Surya Samudra Beach Garden Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala

Set in 10 acres of landscaped gardens, surrounded by coconut plantations, the 23 wooden cottages at Surya Samudra cling to a steep hillside overlooking the Arabian Sea. They were recycled by local craftsmen from 100 year old traditional Keralan homes. Whilst the two beaches are not private, they are secluded and cared for by the hotel, shared only with the occasional fisherman. The hotel also boasts a wonderfully inviting pool, carved out of the hillside and complete with underwater sculptures. Surya Samudra offers an irresistible mix of Western comforts and traditional Keralan culture.

Getting There

The resort complex is 18 kilometres away from Thiruvanathapuram. It is 5 kilometres away from the historic Vizhinjam (pronounced as Virinyam) harbour and 6 kilometres from Vizhinjam town.

Air: Air India operates international flights to Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkota (Calcutta). Indian Airlines and Jet Airways operate flights to connect these cities to smaller cities and towns like Trivandrum. International Airlines: Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air, Sri Lankan Airlines, Silk Air, Qatar Airways and Oman Air.

Rail and Road: Indian railway services or the roads could be utilised to reach Trivandrum. Pulinkudi is well connected to Trivandrum and Vizhinjam as well as to Cape Comorin by bus.

Things to do

The resort can arrange various trips around the resort-both day trips and extended tours.

• The museum of Trivandrum
• Through the idyllic backwaters (lagoons, rivers and lakes behind the coastline)
• To the local, colourful vegetable market to get a glimpse into Kerala's rural life
• To the wooden palace of Padmanabhapuram. This is a magnificent wooden palace of the 16th century, with its antique interiors replete with intricate rosewood carvings and sculptured decor. The palace also contains 17th and 18th century murals.
• India's South Cape, Kanyakumari
• The Temple at Suchindrum
• To the mountains nearby to view their spice gardens, tea, coffee and rubber plantations
• The old port town of Cochin
• Madurai, Trichy, Tanjore and other magnificent temple towns in neighbouring Tamilnadu State.

Spa

Surya Samudra has an ayurvedic massage and a yoga centre. Surya Samudra keeps Kerala's ayurvedic medicine alive in an uninterrupted tradition on a luxurious scale. After a consultation with the doctor, one can choose from a variety of soothing treatments. An expert massage using traditional medicinal oils prepared from natural ingredients by the masseur can be enjoyed. Excellent results with all types of pains in the joints and the muscles, and with prophylactics and relief from rheumatism and arthrosis have been seen.

Yoga and Meditation

Mental and physical exercises meant to isolate the ego from the body and mind - designed to hone your concentration, improve health and help attain peace of mind. In Surya Samudra, yoga is offered for beginners and advanced persons, both for individuals and for small groups.

Accommodation

Surya Samudra is an eco-friendly beach resort with 23 houses spread over nearly 20 acres of private space and each house comes with a luxuriant foliage of coconut, palm, bamboo, banana, wild shrubs, flowers and the chirping of birds. Individual cottages or houses make up the resort and each terrace has a granite-topped table and stools cut from granite pillars where one can sit and watch the waves lash against the cliff throwing little water beads against the azure sky.


Eating

The Octopus: The Octopus, the resorts restaurant, specialises in and offers various sea-food ranging from lobsters and tiger prawns to octopus and shark; from barracuda puttu and sea urchins to baked crab and Japanese tuna salad. The restaurant not only serves mouth-watering food but also has a magnificent oceanic view. Fresh fish is the house speciality. A lot of care and attention is taken over the food, all ingredients are fresh and local, and the majority are organic. European dishes are also served. There is also a pool service of a fruit platter in the mornings.

Facilities

A natural Swimming Pool carved out of rock, gives a rare, once-in-a-lifetime experience to swim in surroundings like royalty of the past.

The restaurant called "The Octopus", offers excellent seafood, fresh vegetables, genuine Kerala dishes, home-made cakes and ice creams.

Trips around Surya Samudra can be undertaken to view the beautiful backwaters, temples and local areas. The resort can make arrangements for them.

Experience the traditional Indian healing sciences of Ayurveda and Yoga, kept alive here, as a tradition.

Various art forms of Kerala ranging from Classical Dances like Bharata Natyam and Kathakali to the martial art Kalaripayattu are displayed here.