good for you

Four comfortable teak cabins tucked away in an undeveloped palm grove just one kilometre away from the Arabian sea - Friday's Place on Poovar Island in southern Kerala is a delight to the senses, with delicious food, the river's sigh, the sights and sounds of the forest, the scent of jasmine and the pleasures of an ayurvedic massage all on offer. At night, gaze heavenwards through the lodge's own telescope after a sumptuous meal of fresh fish and shellfish cooked Keralan style.

good for kerala

This is Kerala's first eco-lodge, with solar power, bio-electric sewage plant and all natural building materials drawn from sustainable sources.

Rooms

Food

Co-owner Sujeewa combines Keralan recipes with those of her native Sri Lanka, and she is happy to welcome you to the kitchen for a lesson.

Meals are taken on the beautiful communal veranda opposite the kitchen and owners Mark and Sujeewa usually join the guests for dinner.

Breakfast is eggs, puree or dosa with various chutneys and a huge fruit selection, accompanied by fresh fruit juice, ginger tea, chai or freshly ground coffee. Light lunches include local salads, curries and chappatis and as much fresh fruit and drinks as you like. Dinner is the main event, with freshly caught crabs, local mussels, chicken or fish. All meals and soft drinks are included in the daily rate.

Vegan, macrobiotic or Ayurveda meals are all available - request them in advance.

Features & Facilities

Sujeewa is a qualified yoga instructor so she can guide morning sun salutations and evening wind-downs.

The local boatman is on hand to punt you around the maze of backwater canals - he speaks good English and boasts keen local knowledge of the area's varied flora and fauna.

The lodge has its own Reflecting Telescope for a real close up of the night sky.

Generally the driving in India is unlike anything you will have seen before, but if you are brave enough the lodge has its own Bullet motorcycle and Scuti car for your use as well as a hired Scorpio land cruiser for air conditioned comfort.

Local Info & Activities

This haven is constructed within fifty acres of unkempt palm garden. It is quite wild, and blessed with a variety of indigenous flora and fauna. Three species of Kingfisher, Kites, Honey buzzards, Woodpeckers and a whole gamut of water foul, flit, swoop and wade through the sanctuary. The river and canals are teeming with fish and edible crabs.

Southern Kerala and adjoining Tamil Nadu support a rich array of bird life on the coastal plain and up into the hills, the Western Ghats. Brahminy Kites and Paraqueets have been known to nest on the property at Friday's Place, and the owners happy to arrange day trips out for the twitcher in you.

The Kerala coast one kilometre down river can provide good fishing off the beach. There are some rocky outcrops just up the coast at Surya Samudra and Kovalam. You can fish in the river for eels and Kurimeen and even off the bridges which interconnect the cottages. The crabs make excellent eating.

Away from Poovar up the coast is the 'famed' Kovalam beach, for lively swimming, beachfront boutiques selling Kashmiri and Lamani handicraft, and plenty of restaurants with tasty but dubious food. The Fusion, German Bakery and Beatles restaurants are reliable. Take care swimming in the sea as the rips are strong.

A drive out into the villages can be really interesting to witness rubber tapping, an oil mill, or a cashew nut factory. The local fruit, vegetable, and fish market is a riot of colour with sari-clad local women looking for the best buys. A journey on into the foothills takes you away from palm garden and into banana and rubber plantations with the amazing backdrop of the high Western Ghats. This is where most of the hydro electric dam sites are and the Neyyar Dam is the biggest nearby. It is also the location of the Sivananda Ashram, famed for its style of Yoga throughout India and the west.

For a full day out, a drive down to Kanyakumari, where the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea meet, can also take in the famous Travancore Palace which is entirely constructed of exotic hardwood. Beautifully carved and inscribed, it is a well-preserved testament to the skill and aesthetic of carpenters three hundred years ago.

Trivandrum city, the capital of Kerala, is a bustling, hot and polluted place. Nevertheless the architecture within the old fort area is certainly worth a look and the Padmaswamy Temple is the best example of Dravidian architecture outside the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. The city museum, zoo, and palace gardens are all of great interest and shopping for textiles is certainly a must. Parthas has the biggest and best selection of silk and cotton textiles together with fine saris and shalwar kameez, as well as some menswear. Taxis from Poovar to Trivandrum are always on hand and the drivers usually negotiate a waiting time rate. For short journeys auto rickshaws can be fun.

Friday's Place is just down river from three larger resorts where guests can take advantage of swimming pools and good Ayurveda centres for a regime of massage, detox or rejuvenation.

insider tips

This is the forest, so don't be surprised if you can count spiders and palm mice among your fellow guests. The spiders are harmless unless sat upon, and spend their time eating bugs in the roof that might otherwise eat the timber. The mice are pretty but the lodge does its best to discourage them.

Snakes are also found around the lodge. The Chera is the commonest species - it resembles a large grass snake and is completely harmless, and in fact quite useful as it eats the palm mice. Coastal Kerala is not really Cobra or Krait country - however, a general awareness is prudent when traveling in India. For your peace of mind the lodge keeps Haffkine's Serum in the fridge.

Sustainability

The lodge has used sustainable hardwood throughout the construction and the palm thatch is renewed annually which provides input into the local economy. Friday's Place is completely solar powered (probably the first and only in Kerala), all rooms having 220v.a.c. With sensible use, the lights, well pump and fans, work well with a small excess of power for music and hair dryers. The lodge's sewage system is a first in India, with its bio-electric plant ensuring clean outfall water with low B.O.D. (Biological Oxygen Demand). Water for washing is pumped and filtered from the canal, and is clean but occasionally brackish. Drinking water is purified by Reverse Osmosis Plant which ensures complete safety. The lodge has a modern kitchen but the cooking is often done outside on open fires (chulas) fuelled by palm waste.

Getting There

location

Friday's Place is located on Poovar Island, 30km south of Trivandrum in southern Kerala, India. Directions to get there will be emailed to you on reservation.

by air

Friday's Place is accessed through Trivandrum International Airport. It is a forty minute drive south. Sri Lankan/Emirates Airlines and Gulf Air service the above via Colombo or Bahrain. Indian Airlines flys via Goa and Mumbai. Lufthansa flys to Chennai (Madras).

Visit our Transport section for flights, hybrid car rentals and train bookings.

Rates & Bookings

Open 1 November to 30 April.

Double: UK£95 per couple

Single: UK£50 per single

included

• Full board and one complimentary alcoholic drink served each evening.
• Airport transfers from Trivandrum Airport.

not included

A 10% service charge applies.

booking & cancellation

• A 10% non-refundable deposit is required to secure a booking. The remainder is payable on departure from the hotel. Note that only cash is accepted.
• Cancellation will incur the loss of the 10% deposit.

Want to avoid cancellation fees? Visit our Insurance section for information on travel insurance.