Kurisumala Ashram, Idukki, Kerala India

Kurisumala Ashram is a Cistercian Monastery in Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. "Kurisu" is the translation of the word Cross, into Malayalam the language of Kerala, the small State in the South West tip of India; "Mala" means mountain; "Ashram" means Monastery. Hence, the name describes the community of monks who practise austerity and live a strict monastic life on the mount of the Cross in the high hills of Kerala.

Inside the Ashram compound, there is a church, a guesthouse, a library, a satsang hall, a vegetable garden, a dairy farm, a bread-baking unit and a milk processing centre. The Cistercian abbey here was built in 1958 by Abbot Francis Acharya of Belgium and Fr. Brede Griffiths of England. The monks here wear saffron robes, walk barefoot and eat vegetarian food.  The surroundings offer a tranquil ambience that is ideal for meditation and rejuvenation.