Born and brought up in Kannur amongst lush plantations, 65-year-old Pushpa always harboured a love for nature.

But life in Kochi, where she lived with her family after marriage, meant nature was tough to come by.

So, in 2012, when her brother Dinesh, an avid birdwatcher, stumbled upon a paradisiacal piece of land in Marayoor and suggested they do something with it, Pushpa was more than game.

The idea was to build a vacation home, at first.

Together with the local villagers, the family built a set of mud cottages that they would jet off to, every chance they got.

But while they did enjoy this, it seemed almost a sin to leave a beautiful home like this abandoned for the rest of the year.

This was when Pushpa stumbled upon the idea of welcoming guests on the property. So in 2016, ‘The Mudhouse’ was set to be a homestay and welcome its first guests.

Every nook at the homestay boasts sustainability. The treehouse, for instance, makes use of the eucalyptus trees.

“These have become so destructive in the area that the government is ordering the plantations to uproot the trees entirely. But we are putting them to use,” says Pushpa’s son Deepak.

Meanwhile, he says that the roof is thatched with grass found in the mountains nearby, while the mud is sourced from the area.

The cottages are decked in furniture made from upcycled wood.

“Each cottage has a verandah, a bedroom and an open roof washroom but no TV. We wanted people to have a complete break from the city and the news,” says Deepak.

While nature is in abundance, one of the main draws here is the Sandalwood Forest Reserve spread across 1,460 hectares of land.

Here, you can either hike to the reserve or take your own picnic basket on a trail. At the end of an adventurous day, you’ll be greeted with a delicious feast prepared by local women who are part of the staff.

Some of the guests’ favourites are the appam, stew, puttu, kadala, dosa, sambar, idiyappam and chicken curry.