This is my first tour to Wayanad, a district of Kerala.
It was middle of April, all the forests are closed to avoid risk of forest fire, and falls are closed due to poor water source. Best time to visit Wayanad is from mid September to February/March, that's post monsoon. During monsoon the forests are also closed as this is the mating time of animals.
It's Summer here, and dry hot climate is not suitable for travel. But we got lucky that rain started there and the greenery become livid and naturally enjoyable.
In Wayanad district, there are 3 main towns lying along the main road to south Kerala - Sultan Bathery, Kalpetta and Vythiri. we stayed at Vythiri.
We made this plan - extensive itinerary.
day #0 Night bus from B'luru to Kalpetta
day #1 Reaching at Kalpetta at 5am approx. - Edakkal caves, Heritage museum, Phantom Rock, Karapuzha dam + evening sight seeing at Kalpetta
day #2 : Early morning trek to Chembra peak, Pookode lake, Soochipara falls, Chain tree
day #3 : Kuruva island, Vishnugudi Jain Basadi, Bansurasagar Dam, Meenmurthy Falls, Meenmurthy View point, Wayanad wild life Santuary evening trip and 11pm bus to Bangalore.
However plan had to revise due to the untimely rain in the summer.
Stay: at Mazus Inn - on the main road at Vythiri
As I requested they arranged the car to the sight seeing.
Mazus Inn has a seperate cafe - Turkish Cafe in the ground floor, and they are really good. Later I found that their kitchen is also a 5-starrer. Awesome food they make.
If you want your stay in the middle of nature there are several resorts across the district of Wayanad - for eg, Morickap at Kalpetta (10k+ per night), Maple Ash at Vythiri (10k+), Saptha Resort at Sultan Bathery (10k+), Earthitects (2 guest/room starting from Rs 47k+) at Kalpetta.
Day 001 >>>>>>>>
We reached at Kalpetta at around 5:30 am and took an auto to reach Mazus Inn. Then we took a nap and had breakfast at around 10 am. By the time the car came and we started exploring Wayanad.
Edakkel Caves - first I want to say it's not big as you've seen in Borrah. It's small cave with wall writings. The pictorial writings may be as old as 7000 years old by Neolithics.
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| Wall drawings at Edakkal Cave, Wayanad |
But you have to walk a lot, around 900m above, that's nearly 1.5Km step up. You may find it tiring, but then you reach the gate, buy tickets and climb over the stairs (made of iron, steel etc) to the top. When riding up you can see the skyline and natural beauty of Wayanad.
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| Skyline view of surrounding mountains while walking up to Edakkel Cave |
Total time 2.5 hr minimum (upto 4hrs)
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| Chembra Peak far away |
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| Tea plantation |
Heritage museum - closed by then
Phantom Rock - skipped
Karapuzha Dam - cancelled due to heavy rain
Lakkidi Viewpoint: Just beyond the Wayanad district border, this viewpoint is lying along the highway. Excellent view to Wayanad hills. Spend the evening to see the clouds/mists covering the mountains.
Chain tree: Nothing exciting you may find, it will be on the Nation Highway to Lakkidi viewpoint. But the story is interesting.
The story is a British engineer took help of Karinthandan, a local tribal to find a way from Thamarassery to Wayanad. Later Karinthandan was shot dead and his soul started creating accidents in this route. So a priest chained the ghost with the tree. There is small temple, named Changala Muneeswaran Kovil.
This place can be missed if you're not known to this spot. Look for Pepper Wayanad Gate hotel and Chain tree is just opposite to it. There is a nearby tea/coffee shop which can be your help to get tea or coffee after a tiring day.
Day 002 >>
Kuruva Island over Kabini river: Bamboo river rafting is the best part, but waiting time was quite long. The guy who is driving the bamboo raft informed that there is limit of ticket selling, and in peak season people come at early morning. There are fishes in the river, but no crocodile nearby. In winter you may get to see the birds.
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Kuruva Island
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From our hotel, Mazus Inn, Kuruva Island is like 40-50km. From here you can go to Kabini's widest part in Karnataka - another 60km drive from Kuruva. There are several river side resorts, eg: Waterwoods
Bansurasagar Dam: Excellent view of the dam, mountains and the lake. Zipline of 40 secs approx can give you little adrenaline rush. Speed boat is also there.
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| Zipline in Banasura Sagar Dam |
There is a Ayurvedic Exhibition Center (Banasura Spices and Ayurvedic Garden) nearby, entry Rs 100, guide will show different trees which are used in Ayurvedic medicines. You can buy stuffs from there.
Near Banasura Dam, there are several top class resorts. If you want to stay at hotel with extreme luxury, your best bet would be Mountain Shadows Resorts (www.mountainshadows.in). Cost Rs 20k+ per night.
Others nearby Banasura:
Contour Island - 15K+ per night
Awe Loch Cottage
Fern Villa, Wayanad
Arayal Resorts - 10k+ per night
Seagot Banasura
Silvergreen Resort - 5k+ per night
Coffee Groove Restaurant and Resort (cg-ala restaurant) : another excellent place to stay in. The restaurant is superb, you can sit outside - the forest and mountain are in the background.
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| Kerala Fish Curry in Coconut Oil at CG-ALA Restaurant |
Day 3 : Relaxing day as we have to take the night bus to B'luru.
Evening visit to Pookode lake is pretty relaxing. It's a family and kid friendly park with the lake in the center. After the rain it was nice to see the small flowers bloomed by the side of the road. Boating facilities are available here.
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| Pookode Lake, Wayanad |
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| Mimosa flowers at Pookoode Lake |
We took auto from Vythiri at around 10pm to Kalpetta bus stand. there are two bus stand. new one is simply for daytime, hence the bus stand near hotel on the main road is the place. That's the old bus stand. From there we boarded on the bus to return to B'luru.
