4 days/3 nights with Hiliya Resort

About the Trip

Experience a Hiliya Resort Home Stay in Wayanad District of Kerala, popularly known in the tourism industry as “Gods Own Country.” You’ll stay in a 75 year old Kerala bungalow and tree house, situated along a river and surrounded by an organic farm with spices, fruit trees, and livestock. The friendly staff provides a homey atmosphere and traditional meals, while guides provide site seeing and wildlife and bird viewing in the nearby forest.

Includes: accommodations, breakfasts

Starting bid: $100

About the Organization

Whatever is the nature of your trip, be it study or research, relaxation or just sight-seeing, we at the Hiliya Resort are able to provide you an enjoyable stay in nature’s own garden and a Kerala life style. From here you can proceed to any part of this state and experience the varied culture of a vibrant community, and then return at your leisure to rest and relax and to start all over again. Take your pick. We at Hiliya Resort are waiting.

Learn more about Hiliya Resort.

7 nights / 6 days with CGH

About the Trip

Experience hotels whose vision of travel and leisure has a history of five decades; over the years the different properties that make up the group have helped the traveler knowingly or unknowingly invent their rhythms with indigenous nature, culture and history. This 7 night trip includes stays at Spice Village, Coconut Lagoon, Marari Beach, and the Brunton Boat Yard.

Includes: all meals, transfers to and from the airport, naturalist service for boat cruise, and Bullock cart discoveries.

Awards:

• Second in International Hotels and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) award for 2005 in the category ‘chain of hotels’ for engaging the guests in environmental actions.

About the Organization

The resort was laid out in 1991 and is spread out over an area of 16 acres in the heart of the Kumily village. This landscape which has a collection of more than 230 species of tress and shrubs and the ground cover of turf grass. This floristic richness has created a world of wilderness and silence, at the heart of a busy tourism destination.

The attempt at spice village is to capture the ethos of the destination. The cardamom hills, as the region is known are the land of spice gardens and the indigenous peoples of the hills; the mannans have a unique way of construction of their cottages. Thus conceptually spice village was a ‘tribal enclave set in a spice garden’. Facilities at the resort are designed to this tune. It followed therefore that the resort area will have the representative spices from the region and the cottages were thatched from elephant grass, which truly distinguishes the resort.

The in house naturalists invite the guests for a property walk – ‘The Pepper Vines’, which gives a good opportunity to learn about the different species of indigenous trees, plants, birds and their importance in local habitat and the various conservation efforts taken up in the property.

For the control of insect pests like fruit flies we are using lemon grass oil and for mosquitoes we are using fumes of black dammar. In addition to this the induced mosquito breeding control system gives effective way of regulating the population of mosquitoes.

The solid waste generated is recycled using Vermicomposting and the finished produce is used as manure in the property garden and in vegetable farming inside the property. The waste water is recycled in the property using Rotating Biological Contactors technology (RBC) and the recycled water is used in the garden.

Learn more about CGH

Donated by Jungle Lodges and Resorts

About the Trip

Enjoy a “Wild Karnataka” tour in south India with Jungle Lodges and Resorts, the Karnataka government’s elite ecotourism organization. You’ll spend 2 nights at Kabini River Lodge, a top rated wildlife resort, 2 nights at the Bheemeshwari Fishing & Nature Camp, and 2 nights at a wilderness camp. During your stay you’ll enjoy wildlife viewing, jeep safaris, boat rides, nature trails, fishing, all accompanied by a guide, naturalist or instructor. You’ll visit the famed Nagarahole National Park, tour the popular Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, and spend time in the B.R.T. Wildlife Sanctuary.

Duration: 7 days / 6 nights

Includes: accommodations, meals, park entrance fees, guides and transport in park

Awards: 1999 Best Eco Tourism Company in India

Certification: ISO 9001 & 14000 (in process)

Starting bid: $250

About the Organization

JungleLodges and Resorts (JLR) is a responsible wildlife & eco tourism company with a strong commitment to use tourism as a genuine tool for conserving the environment & wildlife. JLR also strives hard to educate its guests by letting them experience wildlife and fragile habitats firsthand. All of JLR’s resorts and camps are located in some of Karnataka’s ecologically sensitive yet amazing natural destinations. A unit of Government of Karnataka’s Tourism Department, JLR is currently managed by the State Forest Department officials.

With our properties being located in wilderness/rural areas we strongly believe that the local community is a large stake holder in the project. 95% of our staff at our properties are from the local community and are trained on the job. Other than creating jobs for the locals, we support a tribal school, offer mid-day meals to students and sustain the staff salaries. We regularly offer scholarships for deserving local students for further studies. We also maintain a local hospital. We work with local NGOs to give villagers alternate sources of fuel and wean them away from their dependency on the forest/firewood. We also give the villagers milk cows so they can make a livelihood from them. We believe in using local produce at our properties- all vegetable, fruits and milk are bought locally.

Green Practices

Our properties have very low room inventory (11-30 accommodations on double occumpancy) to reduce the environmental pressure on the fragile wilderness habitat. All our accommodations are made of local eco-friendly materials and blend with the surrounding wilderness. We do not have televisions in any of our properties. We do not use air conditioners in most of our accommodations. We use eco-friendly solutions for cleaning our accommodations and common areas. Our purchase policy minimizes the buying of plastic products. We have soak pits for sewage management.

Recent Awards

Best Eco Tourism Company in India, 1999

Learn more about Jungle Lodges and Resorts

5 days / 4 nights with Wild World India

About The Trip

Corbett Tiger Reserve is India’s oldest and perhaps finest park. It boasts of a high tiger density and is also hosts the northern most population of the Asian elephant. Guests will enjoy 2 nights in Vanghat River Lodge, and then move to stay 2 nights inside the Tiger Reserve at either Dhikala Complex or the Forest Guest Houses. You will track tigers on the back of an elephant and enjoy the splendor of biodiversity through bird watching while in the reserve.  Anglers will have an opportunity to meet the revered fresh water game fish, the Golden Mahseer.

Includes: accommodations, meals, airport transport, guides and activities.

Starting bid: $375

About The Organization

Vanghat River Lodge employs only locals from the villages in the immediate vicinity. We assist the Forest Department in anti-poaching activities, controlling forest fires and work towards the conservation of the endangered and endemic fish - Golden Mahseer.

Vanghat River Lodge shares 5% of it’s annual turnover with the development fund, 2% of which goes to the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the remaining goes directly to the Eco Development Committees of Chimpani and Baluli villages. An additional 20% of the rod fee goes directly to the above mentioned villages.

Vanghat River Lodge is part of the Community based tourism initiative as part of the Public Private Partnership scheme promoted by the State Govt. of Uttaranchal.

For more information, visit Wild World India