Banasura Hill Resort: Elegant. Earthy.
It was with some skepticism that I undertook the seven-hour drive from Cochin to Banasura Hill Resort in Wayanad
. I'd heard about this place from friends whod gone on a week-long photo shoot on Wayanads outback, and thought I might look it up. So feeling footloose and fancy-free one weekend, a friend of mine and I drove up to Banasura. We left home soon after breakfast, hit NH 17 and reached Kozhikode by about 1 p.m. after passing through Chavakkad, Ponnani, Kuttipuram and Thirurangadi.We took the Kozhikode bye-pass, had delicious Malabari biriyani at one of the eateries en route, and then turned on to NH 212. Another two hours and we reached Kalpetta after passing Thamarassery, Puduppadi and Vythiri. Turning left from Kalpetta we reached Tharuvana, where we turned left again to reach Pulinjan. From there it was a short drive, and we were in Banasura Hill Resort.
It would have helped if road signs had been placed from Kalpetta up to the property. In their absence we had to stop every once in a while to ask for directions, and this being a new destination, not many people knew about it.
Id been told about this place being built entirely out of mud, but nothing that I was told would have prepared me for what I beheld when we eventually got there. The main building of the resort was a massive earthen structure built like a fort with 20 very, very spacious rooms spread over two floors.
I never thought earth structures could be this big. Id been expecting to see small, cheap mud-walled huts with thatched roofs - which is what usually passes off as accommodation in many rural resorts. More often than not, the walls of these so called mud-walled huts have their inner core made of brick and cement mortar, with just a plastering of mud on top.
Banasura was different. I didnt have a measuring tape with me, but the walls of the main building must have been at least two feet thick. And it was made entirely out of earth excavated locally. And the place where they had extracted the earth from, had become a natural pond filled with water lilies. It must have taken some guts to build such a massive structure using just mud, in an area known for heavy rainfall. Hats off to the people who envisioned this.
There were several villas too, dotting this 35 acre farm at the foot of the Banasura Hill. These too were made of earth rough hewn laterite stone instead of mud, but still made of earth. The promoters of the place ought to have named it Banasura Earth Resort rather than Banasura Hill Resort. Its made of earth almost all of it.
The rooms in the main building are called Earth-rooms. Its into one of these that we checked in. To say it was spacious would be an understatement. The way it was furnished, the decor, the lighting, all contributed to create a warm and welcoming ambience. The windows opened out to magnificent views of the Banasura Hill. The bathrooms were large and spotlessly clean, with fittings from Hansgrohe, Germany. Evidently the promoters hadnt pinched when it came to furbishing the place.
One thing that was conspicuous by its absence was the air-conditioner. There wasnt any need for one, we were told. The thick earthen walls provide effective thermal insulation, warding off the heat during the day and conserving the warmth during the night. We spent the rest of the evening pottering around the place, had an early dinner (parathas and chicken curry, prepared well and served in the room), washed it down with black coffee, and retired for the night.
We were up at first light, trying to catch a glimpse of what the Banasura Hill would look like at the crack of dawn. Unfortunately the upper half of the hill was shrouded in mist, so we made our way back to the room, freshened up and had breakfast at the restaurant, my friend opting for poori-masala, and I myself settling for appam and vegetable stew. The coffee was strong and tasted good.
We planned to start our drive back home by 4 in the evening, and so had plenty of time to kill. Having broken fast, we took our gear cameras, lenses, tripod et al and trekked uphill along the winding mud road that bordered the resort. A while later we found a trail leading downhill to the left. Over-night rain had left the ground sodden and slippery, so we picked our way down gingerly. Soon we were standing at the foot of a roaring waterfall that gave us plenty of photo ops.
Getting back on to the mud track we moved further uphill. Soon the mud road petered out into a mere trail. The forest cover became so thick, it practically blocked out the sun. The sound of crickets screeching reverberated across the forest. The trail led to a cave, which is said to have been frequented by Pazhassi Raja during his fight against the British. By the time we finished exploring the cave it was nearly 1:30 p.m. and we were hungry enough to eat a horse. So we made our way back to the resort and had a sumptuous meal. After resting for about an hour, we started on our way back.
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