Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal

About the centre

Arya Vaidya Sala is a charitable Ayurveda institution with its head office at Kottakkal, a town in Malappuram district in northern Kerala. Its website describes more than a century of work and lists hospitals at Kottakkal, Kochi and Delhi, plus about 27 branch clinics and pharmacies across India. In-patient treatment and walk-in treatment are both offered, and consultations can be held in person, by video or by email.
Treatments the site names include Panchakarma, Navarakizhi, Shirovasti, Vasti, Kizhi and Rasayanam. The institution also manufactures classical Ayurvedic formulations, and it runs a college, a museum and a publications department. For a resort-style option it has a collaboration with Gateway Bekal on the north Kerala coast, offering personalised Ayurveda programmes there.
The airport serving Kottakkal is Calicut (Kozhikode) International, at Karipur in Malappuram district. This is a hospital setting rather than a retreat, so ask how it fits your plans, including where family members can stay.

Who it suits

Travellers who want an Ayurveda consultation or hospital-based treatment in northern Kerala rather than a resort-style stay.

Programme types listed on the centre’s site

• Ayurveda hospitals (in-patient and walk-in)
• Consultations in person, by video or email
• Panchakarma
• Kizhi
• Shirovasti
• Vasti

Questions to ask this centre

• Which hospital (Kottakkal, Kochi or Delhi) and which department suits my needs?
• Would I be an in-patient or a walk-in patient, and for how long?
• Which medical records or prescriptions should I send before I come?
• Which language will the doctors use, and is an interpreter available?
• Where can a companion stay near the hospital, and can medicines be sent to my home country?