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TIME OUT

Reverie by the river

SYLVAN ABODE Laze, go on a boat ride and explore Nature

USP: India's only luxury hotel in the forest

Aranya Nivas in Thekkady is exactly what it means - a residential abode right in the middle of the forest. And apparently this is the only threestar wild life luxury resort in India set in the heart of a game reserve forest.

Reaching Thekkady and finding Aranya Nivas is no big deal. Mainly because all other hotels in this tourist hotspot are located on the periphery of the Periyar wildlife sanctuary. KTDC-run Lake Palace (covered earlier in this column) and Aranya Nivas are the only twin resorts for which one has to cross the forest check-post, pay the toll, drive about four kms through thick green woods.

While Travancore Maharaja Chithirathirunal's summer palace (now called the Lake Palace) is in the middle of the Periyar Lake, Aranya Nivas is perched on the banks of the lake at an elevation of 1000 m above sea level.

This sylvan abode is a quaint granite structure built in typical colonial style. It is said that when the Travancore king built the summer palace for himself and his family, he built Aranya Nivas for his officers. It was in 1963 when Pt.Nehru visited Thekkady that he inaugurated the place and named it so.

Spread over two floors, the wildlife resort has 30 elegant rooms which include a suite, nine deluxe and 20 regular rooms. What is most attractive here is that each room on any corner of the building looks right into the forest.

Sitting in the room one can hear different calls of birds and other wildlife. Each room has been provided with French windows for a clear view of the surrounding greenery and possible animal movement.

While the hotel staff takes care and helps every visitor to make their stay and trip worthwhile, the one and only thing they are most strict about is that no loitering is allowed after 6 p.m. Both silence and darkness befall this place as dusk sets in for the fear of disturbing wild life movement and also posing a threat to humans.

Tales galore from the place as to how people who accidentally remained out after dark encountered elephants and tigers (whose present count here is 43) and even ran for their lives to safety.

Says General Manager Jojith Antony, "the ban on movement helps. Here you will not find a single board which says take care of yourself and your belongings. Every message is only about protecting wildlife and forests."

When one is on the other side of the check post, one gets to hear the usual cacophony of a tourist centre brimming with traffic and brisk business at the shops and kiosks. But bliss descends the moment one is on the other side. Vehicle horns are replaced with a continuous chorus of birds beautifully supplemented with an orchestra by forest insects.

As one either drives or walks down, the galleries of the forests with twining vines and lofty trees, the moss, fungi and lichen conjure up images of the primeval and a sense of arrival. Every bend and moment is replete with expectations. The deeper you go, you feel Periyar nestled in the southern Western Ghats is coming to life.

A stay in Aranya Nivas provides ample opportunity to explore forest conservation programmes. The best part is that the local people who once made a living with illegal activities in the forests are now the forest protectors and earn their livelihood through these programmes.

It is no less a pleasure to simply relax by the window side of the hotel rooms and feast on the rich green outside and spend the night fine tuning your audio senses to the various calls from the forest. But the best thing to do here is go for walks. And nothing beats an early morning walk. As the veil of the morning haze lifts, the first hootings of nilgiri langurs ricochets. They are present in large numbers here just like the mountain quails taking off or the jungle fowls flushing out their loud sounds.

If you walk through the moist deciduous and evergreen forests interspersed with marshy grasslands, you will not be able to cope with the count and variety of birds and butterflies. And of course the feeling of coming face to face with beers, deers, bisons, wild pigs and boars, flying squirrels anytime anywhere never deserts you.

A boat cruise on Periyar Lake almost guarantees elephant sighting though the majestic Asiatic Tiger may play hide and seek.

Aranya Nivas is a place ideal for diehard wildlife and nature lovers. It is a dream retreat.

Distance from downtown Kumily — five km, Madurai — 145 km, Kottayam 115 km, Ernakulam/Kochi — 185 km, Munnar —108 km.

Things to do

Take a dip in the swimming pool. Browse through books in the small library, which has a good collection on environment, flora and fauna.

There is also a recreation room, beer parlour and Ayurvedic massage centre. Hotel staff arrange for guests to visit tea, spice and other crop plantations. Boat cruises, elephant rides and trekking can also be arranged.

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