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Globetrotting
India's New Export: Massages

COCHIN, INDIA -- After a grueling 15-hour flight, Ossie Ravid was ready for some pampering. So the Chicago lawyer checked into her hotel here and headed straight for the spa.

A hot-oil treatment at Kumarakom Lake Resort, in Kottayam

Ms. Ravid was told to strip naked and lie across a hard wooden table. For about an hour, a woman slathered oil along the length of Ms. Ravid's body. The treatment was slightly more unusual than she expected. "The whole time you're thinking, 'Hmm, is this supposed to be happening?'" she says.

One of the trendiest treatments in the spa world these days is ayurveda, based on a 5,000-year-old Indian tradition. The treatment, which involves a massage and, in some cases, incorporates dietary advice and yoga, is increasingly popular in the U.S. This weekend, self-help author Deepak Chopra is planning to open a new ayurvedic spa near Times Square in Manhattan. Customers can, among other things, get warm oil dripped on their foreheads for $280. Ayurveda is even reaching the world of skincare, with model Christy Turlington pushing a new ayurvedic line.

But a remote state in the southwestern tip of India has a different pitch: Why go down the street for a massage when you can fly 7,000 miles for one? Kerala is trying to get in on the spa-travel boom by playing up its role as one of the originators of the greasy rubdown.

In recent years, several dozen upscale resorts with extensive spa facilities have opened in the area, including the Kalari Kovilakom, where rooms start at $414 a night, and the Kumarakom Lake Resort, whose 14 treatments include the "Pathra podala swedam," in which the customer is repeatedly hit with a cloth packed with herbs and butter milk.

As travel to South Asia becomes more popular with Americans, Kerala is working its way onto the basic get-to-know-India itinerary. Places like Delhi, Agra (with the Taj Mahal) and Mumbai are still the first stops. But Kerala, whose beachy, laid-back feel is a stark contrast with the country's bigger cities, is drawing a growing number of visitors.

The number of foreign travelers to Kerala was up 17% last year to more than 345,500, according to the state's tourism authority. People from the U.S., Britain, Germany and other countries come for some of the same reasons that Indians have long traveled here, including overnight backwater boat trips, rolling tea plantations, and fresh seafood.

The ayurvedic massages are still often performed just as they've always been performed: Customers plop down on a hard wooden table, and the masseur lathers them with round after round of warm oil that has been infused with pungent herbs and then rubs vigorously. New Age music and scented candles aren't part of the routine.

But as ayurveda has gone upscale, the resorts in Kerala have tried to tweak the treatments for more-selective overseas visitors. Hotel companies have restored colonial homes and rubber plantations and outfitted them with top chefs, plunge pools and spa amenities such as fluffy towels and slippers.

In the U.S., practitioners often package their massages with floral aromas or pleasant spicy scents, while in India, they do little to disguise the smell of mud and grass in the herbs.

Here's a look at some of the highlights and lowlights at four popular resorts in central and southern Kerala that offer ayurvedic treatments.

* * *

COCONUT LAGOON, Kumarakom
The resort: A former rubber plantation along the edge of a lake with cottages that have front decks, private plunge pools and hammocks.
Treatment to book: Sirodhara, which involves a continuous stream of hot oil flowing over your forehead.
Caveat: Some guests say it's too bare-bones, citing a cement floor that serves as the showering area.
Web site: www.cghearth.com

* * *

KUMARAKOM LAKE RESORT, Kottayam

The resort: Sits along a lake and, unlike some other resorts, has a mini gym.
Treatment to book: A light massage called the Pizhichil, where a continuous stream of medicated oil covers the entire body.
Caveat: The Carpenters were piped into the restaurant when we were there.
Web site: www.klresort.com

* * *

HOTEL BOLGATTY PALACE, Cochin

The resort: A 250-year-old palace on the edge of the Arabian Sea that recently underwent an overhaul.
Treatment to get: We weren't that excited about any of the massages we got.
Caveat: Our doctor was a little too vigorous, leaving us with small bruises along the inside of our elbows, knees and wrists.
Web site: www.hotelskerala.com/ktdc/bolgattypalace.htm

* * *

THE MALABAR HOUSE, Fort Cochin

The resort: A restored 18th-century Dutch colonial mansion that has antique masks in many of the rooms.
Treatment to get: All that's offered is a straightforward ayurvedic massage.
Caveat: There are no facilities for showering so it's best to book only if you are staying at the hotel.
Web site: www.malabarhouse.com

Write to Karen Mazurewich at karen.mazurewich@wsj.com