung by my favourite bird the Malabar whistling thrush early morning, ahhh Mother Nature!

Cottage: This one is built with stone walls with beautiful doors and collapsible windows made of wood and glass. The temperature in the cottage was always ambient and pleasant. The attached bathroom is environment friendly that has been designed to compost human waste using saw dust. Surprisingly despite the cottage being located in the middle of thick green cover, there were no mosquitoes and creepy crawlies barely made their presence felt. We did notice that our hosts had taken care of ensuring that insects like ants were redirected away from the cottage with some eco friendly solutions. Overall the cottage was very comfortable, neat and cozy in accommodating our family of 3 adults.

Hospitality: We had some very interesting conversations with Sarah, Morten, Teddy and Maya. We had plenty to talk about and it felt that we needed a few more visits to talk some more! We received plenty of pointers and information from them on what we could explore in the duration of our stay. We learnt about their incredible experience in India, we marvelled at their gumption and we surely appreciated their kindness.

We are back to our regular life and the stressors however all we need to do is just close our eyes and go over our stay at Indhrivanam in our minds eye and that momentarily refreshes us.

Thank you so much Sarah and Morten for the incredible experience!

Incredible experience at Indhrivanam 

Have you ever been to a place you wanted to gate-keep and rave about in the same breadth? Indhrivanam is such a place for me. I would love for others to experience the beauty of the forest and the peace that comes with it. At the same time, I wouldn't want entitled, fussy tourists to go there (Sarah and Morten are the kindest, sweetest  hosts and do not deserve icky guests!!) 

I spent 17 days at Indhrivanam from late May 2023, and am likely their longest staying guest till date. I did not want to leave, and long to be back. Throughout my stay in the beautiful stone cottage (artfully designed and built by Morten and Sarah),  I was thoroughly pampered and taken care of. I felt genuine warmth and a strong sense of kinship with them. I struggle to find apt words to express my gratitude for all that they have done for me.

I was writing my doctoral thesis whilst at Indhrivanam. The conversations with Morten and Sarah - about animals, environment, love, life, purpose, and the everyday (not so mundane) - were thought-provoking. In all likelihood, they kept me sane. As I learnt about how their lifestyle, I felt inspired to break free from the rat race and live differently. Their little world gives me hope.

With respect to the stay itself, Sarah is a true vegan culinary wizard. She prepared the most scrumptious vegan Kerala food and the best pasta ever!! Everything was veggie centric (which I love) and so delicately spiced. Sarah also very kindly made me special baked treats - from cinnammon buns to scruffins to homemade pizza. Cooking and cleaning day after day is not an easy task, more so when caring for a puppy. But, Sarah was an absolute star. Besides the food, I enjoyed my meals with Sarah and Morten. I loved hearing about their lives, and am particularly fond of Morten's sense of humour - this is so rare! :) Morten also patiently dealt with my mini electronic crises - he has many (hidden) talents. 

I did not leave the property (barring once) in all of my stay. This was due to the unparallelled beauty of their property, their vegan food, and their much cherished company. The adorable doggies Ashna, Teddy, and Maya also visited me from time to time. Maya the puppy brought me so much joy with her scampering about every morning. 

If you are a solo-female (vegan) traveller looking to explore Kerala or seeking peace, Indhrivanam would be a perfect getaway. There are some creepy crawlies, a plethora of birds, apart from the doggos - please do not attempt to go if you cannot peacefully co-exist and are disruptive.

Sustainable vegan paradise

From the beautifully designed eco cottage and the attention to detail, this bed and breakfast is truely wonderful. 
Sarah and Morten were most welcoming and hospitable hosts, providing delicious and nutritious meals, all vegan and home cooked.
Kumily is a beautiful part of Kerala and the cottages' location is set amidst luscious jungle abundant with flowers and birds.
All was very peaceful and private.
Highly recommended.

Amazing experience.

We stayed for a week and we wish we could have stayed for longer! It was the most relaxing & peaceful stay surrounded by nature! The food is phenomenal, the owners are so caring & thoughtful  and we’re already planning when we can come back! Can’t recommend it enough!

The BEST stay!

We loved our stay at the eco cottage. It’s beautifully and thoughtfully designed to be sensitive to the environment yet still very stylish. Morten made us very welcome and was always available to help and answer our questions. Homemade bread and spreads for breakfast were delicious! Only wish we’d had more time there!

Beautiful and thoughtfully designed cottage in peaceful location

We stayed for 2 nights at Indhrivanam and were really pleased with our stay. The cottage was clean and comfortable with WiFi connection, and mosquito net if you want it. It was wonderful to got to sleep and wake up to the sounds of the jungle (birds and insects- nothing dangerous). The vegan breakfast was delicious and I now have a recipe for cashew cream cheese. The hosts, Morten and Sarah, can organise tickets for trips in Periyar national park, and I believe taxis and train tickets (we had our own driver though). There are also maps for local treks available in the cottage, and the hosts are happy to accompany you if you prefer. Had we stayed longer (which we would have liked) we would have availed ourselves of this service. 
All in all a wonderful break. 
Thank you Mort and Sarah for your hospitality, and give Teddy and Ashna (dogs) a stroke from us 

Perfect retreat 

I must say how much we enjoyed our visit to Indhrivanam and getting a more realistic idea of what India truly is, thanks to yourselves (rather than expensive hotels). Your contribution was huge, booking the super train journey, ensuring we were met and transport by a competent  taxi and driver.
We loved your stone home and cottage where you made us very welcome, all the eco measures that you have in place and the vegan food too. Memories of travelling to the temple in Tamil Nadir and back by local bus round the hair pin bends, the meal at the Lakshmi hotel and walking along the tracks near your home are some of the things that will remain with us. You smoothed our visit to the Tiger Trail which we throughly enjoyed and would recommend it highly to others.
Thank you for our taste of India and we hope the monsoon provides you with the water you need for the coming year.

Magical few days

Located in Kumily, Thekkady, this Vegan Homestay is run by Morten and Sarah. The property offers only one stone cottage in a small private forest surrounded by hundreds of trees. Built on sound ecological principles, including relying only on rainwater to meet water requirements, usage of dry-toilets to conserve water, etc., staying at Indhrivanam will be a different experience. The path to the cottage was etched with rocks, with lovely plants and majestic trees on the sides. Morten and Sarah are the most wonderful hosts we’ve ever came across.

The perfect place to be one with nature

My husband and I spent 3 nights at Indhrivanam and we absolutely loved it. Sarah and Morten are kind and generous hosts. We thoroughly enjoyed our chats with them over the delicious vegan breakfasts. The cashew cream cheese and relish was a highlight for me.
Morten provided us with plenty of information prior to, and during, our stay and also booked tickets for bamboo rafting in Periyar on our behalf.
We were very comfortable in the accommodation too. The swing chair on the verandah was a wonderful spot to sit and watch the birds, the bed was comfy and we really appreciated all the efforts made to allow us to reduce our impacts including the composting toilets and access to harvested rain water.
Highly recommend Indhrivanam and Sarah and Morten as hosts

Absolutely wonderful 

A really beautiful dry stone cottage, surrounded by the most beautiful scenery. The cottage was pristine and the little extra touches: tea and coffee; incense sticks; maps of the local area; even the loan of a mobile phone in case we got lost(!) meant that we could really relax and unwind in the tranquil surroundings.

Sarah and Morten were the most incredible hosts, from booking to departure. They are so knowledgeable about the local area and were always on hand to answer any questions we had and advise on places to eat and things to do. They really do go above and beyond and we were so spoilt by their hospitality.

Our stay at Indhrivanam set the bar ridiculously high. Absolutely faultless.

Indhrivanam

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