Kanha Earth Lodge – A Safe Sojourn During COVID
After a long and slow drive, my car reached the brink of Kanha Earth Lodge, which is in the midst of Kanha forest. The last leg of the trip was a bit strenuous. It seemed the longest way ever! There were quite a few off roads, villages, farms and fields that we crossed before we saw the sign board that led us to the lodge.
My heart leaped for joy! I had been yearning for forests for quite a while. Thereby, returning to travel with a brand like Pugdundee Safaris, who conserves nature and wildlife in the most authentic fashion was a foregone conclusion.
Besides the wildlife, I wanted my escape to be slow and isolated with minimal human contact. Thus, Kanha Earth Lodge fitted the bill perfectly. It’s a property soaked in verdure, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, in the middle of a forest.
It’s definitely one of the COVID safe travel destinations in India.
Kanha Earth Lodge has all the COVID safety protocols in place – hand and luggage sanitization, temperature checks of guests at arrival, mandatory masks for the staff, and physical distancing. Not to mention the cottages are regularly sanitized for guests’ safety.
In fact, all the Pugdundee properties are COVID friendly with their limited inventory and spaced out cottages. Each cottage is at least a hundred feet apart from each other with a lot of trees and foliage through the way. Therefore, there’s practically no contact with other guests.
All you have is fresh air and wild foliage to rendezvous with.
COVID has changed our lives. Travel is no different. I believe it’s time we make better travel choices. Instead of no travel, let’s choose slow, mindful and responsible travel. Let’s embrace nature and wildlife. Let’s pick quiet places – homestays, hotels and resorts that endorse and practice sustainable travel.
The new travel safety protocols have not deterred the spirit of the Kanha staff, which relieved my heart. They welcomed and greeted me with sincere warmth followed by extraordinary hospitality during the stay.
Also read: Is Air Travel Safe During COVID?
They made sure to give valuable experiences and seamless comfort without compromising on health and safety.
Sojourning at Kanha Earth Lodge is an experience of its own. You don’t have to do a lot to be able to accomplish much. It’s a place to embrace slow travel.
Kanha Earth Lodge – A Safe Sojourn During COVID
My room, my beautiful balcony and me.
Since I had stayed at Pugdundee’s Pench Tree Lodge earlier, I knew what would unfold in terms of my cottage and the experiences at the property.
Even though it wasn’t a surprise, I was delighted to see my tastefully done up cottage. The photographs and the artifact on the walls oozed charm, the wildlife elements very finely blended with comfort and luxury.
My most favorite spot was of course, the balcony, which overlooked the bushes and the trees at the property. I’d sit on the relaxing lounge chair quite often – in the morning to take in the balmy sunrays and to take a quick nap post lunch.
It was such a comforting stay.
I wouldn’t hesitate to admit that the high standard of hygiene maintained at Kanha Earth Lodge made me forget there’s anything like Coronavirus. The housekeeping staff is on duty all through the day. While I’d be away, they would come and sanitize my room at least twice a day.
Wild nature trail in the morning.
My favorite part about my stay at Kanha Earth Lodge was taking the nature trail in the morning with naturalist Swanand Deshpande. He made me see and get acquainted to a lot of things that I would have overlooked – the variety of spiders and their webs, different trees and how they change during different seasons, and the little nuances of nature.
It was a glimpse into my childhood to walk through the butterfly garden at the property – the species reared are called Common Crow. The butterflies hover around in an open space with no confinement of any sort.
And of course, it was refreshing to visit the organic garden, where they grow vegetables and herbs of all kinds – the lemons, ginger, garlic, different green veggies and quite a lot of other stuff.
French Press and my lazy afternoons.
Since Pugdundee focuses on sustainable and environment friendly travel, they like to source their coffee from South India – the French Press, which is apparently healthier and has low environmental impact due to no packaging involved.
Is it delicious? Well, it’s absolutely amazing!
I’d sit under a tree after breakfast with a nicely brewed coffee and a good book to embrace the laziness and the charms of a simple and slow life – sunshine, soft rustle of leaves, distant sound of village cow-bells, and birds chirping and singing for me.
And, while you sit in the lounge area, the staff maintain a safe distance and their masks are always on.
I relished some good food.
The meals at Kanha Earth Lodge were not just delicious but creative, too. I loved the way the moong dal leaves were used for garnishing in almost all the meals.
Since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I looked forward to it – the table would be set in the outdoor with lushness all around. I’d begin it with fresh watermelon juice followed by a nicely toasted homemade wheat bread, poached eggs and other stuff.
Besides the bread, they also bake some other good stuff like cake, muffins, and cookies, which you get to enjoy with tea.
I relished different regional thalis for lunch – Bhopali thali, South Indian thali and Baiga (tribal) thali to name a few.
And I have to mention that just at my behest, the chef, Sam dished out a continental platter for me – baked veggies with cream, butter rice and chicken with white wine sauce.
And yes, the desserts would be like a cherry on the icing!
The documentary evenings.
My naturalist Swanand picked some great wildlife documentaries for me. We would start watching documentaries at 7 in the evening along with some soothing starters.
It was an insightful experience indeed. I learnt about different birds and mammals, the intricacies of their nature and behavior.
But the most interesting part was to learn about the forests of Madhya Pradesh – different months and how the wildlife changes and copes with the changing seasons. On another note, it was saddening to learn about the mishaps that happen with forest guards and employees. I was aghast to learn about a chap who was attacked by tiger cubs and got injured badly.
However, it was heartening to learn about Munna, apparently the most photographed tiger! He’s known for his forehead, which has a CAT like symbol on it.
Candle-light, lantern, bonfire and alfresco dinner amidst the bushes.
Perhaps the most thrilling part about a Pugdundee stay is the dinner amidst the bushes. Your heart anticipates happiness as you are ushered towards a space dedicated to alfresco dinners.
It gets a bit cold in the evenings in October, which adds to the atmosphere. The fire is kindled just on your side to keep you warm and comfy. The table is all lit up with candles, the lanterns add their own beauty.
It was such a delight to enjoy a sumptuous dinner under the sky.
There were other guests, too. However, tables were set more than six feet apart from each other for safe distance. Besides, there weren’t too many. Just a couple of more tables. We all had a serene experience of a beautiful dinner while we sat so far apart from each other.
Besides Kanha Earth Lodge, Pugdundee Safaris has six more jungle lodges – Kings Lodge and Tree House Hideaway in Bandhavgarh, Denwa Backwater Escape in Satpura, Ken River Lodge in Panna, Pench Tree Lodge in Pench, and the one opening shortly is Waghoba Eco Lodge in Tadoba.
All six lodges have won TripAdvisor 2020 Traveller’s Choice Award and three of them have also made it to “Top 25 small hotels of India” with “Best of the Best” tag with the award.
Note: I visited Kanha Earth Lodge in collaboration with Pugdundee Safaris. However, I chose to write about it only because I enjoyed my stay and the wildlife experience.
Are you planning to travel soon? What kind of place would you choose to visit?
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