Although our name is Atlas Parasite, it has nothing to do with how we treat the world. We are not parasites in the literal sense of the word, as in we don’t suck the life out of the world. We are just feeding off as many worldly experiences as we can. So when it comes to traveling, we believe that we should not be hurtful to our temporary hosts.
This being said, we would like to promote the first “eco-friendly” place either of us have ever stayed in – Bhakti Kutir. We visited this place in Goa, India with a group of friends in October 2008 and we stayed for three nights.
Bhakti Kutir is a peaceful wilderness camp/resort with private huts built among the trees, which kind of makes you feel like you’re in The Swiss Family Robinson (a childhood favorite!). You can stay in one of 22 unique huts made out of natural resources – mostly bamboo, rice straw, and mud.
One of the huts
The showers and toilets are outside the room, which is gated off and private, but still outside. At first I thought this would be weird and too open, but it was so relaxing and freeing to take a shower under the tropical trees and hear the exotic birds singing all around you. I even had a little froggy friend visit me during one of my showers! The “doing your business standing up” was a bit daunting at first, but you get used to it, and it might make you feel better to know that all your natural waste is being composted. I later found out that some of the other huts had Western toilets, so if it is important to you, ask for one.
Outdoor bahtroom
The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with faint electric light, although mainly candles are used, which makes the place even more cozy and romantic. There are nets over the beds for insects and lemon-oil burners to keep the mosquitoes away, so neither of us had any bug problems in our huts. Cannot ensure you that bugs are the only problem, but I did not see any monkeys around.
The Bhakti Kutir also has an amazing restaurant, with outdoor wooden picnic tables and a menu to appease all appetites. Unfortunately, it’s not very “Indian” but it is very good. Mouthwatering fresh-squeezed fruit juice blends and fat, American-style pancakes for breakfast, hearty grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch, and freshly-caught fish for dinner (they will bring the platter out to your table and you can pick one!). These are just personal highlights, but the menu is quite extensive, so you will be sure to find something for every one and every mood (they serve mainly veggie dishes, but there are obviously plenty of fish and chicken plates).
Restaurant and common area
In terms of activities, Bhakti Kutir offers relaxing Ayurveda massages, which might not be for everyone since you’re stripped to wearing a loin cloth and covered in hot oil. Then you’re massaged by 4 hands in perfect synchrony, over the period of one hour, over almost all of your body, while listening to some relaxing music that sounds like something that came out of the Eyes Wide Shut soundtrack. When you come out of there, you feel like your body has no weight, or maybe you have no body. Perfect to walk those 5 minutes to the beach and go for a swim. And it’s so cheap compared to back home (around €6), that you can have one every day.
There are also Yoga classes for all levels as well as meditation sessions. You can also just pick out a book from their library in the common area and relax on a chaise-longue or hammock in front of your hut and enjoy the nature around you. But the main reason most people come here in the first place is for the beautifully peaceful Palolem beach, where a lounge chair costs just a few rupees and vendors sell ripe pineapple up and down the beach and cut it for you in a few seconds upon purchase.
Meditating on Palolem Beach
Another advantage of the Bhakti Kutir besides its being eco-friendly is that it is family-friendly as well. In addition to the activities mentioned above, they offer babysitting for small children, tutoring for children over 5, and Hindi and Konkani language classes for everyone!
The price was only around €15 per night, but contact them to ask, as prices may have changed.
Bhakti Kutir
296, Colomb, Palolem,
Canacona – Goa, India
Phone: +91-832-2643469 / 72
Fax: +91-832-2645211
Website: http://www.bhaktikutir.com
Email: bhaktikutir@gmail.com
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