Sanctuary For The Environment and You in Kerala, India With CGH Earth Hotels

The closest most of us get to picking the food we eat is selecting one brand of breakfast cereal over another, or picking fresh-looking apples over bruised ones at the supermarket. So going out into a vegetable patch at a resort in India – an organic veggie patch, no less – and harvesting the vegetables that we were going to eat for dinner was a rare, exciting treat.

This is just one of the eco-friendly activities and practices on offer at Marari Beach Resort, one of the new breed of eco-friendly places to stay in Kerala, southern India. CGH Earth, a new breed of hoteliers take their commitment to the environment seriously, and they have several upscale properties in Kerala, India that prove to travellers that they value sustainability.

Their other resort in Kumarakom, Coconut Lagoon, also demonstrates an upper hand in the area of eco-tourism. They have a functioning Bio-Gas plant, waste water treatment plants and rain-water harvesting that makes the most of plentiful monsoon rains and limits energy and water consumption. This laid-back resort is the perfect vantage point for spotting traditional houseboats as they make their way down the backwaters.

Kalari Kovilakom is a wellness retreat further north in Kerala. It is all about wellness through correct lifestyle choices. They serve the best organic produce here also, but the focus is also on bringing the mind, body and spirit into balance with ayurvedic treatments and daily yoga practice. The minimum stay here is 14 days to ensure you get the full benefits of the ayurvedic wellness program on offer.