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A luxury hotel that could disappear overnight with hardly any trace? CGH Marari Beach's 62 huts dot a swath of the coast of Kerala, southern India, with the roar of the Arabian Sea to the west and the murmur of coconut trees on their palm leaf roofs. Owls like to nest in them. They live with cormorants, herons, parrots, cuckoos, hoopoes, woodpeckers, orioles, warblers and 80 other species of birds. Each one with its trill. If you pay attention, they let themselves be seen. There is no television here.

In this place the birds feel at peace. There are no motor vehicles, the lights are dim, they find food among the many insects that live here, fresh and clean water in the ponds overflown by dragonflies and butterflies. For them there is even a garden specifically designed with their favorite plants, flamboyanes, trumpets, orchids, tamarinds, rosewoods and citronella. Almost a hundred species of butterflies flap among its flowers, including the huge Troides minos and Papilio polymnestor. A naturalist guides guests every morning who wish to learn more about this Eden.

For a hotel that has put sustainability at the center, the presence of all this wildlife is the sign that its initiatives are on the right track. Far beyond the elimination of single-use plastics, already widespread throughout the State of Kerala, or the use of solar panels, CGH strives to minimize its environmental footprint and even goes further by improving the natural environment it occupies by reducing waste, composting, recycling and reusing part of it. from food scraps to water.

Every afternoon the "long meter tea" ceremony is offered.

Within the hotel grounds there is a farm whose harvest ends up on the tables turned into delicious dishes. Vegetables, fruits, vegetables and spices that have attracted traders from all over the world for more than half a millennium supply the restaurants of CGH Marari Beach. Vegetarian recipes predominate, in tune with the local gastronomy, and fish fresh from the sea. Every afternoon, the chefs offer a cooking class where you participate from the collection of ingredients to the tasting.

Those lucky enough to enjoy a long stay can even put themselves in the hands of an Ayurvedic medical doctor to benefit from a comprehensive treatment in which food plays a key role. But if you have less time you can also enjoy the legendary massages offered here, as well as memorable sunrise yoga sessions, mohiniyattam dance performances and Indian classical music concerts during dinner.

All cabins are suite type and built with local materials.

A few kilometers away, after a short tuktuk or bicycle ride, is Alappuzha, the Venice of the East, from where you can explore the fascinating network of backwaters, canals that weave this place below sea level, empire of overflowing vegetation, home to the most exotic creatures, a bomb of pure beauty that cries out to be admired and respected.

  • It has 62 suites in independent cabins, some with their own pool. From 180 euros.

  • CGH Marari Beach Resort. Mararikulam, Alappuzha (India). Phone: +91 484 426 1711. Internet: www.cghearth.com/marari-beach


FISH FRESHLY TAKEN FROM THE SEA

The tradition of Kerala is transferred to the tables of this hotel also committed to the local communities. The fishermen of Mararikulam supply the restaurant with fresh fish and seafood that stars in the recipes of the extraordinary cuisine of South India. Seasonal vegetables and spices collected in the resort's own orchards complete the brilliant gastronomic offer of CGH Marari Beach.

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