Kalari Kovilakom
Kalari Kovilakam is an ancient palace turned into a wonderful, almost paradise like ayurveda centre. The mood is tranquility, the care is solicitous without being fawning and the whole atmosphere induces the most wonderful calm. Not cheap, but worth every penny in our view!
If money is not a constraint, head straight to Kalari for the best ayurveda in Kerala.This erstwhile 19th century palace has been magnificently restored without losing the essence and flavour of its yore. The ethos of this Kerala luxury ayurveda resort is totally different, visitors are in for a no-frills experience - no liquor, non-vegetarian food, air-conditioning, television, swimming pool, foot wears, cell phones etc. But on the other hand, many things will be prominent by their presence. These include a diet kitchen serving organic food, traditional outfits, kuli kadav or bathing ghats in the traditional Kerala style, and chanting rooms to listen to high-quality classical music.
Therapies at Kalari Kovilakom
What is Offered at Kalari Kovilakom?
Kalari Kovilakam Reviews......
"Best place for Ayurveda in india"
I was here for 21 days and felt completely relaxed and balanced at the end of it. The property is an old palace that has been renovated. The rooms are stately and beautiful with all modern amenities. The staff are very polite and friendly. The doctors are knowledgeable and take the time to listen to you. Food is light, fresh, very tasty and prepared according to your ayurvedic constitution and served in a traditional way.Tripadvisor
"Leave your world behind"
It is nestled in eight acres of gardens, including an organic vegetable patch from where all the food for your meals is harvested, a huge stone pond (not for swimming, alas), a temple and a backdrop of mountains. (We get to know it all very well as leaving the grounds is verboten - too much stimulation apparently.) Kalari's 18 rooms are vast and comfortable with no hint of a spartan ashram-style set up. Polished terracotta floors, heavy teak beds and wooden shutters on the windows induce a feeling of understated luxury. A minimum stay of two weeks at this is recommended at this Ayurvedic spa - the resident doctors say that this is the very least amount of time needed to harmonise the body based on the 4,000-year-old Ayurvedic practices for which India, and in particular Kerala- Telegraph
"Ayurvedic detox heaven in Kerala"
It’s a magical place, which weaves its spell slowly. The buildings that appeared forbidding on the website became intensely beautiful over the course of two weeks; the confinement, liberating. The grounds of this palace are like a physic garden. Almost every plant has healing properties harnessed in some way by the herbalists who brew them into richly coloured medicinal massage oils, decoctions and tablets - The Times
"A destination for dreams"
Kovilakam’s USP is that full regime of food, daily activities and even the intake of the kind of water relies on the doctor’s diagnosis report. Kalari Kovilakam is definitely not a place to drop by if you are looking to visit a tourist spot that amuse. Instead it’s a place perfect for you to have a journey into yourselves.FWD Life Magazine
"Ayurvedic detox heaven in Kerala"
“If there is a heaven on earth , it is here! It is here! It is here! HUGH AND COLLEEN GANTZER in- The Hindu News Paper
"Perfectly Balanced...
l went for my final consultation with Doctor during which he told me that everything seemed just right-my pulse, my blood pressure, and my dosha. He gave me the thumbs-up. I was perfectly balanced - Earth Calling
"Ghee and Sympathy"
Kalari offers a mixture of health, heritage, spiritual tourism and something rare and hard to define - The Sunday Times
"Retreat yourself with some hardcore detox"
Legend has it that a thousand years ago, a handsome prince afflicted with a terrible skin disease travelled to the Annamalai hills in Kerala in search of the medicinal venga tree. So impressed was he by its healing that he founded a new kingdom on the spot, and 900 years later his descendants built Kalari Kovilakom there. Visit today and you'll find yourself locked in (yes, literally) to an austere Ayurvedic retreat where you're expected to take things seriously - no meat, no leather, no alcohol, no caffeine, no phones, no make-up, definitely no fun - and toe the line. This is emphatically not one for the faint-hearted - it's the mother of all detoxes, and we all know how tough a mother's love can be... London Evening Standard
KarmaKerala Review of Kalari Kovilakom
Had I woken up in heaven??!! I wondered, as I walked in mundu from my spacious colonial suite to a breakfast of local vegetables and good company? Kalari Kovilakom is a one off partly because it is relatively unknown compared to the world's other great spa centres like Ananda in the Himalayas. As a result it hosts more eccentric customers: no super models or stick thin socialites. During my stay here I chatted happily with an exhausted French phorographer, an artist and an elderly couple of writers. Good company as the sun sets across the wide, dry plain of Palakkad lighting only the distant Western Ghats to the East.
At the entrance as you remove leather shoes and switch off your mobile, there is a wooden sign that greets you as you enter the palace proper: "Leave your world behind". It exactly captures the spirit and colour of Kalari Kovilakom: a place dedicated to you and your needs and not to that crazy, smoggy world which we all need to retreat from on occassion. Would I recommend it? Yes, it is the sort of place that helps take on new paths and away from the old. Enjoy!