If you are coming to Fringe Ford, its probably because its one of the last discovered places on earth, and you get your moneys worth. Everything from the food to the people, is simple and genuine. No liveried butlers here or bill-toting 5-star waiters.
The estate manager, Mamooty, is your guide, companion and in a days time, one of your best friends. His wealth of knowledge about the wildlife around makes each trek you take, a biology class.
Fringe Ford is as cut off from the world as you can get. It probably does not feature on a map, has no traffic fumes, no traffic, not even a road, and is thankfully ignored by the cell phone towers.
What is does have however, is a fabulous, authentic experience of living in the middle of the jungle, some great treks, silver silence punctuated only by the occasional warning calls of birds or monkeys when a carnivore comes visiting. And it offers you the best peace you have had on vacation anywhere anytime.
There is a 360 degree view of jungle; all looking identical, but each with its own tale. In fact, the 520-acre property shares its boundaries, not fences with the wildlife sanctuaries of Wayanad and Tholpaty reserve forest, making this entire stretch, one of the last remaining bastions of the Malabar rain forests around, with shelter for its fauna and flora.
Fringe Ford itself, is a beautiful low-slung bungalow, with mangalore tiles, and the wide glass windows that make it a 24-hour look out for some of the best wildlife around. There are 3 rooms in the main house, with another 5 rooms coming up a level higher, near the rock-pond and the perennial stream that is the background track to your evening bonfire. Out of which 3 Rooms are Double and 2 are Twin Bed Rooms. Each room is snugly outfitted with heavy wooden furniture, the softest beds you can climb into after a hard days trek, and luxurious bathrooms, some with entire walls converted into windows. Just in case, there are some peeping tom (wild) cats out there.
Old-fashioned cooking on a smoke-free charcoal stove. Start with that and theres not much that can go wrong. The cooks dish out some local cuisine thats hot and heart-warming. They go into the forests, for example, foraging for a local fern that grows nowhere else in the world, and chop it up into dinner. Other Kerala dishes make up the rest of the menu, and what makes it even more unforgettable, is that you get to eat in the kitchen itself, around a large wooden table, or against the backdrop of the flaming setting sun, or even get it all carted to a nearby waterfall, where you can trek to, only to find the food waiting already.
No extra charge for guides accompanying on treks in the property.
For sight seeing trips outside the property a minimum charge of Rs.250 for half day/ Rs 500 for full day will be charged per guide We can arrange vehicle for local sightseeing. This will charged at actuals.
Christmas and new year season tariff includes 1 breakfast by the stream, 1 lunch, 1 dinner, tea and coffee. Welcome drink, snacks around bon-fire, trek to water falls.
