GREEN LAGOON RESORT
VETTILATHURUTHU ISLAND
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Experience the beauty of silence here. There's water as far as the eye can see and a breeze that lulls you into a reverie as you relax on the verandah of Sunrise Residence, Green Lagoon Resort.
A 15-minute boat ride on the Vembanad Lake takes you to the seven-acre Green Lagoon, dotted with lawns, pathways, waterways, orchids, vegetable gardens and fruit trees. All the food served here is organic, with vegetables from the garden and fish and prawns from the lake.
Leave your car at the garage at Eramalloor, two km off the NH-47 road from Kochi to Alappuzha. For, at Green Lagoon, in Vettilathuruthu island, you'll discover the world by foot.
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The calm fills your very soul, and you realise the beauty of being far away from the noisy city.
The resort's Sunrise and High Noon Residences are heritage buildings with quadrangles and wooden interiors, which have been carefully rebuilt.
The facilities inside include open-air bathrooms, air-conditioned bedrooms, Internet connectivity, antique-style furniture, individual boat jetties, rooms for butlers, a kitchenette, a small outhouse and pools where you can swim unnoticed.
The centrepiece of the island is the museum, a pretty red building in mandala style, designed by German architect, Hans-Peter Gresser, with water flowing in and out through open waterways. Inside is a stunning array of more than 300 ancient kavadis, in carved wood and bronze. The carved images include those of Ganesha and Muruga. Old bronze and iron coin boxes and vibhuthi boxes line a couple of shelves.
Lunch is simple — spaghetti with Parmesan cheese. The banana ice cream is good, served on a banana leaf, and decorated with banana flowers. Green Lagoon generates its own drinking water, through reverse osmosis and bottles them in fancy wine bottles.
Then, it's time to reconnect with Nature. Clumps of mangrove trees, both planted and natural, prevent soil erosion and shelter migratory birds.
And, since privacy is the watchword at Green Lagoon, apart from the guests and staff, there are only dogs which guard the island at night!
(The writer was at Green Lagoon at the invitation of the resort)
Things to do
Laze around in the quiet, breezy garden and watch the migratory birds.
Study the kavadis to get an insight into ancient Indian sculpture.
Fish by the lakeside or go cruising on a country boat.
Watch a performance of kathakali or Bharatanatyam (arranged on request).
Tariff
It ranges between Rs. 21,000 and Rs. 37,000, depending on the season, for the residences, per day for two persons.
For details, contact 098460-51630, 098460-14911 or 04786-451811.
How to get there
The resort is 45 km from Kochi airport, and 20 km from the Ernakulam railway station. At Eramallore, turn left. The resort offers a pick-up facility from the airport.