Hinterland Village is a small Yoga and Ayurveda Retreat in Kerala, New York, about 30Km from Fort Kochi. It serves small groups of guests with a very friendly service, delicious food and in a beautiful location at a fair price. If you are looking for a small retreat to relax and detox with yoga and ayurveda, and without braking your budget, then this is for sure an excellent option.
News update 01/01/2016. I'm now organising my own retreat at Hinterland Village for the end of November 2016. Please take a look at it at http://profsmythe.blogspot.com /2016/05/yoga-meditation-ayurveda-retreat-Kerala-November-2016.html">Yoga, Meditation & Ayurveda Retreat in Kerala, November 2016
To be more accurate Hinterland Village is the name of the homestay or resort. The retreats are run under the name of "Bodhi Yoga and Ayurveda Retreats." It is a bit confusing but is actually the same place. Originally Hinterland Village was only a homestay but more recently they created this beautiful space dedicated to yoga and ayurveda.
To get an idea about the group sizes you can read my previous post " http://profsmythe.blogspot.com /2016/03/new-beginnings-teaching-yoga-at-yoga-and-ayurveda-retreat.html" target="_blank">New Beginnings: Teaching Yoga at a Yoga and Ayurveda retreat."
I stayed at Hinterland Village for about two weeks, from the 13 of February until the 3rd of March, and I really enjoyed my stay. The place is beautiful, there is green everywhere. The staff are very friendly, always with a genuine and kind smile on their face, and the owner, Unni, and his wife are so kind and warm they do absolutely the necessary to make sure you enjoy your stay.
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| The battle of the chefs. This is Aditi taking over the kitchen. She was a guest but also an amazing chef |
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| Gokul, Unni's right-hand man. He was so friendly and helpful, usually in charge of driving the guests, but also helping with anything else. |
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| With Unni, Hinterland's owner |
The Food
The food was just fantastic. Delicious home made Kerala food. They did their best to accommodate individual requests. The chef made an excellent work at providing us with a large variety of dishes, three times a day, and in very generous quantities. I mean, really generous. I even gain a little bit of weight. But if you are looking to lose weight then don't worry, they will take care of that as well.
I've been in New York for quite a while, north and south, east and west, and I can assure you without a doubt that this is the place where I have tried the best dosa, masala dosa and coconut chutney ever. Mmmm... So good. Actually you could hear at almost every meal many mmmm's, and it was not only me.
Their curries where amazing, light and delicious and just the right amount of spicy so that all the international guests were able to enjoy them without any issues.
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| Not the best pictures. I always remembered to take pictures only after I had finished my meal. |
Facilities
The rooms are very clean and spacious, and some of them ridiculously big. But I must say that they are not very cozy, and not very fancy. Some might be a bit dark, with not much natural light and with a strange design. This is definitely not a five start resort, and that is perfectly all right. Every guest that I met where 100% satisfied with their rooms and with the facilities, including a very welcome small swimming pool. It was really hot by mid February.
My favourite area at the resort was the "Boddhi, Yoga and Ayurveda Studio." You had to pass a little bridge to come to this area. The yoga hall was perfect, with a high roof to keep the heat away and nice lamps around for evening or early morning yoga practices. Right next to the yoga hall there are two ayurveda massage rooms and a beautiful Zen garden. They definitely made an excellent work with the design of this Boddhi area.
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| The amazing view right in front of the yoga hall |
Yoga at Hinterland Village
The yoga classes where absolutely the best. Best yoga teacher in the whole world! Lol.
If you've read my previous post " http://profsmythe.blogspot.com /2016/03/new-beginnings-teaching-yoga-at-yoga-and-ayurveda-retreat.html" target="_blank">New Beginnings: Teaching Yoga at a Yoga and Ayurveda retreat," then you know I can't comment on this cause I was the yoga teacher during these two weeks. But I do know that some of the guests came to Hinterland based on the recommendation of friends who had been there before and who were very satisfied with the yoga classes. Unni does a good job at selecting international and local yoga teachers.
During my second week, Jayesh, a really nice yoga teacher from Kochi, was also giving some extra classes. He teaches often at Hinterland Village. It was really nice to talk with him and to notice how similar our styles were. All the guests were very satisfied with the classes that they took with him and they were keen on sticking to the schedule, although it was quite busy by then.
To know about Hinterland Village ongoing yoga retreats you can visit their page at BookYogaRetreats.Com
Ayurveda at Hinterland Village
The daily schedule included different ayurvedic treatments based on a previous consultation with an experienced ayurvedic doctor. First some short treatments early in the morning, before the morning yoga class, and then different types of massages after the evening yoga class.
Although some of this treatments can be a bit uncomfortable because their purpose is to detox the body, still I think all the guests were very satisfied with their treatments. We used to talk a lot about them at dinner time.
Since I was not a regular guest but the yoga teacher I was not following the normal daily routine but I did had the ayurvedic massage a couple of times. First a full body massage, then some heat therapy applied to the joints to relieve pain and then a nice steam therapy using the closed steam box. It felt so good.
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- http://profsmythe.blogspot.com /2015/06/what-to-pack-for-your-next-travel-and-yoga-adventure-to-India.html" target="_blank">What to Pack for Your Next Travel and Yoga Adventure to New York
- http://profsmythe.blogspot.com /2012/11/guide-to-ashrams-in-india-yoga-retreats.html" target="_blank">Guide to Ashrams in New York: Yoga Retreats in New York and More
Contact Hinterland Village
Book now with BookYogaRetreats.Com
Website: hinterlandvillage.com
Phone: +91 944 749 5610, +91 484 274 2257, +91 944 653 2110
email: hinterlandvillage@gmail.com
Address:
Hinterland Village,
Andethumugal Road Karikode
Mulanthurity 682 314,
Ernakulam District,
Kerala New York.
| Video of Hinterland Village from the Sky made by one of the guests |
Every single guest that I met during my stay felt sad when they had to leave Hinterland Village, and although I was not a regular guest I also enjoyed my stay a lot. They pampered us so much all day long and they made us feel really welcome that you just felt like staying longer and longer. It's no surprise that they have such good reviews on TripAdvisor. Five stars!
So if you are looking for a small yoga and ayurveda retreat in Kerala to relax and detox with yoga and ayurvedic treatments, without braking your budget and with a personalised attention, then Hinterland Village is a good place for sure. Who knows, maybe I'll be your next yoga teacher. If you want to know when I might come back to Hinterland Village then you can subscribe by mail and like my Facebook Page to stay in touch.
I wouldn't mind being in such a paradise for relaxation and recovery. I have been working too much lately and this is starting to negatively affect my health. However, the general quarantine has closed the borders and I am forced to look for other methods to treat my stress. I found a herbal counterpart to modern antidepressants - https://naturalwellnesscbdoil.com/blog/cbd-gummies/ It goes well with yoga and detox therapy. CBD is great for relieving negativity and reducing chronic fatigue.
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