6 Hotels Hidden in the Jungle, From Brazil to Bali
Welcome to the jungle. Here, colors are lush and fully saturated; the soundtrack is wild, primordial, and relentless. Remote and untamed, nature like this has an undeniable draw to those craving escape—or even just a little rest and relaxation. For that reason, hotels in the jungle have become popular destinations among travelers looking to experience wildlife in its most honest state. At properties like these, guests get up-close access to bird sanctuaries, off-hour visits to waterfalls, and even the opportunity to live—if only for a few days—in the oldest living rainforest in the world. Of course, unique and stunning architecture, such as nestlike pods hanging along the side of a mountain in Rwanda or overwater pavilions in Malaysia, is also a draw. From open-air pavilions skimming the treetops in the shadow of a Costa Rican volcano to pastel-hued grande dames shrouded in the Brazilian subtropics, these six hotels in jungles and rainforests are among the world’s most majestic and immersive.
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This article was originally published on Architectural Digest.
Courtesy of Baillie LodgesSilky Oaks Lodge — Queensland, Australia
At over 135 million years old, the World Heritage–listed Daintree Rainforest is said to be the oldest living rainforest in the world and was once part of a forest network that covered the whole continent of Australia. Fresh from a multimillion-dollar makeover and reopening in December 2021, the place to stay in this land before time is Silky Oaks Lodge, a contemporary retreat made up of 40 luxe A-frame treehouses sitting above the tourmaline-green Mossman River. Book the Treehouse Retreat with outdoor stone bathtub for au naturel relaxation among the ferns, cycads, and dazzlingly bright azure kingfishers.
Courtesy of BelmondHotel das Cataratas — Iguassu Falls, Brazil
Elegantly outfitted with azulejo ceramic tiles, naturalist watercolors of flora and fauna, and dark polished woods, the hacienda-style Hotel das Cataratas, A Belmond Hotel, has a stately, old-world air. But no matter how refined its design, it’s the impossible-to-top location that makes this property stand apart. As the only hotel within the Brazilian side of the subtropical Iguaçu National Park, the magnificent, rainbow-draped Iguassu Falls is just steps away—and guests get to visit the bucket-list site both before and after official opening hours. There’s also exclusive access to a 12-acre bird sanctuary, home to over 160 species of birds including rare parrots and toucans, which can be spied with the hotel’s complimentary state-of-the-art Leica binoculars.
Courtesy of WildernessWilderness Bisate — Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Set within Volcanoes National Park, one of the last remaining habitats for endangered mountain gorillas, the nestlike boutique haven Wilderness Bisate makes a good case for Rwanda’s dramatic natural beauty with views over the volcanos of Bisoke, Karisimbi, and Mikeno—draped in mist and carpeted in green. The call of the wild is irresistible here, with Volcanoes National Park being home to an estimated 340 of the 800 last remaining mountain gorillas living in the wild. Still, the six thatched forest villas also have pull, with chic black-and-white imigongo patterns, fireplaces finished with volcanic rock, and light fixtures fashioned from recycled glass.
Courtesy of AmanAmandari — Bali, Indonesia
Before Bali’s big tourism boom—propelled by a never-ending stream of international tourists seeking the full eat, pray, love experience—there was Amandari. Opening in 1989 as the second property in the Aman stable, Amandari was the first luxury resort in Bali to be crafted in a traditional Balinese style with pitched roofs of thatched alang alang, bamboo frames, coconut wood pillars, and suites decorated with hand-painted Kamasan tapestries. The setting was just as revolutionary. Away from the surf-bashed coast, Amandari (with Bali’s very first infinity pool) is based outside of Ubud, in the island’s steamy, jungle-knit interior at the lip of the Ayung River Gorge. This is the original—and still one of Bali’s best.
Courtesy of YTL HotelsPangkor Laut Resort — Pangkor Laut Island, Malaysia
Hidden away on a 300-acre granite isle in Malaysia’s Straits of Malacca, Pangkor Laut Resort has all the trappings of a private island paradise, including overwater pavilions, palm-dotted shorelines, and bath-warm cascading natural pools. Then there is the 2-million-year-old tropical rainforest that covers 80 percent of the prelapsarian island, painting it in a thousand shades of green. Taking priority over the buildings and dictating their light-footed, open-air design, the rainforest is home to whirling Japanese sparrow hawks, prehistoric monitor lizards, and even Malayan pangolins, and it is best explored via a guided trek with Pangkor Laut Resort’s resident naturalist. Relax afterwards in the hotel’s four-acre Spa Village, with treatment villas, bath houses, and “healing huts” for Chinese herbal medicine and Ayurvedic therapies.
Courtesy of Nayara Tented CampNayara Tented Camp — La Fortuna, Costa Rica
There’s little by way of boundaries between the indoors and the outdoors at Nayara Tented Camp, the new sister property of Nayara Springs and Nayara Gardens in Costa Rica’s Arenal Volcano National Park. Inspired by the five-star safari camps and lodges across Africa, this rainforest retreat is the first tented camp in Central America and is made up of 39 tents on stilts, sitting under the gaze of an active volcano. Indoors are all Pura Vida–chic, with flowy canopied beds, leather furniture, and deep tubs, while the outdoors charm with swishy hammocks, spring-fed plunge pools, and forests of Cecropia trees—a favorite of sloths.