Wayanad

Starting our journey from Trivandrum on Thursday night, we reached in time at Kozhikode the next day morning , courtesy Malabar express. We checked in at a hotel near railway station and got freshed up. After having breakfast we left to the town bus stand to board a bus to Sultan Batheri, a major town in Wayanad district. The 2.5 hr drive from Kozhikode to Sulthan Batheri along the picturesque ghat road known as Thamarassery choram was breathtaking. As our bus wound its way up the Ghat, we craned our neck through the windows to have a peek at the nature’s wonder. We reached Batheri by noon and had our lunch at near by restaurant.

After lunch we hired 2 jeeps & set off to visit sultan fort ,the fort which Tipu sultan built during his regime. It is said that the sultan built this fort mainly to store his ammunition with an ambition to expand his empire to far south of kerala.After visiting the fort we left to the near by Kanthanpara Falls. The route to waterfall took us past sprawling tea plantations.

After having a lavish bath at the waterfall , we headed off to the nearby forest area were tribal people lived. Here one could notice their high raised dwellings built as precaution from the menace of wild life. They mainly earned living from farming and selling products which the forest offers them. It was late by that time and we had to leave for our ‘home stay’, where we had arranged a campfire and a sumptuous dinner.

Next day early in the morning we headed off to muthangya wild life park as it was the apt time to spot the wild life. Accompanied by a guide, we drove our jeep into the park with the excitement of encountering wild life in close quarters. First a heard of spotted deers caught our attention and in no time they disappeared in to the thick jungle sensing our presence. Finally we could spot a heard of wild elephants .Two among the heard were engaged in a war

while the others were busy grazing. It was amazing to watch them ,we quickly took some snaps and left the place. We continued our venture in to forest.

After 3 hours ,our adventurous tryst came to an end. We left the place with mixed feelings as we couldn’t site any beast in the wild . Soon we left to visit Tirunelli temple. It was a pleasant surprise to see a place of worship in middle of dense forest. From there we set off for the primordial Edakkal Caves ensconced atop the Ambukuthi hills near Ambalavayal.

The Edakkal Caves are basically two rock formations. They’re believed to have been formed by a large split in a huge rock. Legend has it that they were caused by the arrows fired by Luv and Kush, the sons of Rama. Like the world-renowned Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, the Edakkal Caves too were stumbled upon by British (in 1890) while on shikar. After getting versed with these historical facts we started our ascent to the pinnacle of the magnificent Edakkal caves. Soon we came across some engravings over the walls of the caves. It is said that these engravings shed light on the existence of a Stone Age civilization in Wayanad. After taking some snaps before those engravings we resumed our journey upwards .We were kissed by the mist and the sky was threatening to open up as we crawled on our 4 limbs during the last stretch of our trekking. Finally we reached the pinnacle even though it was pouring down.It was a breath taking view atop .But unfortunately we couldn’t spend much time as the guards asked

us to evacuate as it was getting darker.Then we got down and left for our home stay.

Next day we started early for the awe-inspiring Chembra Peak (towering 2,100 meters above sea level, Chembra happens to be the highest peak in Wayanad).The whole trekking exercise was a thrilling experience in itself .For people who love nature it’s a must visit. Though the trekking took a toll on us, we kept on marching as the picturesque chembra was so inspiring for us to move ahead. During the four hour long expedition along the peak, we came across several lakes with peculiar shapes, the one with a heart shape is worth mentioning.

Finally we drove back to sultan bathery. After bidding adieu to our driver chetans, we took a bus to Kozhikode for catching our train back to trivandrum.

Other places to see around in wayanad are pakshi patalam ,kuruva island,tolpatti forest. However, the monsoon season didn’t allow us to visit those places.

If Kerala is God’s Own Country, then Wayanad undoubtedly is its capital and hence a must visit for nature lovers around the world.