Overview

Era Luxury Resort, Munnar

A serpentine road winds through expanses of tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen forests and 'Sholas', the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forests found in the valleys and undulating grasslands that drape the higher slopes and peaks of the Western Ghat mountains around Munnar. Gradually climbing higher, the bracing air begins to clear lingering memories of the plains below. A profound communion with nature begins here. Scenic vistas are interrupted by quaint hamlets and colourful towns. Sprightly waterfalls descend rocky slopes to flow with the three rivers that give Munnar its name in the local language. An ancient from the colonial period, once the gateway to the town, is an enduring reminder of times past.

Turning off the highway, and looking down at the forested slopes of a valley guests arrive at ERA Luxury Resort. ERA is comprised of exquisitely designed and furnished twin floor independent cottages arrayed in an arc beneath a clump of towering trees. Set along a hill slope descending towards a valley, the cottages all offer spectacular views of the valley below and through the lush vegetation, glimpses of the surrounding mountaintops. An overhead canopy branches and leaves casts dappled pools of light on a delightfully landscaped garden with endemic vegetation and neat rows of beautiful flowers.

A forked path leads downwards from the reception to the resort's pool and simultaneously extends past the entrances to the cottages - deluxe, pool and jacuzzi villas, once again bifurcating to descend towards the resort's pool, restaurant and climbing to a ridge on the hilltop. Here, an exhilarating view from a deck presents itself, a panoramic theatre of nature's moods, looking over the forests and mountains receding towards the horizon.

Gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, flitting butterflies, mellifluous birds riding the crests and troughs of a breeze, trails of mist and packs of clouds float past, seasons arrive and depart, after all an era is in progress.