CGH Earth is a five-decade long experiment in hospitality. Our properties are mirrors held up to the environments and communities they are born from. Nothing has been added that does not already belong. Because nothing more was necessary. The result, we like to believe, are experiences as immersive as they are authentic.
On a Spice Coast cruise, your world is a spacious houseboat all your own, your senses filling with silence and space, at their purest and most alluring. So lean back on a cushion and glide beneath the inverted bowl of the sky. Look outside, look within. Look beyond both. The Japanese call it Satori. And its available here at your leisure.
Reception
Close your eyes a minute, and imagine. It is a clear evening on the Vembanad Lake, the stars already burning bright in the brief tropical twilight.
The lake's waters are an identical shade with the sky, creating a seamless blue world edged with the bursting green of shoreside forests, thick with coconut, cardamom, cinnamon and teak.
Wait long enough and you'll see a cluster of lights looming up. Dancing fireflies that grow larger and resolve into a string of hurricane lamps. The plump lines of a 'kettuvallom' take shape, its cane-and-rope awnings flying rakishly, its silent hull gliding past as if on wings of air. You catch a brief glimpse of yellow light and warm interiors. And then the vision is gone, melting back into the evening
Fact Sheet
Our Kettuvalloms (The local Malayalam name for the backwaters' ubiquitous rice barges, the inspiration for our houseboats) are solar-powered and come with one/two bedrooms with attached baths, a lounge, a sun deck and a crew of three.
One or more days along the backwaters of the Kuttanad and Vembanad area. Night halts are usually on the lake or some quiet shore. The Kavanar sanctuary and numerous islands offer a rare treat for nature lovers.
Ayurveda
Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient, highly comprehensive system of medicine based on a holistic approach rooted in ancient Indian culture.
We can find historical evidence of Ayurveda in the ancient books of wisdom known as the Vedas. In the Rig Veda, over 60 preparations were mentioned that could be used to assist an individual in overcoming various ailments. The Rig Veda was written over 6,000 years ago, but really, Ayurveda has been around even longer than that.
Experience with Backwaters
The Kerala Backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by nearly 1500 km of canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually the entire length of Central Kerala. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
Vembanad is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 sq. km. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. The Vallam Kali (the Snake Boat Race) held every year in August is a major backwater attraction.
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