"Fifty-two cottages roofed in elephant grass by Mannan tribe thatchers, on twelve acres of spice and forest garden beside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady"
Spice Village belongs to CGH Earth, a family firm that began in 1954 with the Casino Hotel on Willingdon Island in Kochi. The resort was conceived as a village and built the way a village is built, with local materials and native artisans. Its cottages follow the dwellings of the Mannan people of these hills, and all 52 roofs are thatched with elephant grass, a plant forest officials otherwise burn off to prevent fires, laid by thatchers using the Mannan technique.
The twelve acre site holds more than 200 species of tree, many of them labelled, and a two acre vegetable and herb garden. Cottages have coir mats on bare stone floors, open porches and no air conditioning. Tamarind Restaurant covers regional and international cooking; the 50 Mile Diet restaurant uses only ingredients sourced within fifty miles. The Woodhouse Lounge is named for A. W. Woods, forest ranger of the Periyar reserve in the colonial era, whose portrait hangs above a 150 year old billiards table. The Tiger Club holds a library of more than 385 books. Kumily bus station is 1.2 km away, Cochin airport 190 km.
