Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Coffee
421
Paradisa Plantation Retreat
A Spicy Bit of Paradise
Kerala, India
Paradise, indeed. Set on the jungle-
shrouded hillsides of a coffee and spice
plantation in the Cardamom Hills of south-
western India, this peaceful lodge takes
some travel to reach, but once you're there,
you feel as if you're in another world.
The word “retreat” in the title couldn't
be more apt, either. Guests stay in indi-
vidual teak villas, built in traditional Kerala-
style architecture and adorned with
antique columns and intricate rosewood
carvings. Each roomy villa has its own pri-
vate setting and a stupendous view of the
dense green hills overlooking a mahara-
jah's former hunting grounds. You can
swim in a footprint-shaped pool on a
mountainside terrace, take yoga classes
and ayurvedic treatments, play golf at a
historic planter's club nearby, spot wild
elephants and perhaps even tigers at the
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary just over the
hills. Or just stroll around the lush planta-
tion grounds, where orchids bloom, mon-
keys chatter, and the scent of wild spices
hangs alluringly in the air (they don't call
these the Cardamom Hills for nothing).
Watch the harvesting of coffee, cloves,
and pepper, visit the nearby plant where
cardamom is processed, or swing up to
Munnar to see the Tata tea factory and
museum.
Breakfast is served on a lovely terrace,
and even if you're not a regular coffee
drinker, the smell of fresh-brewed cof-
fee—organically grown right here—can
be intoxicating. On the open-air stone
pavilion of the central dining area, host
Simon Paulose makes every meal into a
The Paradisa Plantation Retreat in the Cardamom Hills of southwestern India.
