The place
Valley cottages, cardamom hills.
A small cluster of cottages at Panchalimedu, tucked into the cardamom valley above Kumily. You book a cottage rather than the whole property. The mist stays in the hills until ten in the morning, and the quiet is the kind you do not get in a hotel.
Heyday Thazhvaram sits at about 1,000 metres, on the lip of a valley that runs down through cardamom plantations into the Periyar forest. Each cottage faces the valley, each has its own verandah, and each has enough distance from its neighbour that you do not hear anyone else's kettle.
This is the only one of our resorts that works on a per-cottage basis. It means you meet other guests across the lawn at breakfast. For couples who want a quiet cardamom-hill week without taking an entire estate, it is the right one.
Panchalimedu is roughly halfway between Munnar and Thekkady-Periyar, which makes it a good base for a Kerala hill-country week. Most guests take a day in the wildlife sanctuary and a day at the tea factories, and spend the rest of the time on the verandah.
Ideal for
- Couples who want a quiet cardamom-hill stay without booking a whole estate
- Travellers combining Periyar, Munnar and a cottage in the middle
- Small families who prefer individual cottage privacy to hotel floors
- Writers, readers, and people who need the verandah more than the lobby
Rooms and spaces
Where you sleep
Valley Cottage
One bedroom, en-suite bath, a verandah that looks straight into the cardamom. Sleeps two, or two plus a child on an extra bed.
Family Cottage
Two bedrooms sharing a living area and a deeper verandah. Sleeps four, with room for a baby cot.
What's here
At the house
- Free Wi-Fi in all cottages
- Air conditioning in every bedroom
- Private parking, shared between cottages
- Campfire pit, lit on request
- Breakfast included, served on your verandah or the main lawn
- Caretaker and day staff on site
- Laundry on request
From the doorstep
Things to do
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
An hour down the road. Boat safari on the lake and a guided forest walk. We book the permits.
Cardamom plantation walk
A caretaker-led walk through the working plantation behind the cottages. Forty minutes.
Munnar tea country day trip
An easy two-hour drive. Leave after breakfast, back before dinner.
Kerala home-style dinner
Beef ularthiyathu, appam, Kumily pepper chicken. The caretaker cooks if you ask a day ahead.
At the table
Food
Breakfast is included. Kerala dishes, puttu with kadala curry, appam with stew, uttapam, fresh fruit, south Indian coffee. Lunch and dinner can be arranged in-cottage, or the driver will take you into Kumily for the places we like.
- By air
- Cochin International Airport (COK) is 115 km away, about four hours by car.
- By train
- Kottayam (KTYM) is the nearest major railhead, 110 km. Three hours by road from there.
- By road
- From Kumily it is 22 km, about an hour on mountain roads. From Munnar, two hours.
Before you book
Questions
Do I book the whole property at Thazhvaram?
No. You book one cottage. Other cottages may have other guests. This is the only one of our resorts that works this way.
How far is Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary?
About 35 km, an hour by car. We book the permits and driver.
Is there an option to take all the cottages?
Occasionally, if the calendar is open. Write to us with your dates.
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