Author: Anamalahomestays

I know your life right now. Busy. Loud. Always rushing. And somewhere between school calendars, office calls, and evening traffic, you are quietly wondering when your family last sat together without looking at a screen.

Let me tell you about a morning I had here. Mist still resting on the jackfruit leaves. Red oxide floors cool under bare feet. A steel tumbler of hot filter coffee warms your palms while children sleep a little longer, wrapped in cotton sheets that smell faintly of sun and soap.

This is not a resort holiday. This is something softer. And if you are looking for the best homestays in Thrissur for family vacations, you are really looking for this feeling, even if you do not know it yet.

Who This Article Is For and What You Will Find Here

This is for families who want space, not crowds. For parents who want children to run freely. For grandparents who need calm mornings and safe evenings.

And this is about choosing the right Homestay in Thrissur that feels lived in, cared for, and deeply human.

You will find how to choose well, what to expect, and why a homestay works better than a hotel for family travel in Thrissur.

Why Choose a Homestay in Thrissur for a Family Vacation

A Homestay in Thrissur is not just accommodation. It is a home that opens its doors slowly.

Thrissur sits between temples, forests, plantations, and old towns. And homestays here grow out of that rhythm. They come with verandas, old cupboards, shaded courtyards, and kitchens that understand family meals.

For families, this means:

• Rooms that are close together
• Hosts who notice children and elders
• Food that feels familiar
• Spaces where no one tells you to be quiet

And most importantly, safety that comes from care, not rules.

What Makes the Best Homestays in Thrissur for Families

The best family-friendly homestays in Thrissur share a few quiet qualities.

They have homes with history. Often 50 or 80 years old. Built with thick walls, Chettinad tiles, and wide windows that let air move naturally.

They are surrounded by trees. Mango. Areca. Pepper vines. So children wake to birds instead of horns.

They serve simple Kerala food. Rice on banana leaf. Vegetable thoran crackling in coconut oil. Warm rasam poured without asking twice.

And the hosts live there. Which means someone always notices if a child skips breakfast or if an elder needs less spice.

This is what truly defines the best homestays in Thrissur for family vacations.

A Note from a Host About Space and Togetherness

In our old home, there is a wooden dining table with marks from decades of use.
Children run their fingers along those scratches. Grandparents sit quietly by the window, watching mist move through eucalyptus trees.

Families often tell me this. They talk more here. They sleep better. They remember small things again.

Because space allows conversations. And silence allows closeness.

Practical Guide for Families Planning a Thrissur Homestay

How to Reach Thrissur

Thrissur is well connected by train and road. The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, about two hours away. Most homestays arrange safe pick-ups if requested.

Best Season for Family Travel

October to March is ideal. Cool mornings. Gentle afternoons. Monsoon months are beautiful too, but better for families who enjoy staying indoors with books and board games.

What to Pack

Light cotton clothes.A light sweater for evenings.

Comfortable walking footwear.

Medicines for elders and children.

And one slow book you never find time to read.

Food and Meals

Most family-friendly homestays serve home-cooked Kerala meals. Dietary preferences can usually be discussed in advance. Children’s meals are adjusted naturally, not separately.

Safety and Comfort

Homestays are generally quieter than hotels. Fewer guests. Familiar surroundings.
This makes them especially suitable for families with small children and elderly parents.

Frequently Asked Questions About Homestay in Thrissur

Is a Homestay in Thrissur suitable for families with kids?
Yes. Most homestays offer open spaces, flexible meal timings, and a calm environment ideal for children.

Are homestays safe for elders?
Yes. Many homes are single-level or have limited stairs, and hosts are attentive to comfort.

Do homestays offer privacy for families?
Absolutely. Families usually get dedicated rooms or entire sections of the house.

Why Families Choose Anamala

Our home rests close to the Anamalai hills, where roads narrow, sounds soften, and time loosens its grip. Old tiled roofs. Red oxide floors. Wide verandas that catch the first light.
An 80-year-old Kerala house, surrounded by trees, plantation air, and a quiet that feels protective.

Children wander safely between the garden, the sit-out, and the paths that lead into green.
Elders settle into wooden chairs that face the hills, sipping tea from steel tumblers as mist lifts slowly.

Parents finally slow down, because everything here is already taken care of.

Days unfold gently. Short nature walks near the house. Plantation drives towards Valparai.
Waterfalls, viewpoints, forest edges, Vilwadrinatha temple and small local temples that families can visit without rushing.

Back home, there is space again. For afternoon rest. For board games.  For conversations that stretch long after sunset.

Children’s park, swimming pool. Aviary. Fish spa and more for rejuvenation and relaxation.

But we are not for everyone. We are for families who value calm over crowds, safety over schedules, and memories over checklists.

Because Families Remember These Things

Because children remember walking under tall trees without being in a hurry. Because grandparents remember cool evenings and unbroken sleep. Because parents remember meals eaten together, not ordered in haste. Because holidays should steady you, not exhaust you. And because a good Homestay in Thrissur does not keep you busy. It keeps you held.

A Gentle Invitation

If you are planning a family vacation and are looking for one of the best homestays in Thrissur, we would love to host you at Anamala.

Tell us your dates. Share who you are travelling with. If there are children or elders, mention their ages.

We will prepare the rooms. Light the evening lamps. And keep the house ready for your family to arrive slowly.

This is what I heard from many of my close associates including a few of my family members when I decided to revamp my ancestral house into a homestay.

I was born and brought up in a small village called Thiruvilwamala in Kerala. I was the youngest in a family of 11 children. After the father’s demise, as per his WILL, the 4.5-acre land and house were inherited to us. I was adamant about getting the old mud house where we all used to live as a joint family. My brothers and sisters didn’t have any second opinion about it and I finally become the legal heir of the seventy-year-old mud house

Before revamping the house

My mother and a brother with family were living there for a few years after the father’s demise. All my siblings are migrated to different villages and towns. After completion of my college, I too moved out from the village and started working. Lived in cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and Hyderabad.

Mother at Anamala Homestay

Around 2015, my elder brother has to relocate too due to his job demand. Mother became alone in the house and she was not ready to go with any of his children and was adamant about staying at her house. All of us could not do much, except to visit her often and also we could get a caretaker for her.

Sasi and working team

I was highly disturbed to see the condition of the house. Termites, roof leakages during the monsoon, and the lack of modern facilities made us difficult to stay whenever we go to Thiruvilwamala. Once upon a time, the house was full of joy and fun and it became like a “Bhooth Bungalow” now.

We are Pet friendly

The Thatched Hall for a get-together and relaxing, close to nature

It was around 2017, I met a client of Honeycomb Creative Support for a website design and development of a homestay in Wayanad. I had a long chat with him about the nuances of running a homestay. I stayed in a few other homestays during my travel to remote locations. Connecting all dots, I decided to convert my house into a homestay. Also, it will be good that if the house is alive, we can stay whenever we go there from Bangalore. My mother was the happiest person to know about this decision.

Mother in front of the outhouse, Babus Hall

We took the help of Hyder Ali, from Palakkad, a cousin of mine, who is into Design and construction of Villas and his advice and suggestions moved us. Assigned the local Carpenter and Vaastu expert Sasi and Team from my village to do the entire revamping work. We did a few alterations inside to make the rooms bigger. Sasi’s 30 years of experience and knowledge about Building Science helped us to make that into today’s shape. Unni Krishnan, my schoolmate, and his team helped us to do the civil works.

Hyder Ali of Vintage Builders and Engineers, Palakkad who helped with restoring plan

Another friend, Prakash Kanjully, a great electrician, managed the complete Electric related works. Haridas Tholannur and the team completed the Plumbing works. All roofing tiles we could use the old ones. Floor tiles we sourced from Athankudi, the memories from Chettinad heritage. My wife Reshma’s design aesthetics helped me to make the old house a beautiful one! It took almost a year to complete the work.

Babus Hall for meeting and get-together

Getting it certified by the Dept of Tourism was easy. Kerala Govt. approval is a must for Homestays. Few conditions must have been adhered to. We followed all the rules and regulations. We are one of the premium and Gold-certified homestays in the region. My friend E C Babu, helped us a lot to get the homestay certified.

My village is not a regular tourist place where people come and spend days together. It is an offbeat place, with an abundance of greenery, farms, temples, etc. which is not marketed properly. Being a marketer and establishing a successfully running Marketing agency, I took the courage of marketing my village first. We did the complete shoot of the village showing its pulse, a nice video and photography of the Anamala Homestay, listed the homestay in all Online Travel Portals, and helped us drive traffic to our website and to the homestay. I appointed a Manager, a Cook, and also a Gardner to look after the exterior works.

Edgar Watson, the American novelist, beautifully quoted, “To be an ideal guest, stay at home.”

A homestay is a place where you are treated like a guest; a hotel is a place where you are treated like a client.
So to be more precise, what is a homestay?

Homestay is a concept of local lodging where the guest is accommodated in the family’s residence in a separate local quarter nearby.

In India, there is a well-known saying in Sanskrit verse, “Atithi Devo Bhava” translated it means “The guest is equivalent to God.” Indians are known for their hospitality, love, and warmth they provide for their guests.

There are many reasons to choose a homestay over a hotel, but today I will be sharing six reasons which will change your perspective on homestay forever.

1. Price: Everyone loves going for a vacation but who likes it when they get too expensive to afford? Hotels can be cheap but less likely to be clean and hygienic. The local residence will give you the best tips on places you can visit for a modest price, and it does not include any additional charges. Choosing a homestay helps you in managing your expenses which can assist you to spend on other activities like trekking, sightseeing, or visiting new places.

2. Meet new people: A family trip or solo traveling can add more fun to your plan when you meet new people, make memories, share thoughts with them which will be cherished for life. Local residents love to mingle and talk about their culture to their guests. You might end up making a new and truthful friend. The chances of such scenarios happening in hotels are implausible.

3. Home-cooked food: Food is a favorable form of hospitality for Indians. They have a wide range of cuisines which keeps changing according to the different cultures and locations. Hotels do serve good food, but there is nothing as good as food prepared at home. The beauty of experiencing different cuisines, the smell of fresh spices, and learning traditional methods of cooking from the people who inherited it from their ancestors, is altogether an exquisite feeling which you definitely don’t want to miss.

4. Local Culture: India is known for, “Unity in Diversity.” Imagine staying at a new place, where you witness local’s daily chores, food habits, and lifestyle. Indians have known for having unique cultural changes from state to state; there is a notable fusion of all cultures. Isn’t that something new to learn? Immersing yourself with the local culture, their lifestyle, and interacting with them can be a great learning experience for you.

5. Personalized service: Who doesn’t like customized services? At a homestay, the main focus is on you. Your likes and preferences, your comfort is their higher priority. And they will put in all the effort it takes to make you feel at home. You will be invited to local groups to meet new people, and you can explore local places. You can make the best of every moment you spend there as a local residence will guide and inform all the details you’ll want to enjoy.

6. Support local economy: By staying at a homestay and buying handicrafts made by the locals can add financial value to local communities. The amount you pay for the homestay is the money you are contributing to their livelihood. The hospitality, memories, and experiences are what you will take back and cherish. Supporting and buying from the locals is a great way of giving back.

Everything comes with its own pros and cons, be it staying at a homestay or a hotel. Preferably, staying at a homestay is a beautiful feeling and getting a home-like experience away from home is worth experiencing. Today, homestays are providing better accommodations than hotels at an affordable price with the added benefits of exploring local sights, food, and culture.

One such beautiful homestay is Anamala Homestay, they are known for warm hospitality, home-cooked food, environmentally conscious, peaceful locals, and much more. Build a story worth sharing with peers and friends.
Written by: Sahana Y

When I think of Kerala, the first thing that comes to my mind is Kerala’s traditional attire set- mundu, saree, and dhoti which is now becoming a fashion trend. With many brands coming into the picture, a perfect handloom made at a beautiful place like Kuthampully is still a mastery and eminent. Many people are adapting to the changing trends, but some families have their hearts for the ancient handloom sarees. Such is the place Kuthampully located in Thiruvilwamala of Thrissur district.

Kuthampully is located about 50km northeast of Thrissur Town, it is mainly known for traditional cotton weaving. Many traditional families say that “Kuthampully is the place to do the shopping for traditional sarees and dhotis which are perfectly hand-loomed with traditional techniques and methods.”

The Kasavu Handloom is immensely famous which is run by 600 families, in which, majority of them belong to the Devanga Community; their true origin is traced from modern-day Karnataka. This community of traditional weavers was brought by the Kochi Royal Family dated 500 years back exclusively for the palace requirements, though they continued following that tradition as a part of their culture.

Kuthampully handloom sarees and settu mundu have received GI Certificate( Geographical Indicator). A GI certificate is given by the government to secure the traditional knowledge of the region or community as they are specialized in a certain product or craft and have a reputation for it.

Kuthampully Handloom Industry Co-operative Society was registered in 1972 with 102 members, they have made sure that the ancient methods that were followed back then are still being continued irrespectively of the changing world and current trends. The Kasavu double dhoti, set mundu and veshti make huge profits during the Onam festival.

Keeping the current scenario in mind, the floods, the pandemic, and the disapproval of the younger generation toward handloom employment has caused the families a severe crisis.

The government policies as GST has affected handloom weavers, as the price of the needle, cotton, and other raw materials have increased. The weavers who would make a chunk of profit during festivals were unable to do so due to Covid19. Most of the people who work there have a modest income; what you earn is completely based on the speed you work at and how much you can finish in a day.

From the past 15 years, almost 150 weavers have quit weaving and have taken up different professions to earn their daily bread. Everything is slowly changing, as the number of weavers is decreasing in Kerala, people from Tamil Nadu are being hired to continue the tradition.

The tourists, who cannot distinguish between the handmade and power-loomed handloom get manipulated easily. So when you visit Kuthampully, make sure you buy it from the right source and support the local economy. Kuthampally is a great place to visit and recreate the traditions which were followed by our ancestors.

The World of Humans in 2020 is fighting a war against this family of viruses that have encroached the Earth making survival questionable. We, humans, are taking all possible preventive measures to stay safe and to break the link of spread.

We at Anamala Homestays are concerned about the current situation of our planet. This has to lead us to join hands with the rest of the world and take up some preventive measures.

Best Precautionary Measures to be taken at Homestays

• Abide by the rules set by our local Government
• Disinfecting in and around the homestay
• Providing sanitizer to the tourists at our homestay
• A good supply of warm water and a home-cooked meal

A 3D Illustration of the Coronavirus

The right way to pick and practice the precautions is by understanding the gravity of the situation.

What are Coronaviruses?

Biological agents that can replicate within a living cell on infecting a living organism is called a virus.

Coronaviruses are single-stranded RNA viruses with an envelope around it on which club-shaped projections are present. They are large families of viruses that infect both humans and animals.

Where did the outbreak of Corona Viruses occur?

COVID-19 stands for Coronavirus Disease-2019, a successor of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that infected the people on Earth earlier. COVID-19 is a new strain first identified in Wuhan, China which is now resulting in a pandemic.

Origin of the n-Cov 2019

How does COVID-19 spread?

When a human is exposed to Coronavirus it takes a time frame of 2-14 days for the symptoms to the surface and the infected person experiences fever, dry cough, runny nose, fatigue and difficulty in breathing or shortness in breath.

If you are experiencing any symptoms get yourself screened immediately to break the chain of the disease from spreading.

Touching infected surfaces in public places

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

COVID-19 disease is communicable from one person to another through the transfer of very small droplets from the COVID-19 affected victim’s sneeze or a cough. One uncovered sneeze or cough carries millions of viruses that the victim would be leaving around the places they move about. These droplets settle on the surface of objects which when other healthy people come in contact with and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth get the disease.

List of Symptoms when affected by COVID-19

It is better to act now than later.

Homestays are the right place if travelers desire to experience the authentic way of getting in and around the city or town, living along with the locals. India is a diverse country filled with nature, history, and culture. It is an experience home away from the home hassle and panic free. Anamala Serenity is one such 70-year-old heritage homestay amidst a picturesque town Thiruvilwamala in Kerala.

Anamala Homestays in Thiruvilwamala

Preventive measures for homestays

• Firstly, we at Anamala Serenity Homestays in Thiruvilwamala near Thrissur follow the rules and regulations set by The Department of Health and Family Welfare & Kerala Tourism.
• We at our homestay greet our tourists the Indian way with a “Namaste”!

A hand gesture, “Namaste”! – The Indian way of greeting people

• We take food safety measures by serving boiled warm water to drink and well-cooked home food with organic vegetables in earthen pots.

Local delicacy cooked and served in earthenware

• Hygiene at our Homestay has always been a priority, while now it is the season to be extra careful. We abide by the rules of cleanliness to keep any kind of pests out.

Measures to disinfect common areas and provide fresh spreads and towels

• To keep your hands’ germ-free we have alcohol-based sanitizers are placed at every nook and corner of the homestay.

• There is medicinal soap and 24*7 warm water to shower when you get back to the homestay after a short trip nearby.

Medicinal soaps to wash your hands with clean and fresh water.

The team at Anamala Homestay are doing their bit to spread awareness about the preventive measures to coronaviruses in and around the town!