November 2006 – Musings of a Wandering Mind

November 23, 2006 —Categories: kerala

Travelling through Wayanad

Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar

+Previous: Bangalore to Wayanad
+Next: The Impact of Tea Estates
+Go to the beginning of the series

Although we passed through Wayanad, a beautiful place in itself, we had not made plans to explore much of it. With nearly a week to spend, we wanted to travel down south to Cochin and Periyar to explore places far from our base. This was my third visit to Wayanad and we did not spend much time here.

Around ten in the morning, we visited the beautiful Phookot Lake, took a stroll around the lake and before we drove further to Kozhikode. Below is all the information about travelling in Wayanad. Also see:

Wayanad Travel Information

You can read about my previous visits to Wayanad, which are detailed trip reports, at Birding in Wayanad, and hill stations of South India tour.

Wayanad is relatively less touristy, unexplored and unexploited area of Kerala. This lies high in the Western Ghats, and is home to a few wildlife sanctuaries, tall hills and tea estates. Kalpetta is the largest town and district headquarters of Wayanad. There are many places to see and activities to do. Directions and tourist information is easily available once you reach there, so don’t worry much about the homework and just arrive here to explore more.

Places to see and things to do.

TREKKING AND WALKING

Chembra Peak: This is the tallest peak in Wayanad district, and is a day’s climb. To climb the peak, you need to get permits from forest department office at Meppady village. To reach Chembra, take the Kozhikode road from Kalpetta and turn left just after the town. You will hit Meppady village after a short drive where you can get your permits, ask for directions and proceed. Start early, since the trek up and back will take six hours or more. See more about my experience on trekking up the Chembra here.

Landscape on the way to Edakkal

Edakal Caves: Caves may be a misnomer, they are actually a bunch of rocks which form a shelter. Inside the shelter are a few prehistoric inscriptions and pictures, about which a guide gives you some vague explanations. The real attraction is the hill on which the rocks are located. It is a good climb that gives you uninterrupted views of the surroundings from the top. See more on Edakal on my birding trip report.

Pakshi Patalam or Narimale Caves, and Brahmagiri Peak: This is a trek up the Brahmagiri ranges. What is called Narimale in Karnataka is called Pakshi Patalam in Kerala. The trek requires permits an escorting forest guide, for which you need to contact at their office on the way to Tirunelli. Arrive early at the office, since the trek can take the whole day. Trek up the Brahmagiri peak is much shorter, but there is a longer approach from Karnataka. You can also walk along river Kalindi, which flows down from Brahmagiri ranges. Another attraction is the Tirunelli temple at the base of the hill. See a brief on my visit to Tirunelli on my birding trip report. Also see a detailed report on climbing Brahmagiri from Karnataka side.

Meenmutty Waterfall: Plan this as a full day activity. This is a 30-minute drive away from Kalpetta, followed by a long trek into a valley. Some locals may be willing to guide you through the walk, though hiring one is not really necessary. The waterfall is in a deep valley which also has some amazing views. You need some degree of fitness, as the trek to the valley takes you through a very steep bridle path.

WILDLIFE AND BIRDING

Birding around Wayanad: With Wayanad having some thick evergreen vegetation and hills, you can see many birds of the western ghats in this region. Here a small incomplete list of birds I saw when I made a birding trip to Wayanad: Asian Fairy Blue Bird, Scarlet Minivet, Emerald Dove, Yellow Browed Bulbul, Bar winged flycatcher shrike, Black lored tit, Chestnut tailed starlings, Forest Wagtail, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Plum headed parakeets, lorikeets, and many many more. Edakal caves and Tirunelli are great places for birding, where we saw many different species.

A Yellow Browed Bulbul

Wildlife sanctuaries: Wayanad has many wildlife sanctuaries. Muthanga wildlife sanctuary is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, and is contiguous with Bandipur National Park. You can go into Muthanga with your own or hired jeeps(which are available in Sultan Battery), with a forest department escort. Other sanctuaries include Begur Wildlife Sanctuary and Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary.

SIGHTSEEING

Phookot Lake: A beautiful natural lake amidst dense forest, this is around 15 minute drive from Kalpetta and is a short deviation after Vythiri on Kozhikode road. A must visit place in Wayanad.

Phookot Lake

Tea Estates: There are many hills south of Kalpetta where tea is cultivated. The road to Chembra from Kalpetta, Kalpetta – Ooty road, and the road towards Meenmutty falls are good choices if you want to drive around tea estates. The road to Chembra peak takes you inside a private tea estate, which is worth a look.

Tea estates on the way to Chembra Peak

Other than these, Soochipara waterfall is another well known tourist destination. The road to Kozhikode near Lakkidi is scenic, where you drive through winding roads which quickly drop down to the plains before you hit the sea.

ACCOMMODATION

Kalpetta is a good place to stay and explore Wayanad. It has a few hotels from budget to mid-range. Green Magic resort near Vythiri has made a name for itself for its tree house accommodations.

MORE INFORMATION, ELSEWHERE

1. See Wayanad.com and wayanad.net for tourist information, hotels, and more information on Wayanad district.
2. Wayanad Tourism Organization is a non-profit organization to promote tourism in Wayanad.
3. Wayanad District on Wikipidea

To be continued..

November 19, 2006 —Categories: kerala

Bangalore to Wayanad

Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar

+Previous: Beginning of the series: Kerala Chronicles
+Next: At Wayanad
+Go to the beginning of the series

We had been pretty busy during the days before our leaving. That meant we had done little planning before we hit the road. Infact it was so bad, we were actually struggling with the guidebook and try to figure out where to go! All we knew was that we were heading to Kerala, but had no idea about where in Kerala! We left the city pretty late – around 4 in the evening and decided to get to Kalpetta and spend the night.

We must have reached Gundlupet around 9pm. We stopped here for a while before continuing on the road to Kalpetta that passed through Bandipur National Park. This section of the drive was something I looked forward to.

For more information on Bandipur National Park, including what to do and where to stay, see my earlier report on visit to Bandipur.

Driving through the National Park’s forest in a moonlit night is an overwhelming experience. The road slits through thick treeline, forming silhouttes in the soft light. The silence of the forest is broken only by the gentle friction between the tyres and the road, and occasioanlly disturbed by a bird of animal somewhere in the trees. The forest absorbs you from all the sides, overpowering and awing the senses. Occasional gentle breeze and swaying of the trees induces a soothing feeling as we drive through. Our indulgence with the surroundings was enhanced by two tuskers that were enjoying a moonlit dinner of fine grass by the roadside. Mother nature was unfolding its magic to us in the widlerness. I slowed down for a second look but did not stop, keeping our safety and eventually their safety in mind. As we moved ahead, we saw a few more animals including sambars. We slowed down at some point to feel and enjoy the silence, only to accelerate quickly, warned by a trumpeting pachyderm.

The drive lasted for more than an hour before the stretch of the wilderness ended. We drove on for another hour before we reached Kalpetta, checked into a hotel to end our day.

To be continued..

November 18, 2006 —Categories: kerala

Kerala Chronicles

Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar

Next: Driving past Bandipur

Ten days ago, I spent a week travelling around Kerala, much referred to as the God’s own country for travelers. We started from Bangalore, drove through the thick forest of Bandipur National Park and entered North Kerala at Wayanad. We headed down to the coast from Wayanad and spent an evening at the beach side near Kozhikode. Further, we drove to Cohin and wandered around the beautiful island of Fort Kochi and tasted some exotic and expensive delicacies. We indulged in the famed attractions of Kerala – the Ayurvedic massages and a backwater experience. Next, we headed back to the hills to South India’s most well known wildlife sanctuary – Periyar Tiger reserve. It was back to Bangalore from here.

It was a quick and short driving trip without taking too much time or indulging in anything in detail. Except for Wayanad, most of Kerala was new to me, and the trip helped me understand the geography, tourist destination and travel attractions, and to some extent, demographics of Kerala. Hopefully this will serve me as a good beginning for further explorations of this beautiful place. With this post, I am starting a short series on Kerala. Unlike earlier writings in this travel blog, the Kerala series will not remain as a narration of personal experiences, but will also include lot of information about places, things to do, places to see, and my general observation of the state that has been attracting tourists in drones.

To be continued..