As James Hetfield from Metallica once
said “ Here I am on the road Again, There I go up on the stage, There I play
star again, There I go turn the page… “
So here I am on the road again with a
new blog on a new place outlining a new experience J
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If
you remember the previous blog wherein I had gone to a trip to Coorg with my
colleagues at office by leaving behind my better half at home.. Ya that part…
These small bachelor expeditions come with a price like taking your wife for a
shopping spree or compensating with a trip to another place which is same or
much better than your Bachelor trip ;) .
So here I was in a dilemma as to what to
choose and since I am broke most of the times and shopping was out of my reach
;) I chose the former option of taking
my wife to a trip to God’s own country, Kerala, Wayanad because how can I let
go of an opportunity to travel again J
So It was Bangalore to Wayanad by Car this time....
Wayanad
Wayanad is a
district in Kerala and it is located on the beautiful Western Ghats of India
and borders the Nagarhole tiger reserve in Karnataka. Hence if you are planning for a long holiday
you can consider the following itinerary Bangalore à Mysore à Nagarhole forest à Kabini à Wayanad or Bangalore à Mysore à Coorg à Wayanad
Since
Wayanad is situated on the Western Ghats and the river Kabini flows into
Wayanad this place contains some amazing waterfalls, Tea plantations,
Viewpoints & reserve forest.
Below
outlines the Bangalore to Wayanad road conditions and Bangalore to Wayanad
route.
There are
different routes from Bangalore to Wayanad as mentioned below. You can choose any one of the below mentioned routes to drive from Bangalore to Wayanad by Car.
Route 1: This is the most used road to
Wayanad
Bangalore à Mysore à Gundulpet à Right turn towards Muthanga forest à Sultan Bathery à Wayanad
Route 2 : People who are planning to Visit
Wayanad along with Nagarhole can avail this route
Bangalore à Srirangapattana à Right turn towards Hunsur à Hunsur à Left turn towards Nagarhole à
Mananthavadi à Wayanad
Route 3 : People who are planning to Visit
Wayanad along with Coorg can avail this route
Bangalore à Srirangapattana à Right turn towards Hunsur à Hunsur à Gonikoppal à
Left turn towards Kutta à Kuttaà
Mananthavadi à Wayanad
Of all the
routes the Route 1 is the best route to Wayanad as the road conditions are good
in this route. However off late there is lot of road widening work happening
near Bandipur hence the road condition will be bad from Nanjangud to Gundulpet
and Gundulpet right turn till Bandipur Forest.
Me and my
wife wanted to do a jungle safari in Masinagudi on the way to Wayanad hence we
planned for this route on our way to Wayanad
Route 4 :
Bangalore à Mysore à Gundulpet à Straight towards Bandipur à Gudalur à Sultan Bathery à Wayanad
This route
also passes through some beautiful jungles and tea estates and it is a treat to
drive through this route.
The plan
Since we had
a long weekend coming up and it had been a while since me and wifey spent some
alone time outside the hustle and bustle of the city. Also we had covered most
part of Karnataka and we were looking to go to a place which is not too far
away from Bangalore so that we can drive to the place and preferably a hill
station to beat the summer heat. So we ruled out Ooty & Kodai as we had visited
these places zillion times we narrowed down to Wayanad as this place was new to
both of us and would be slightly cooler as it was situated on the Western Ghats
and would have good places to visit too.
So Wayanad
it was and it happened to be my first ever trip to the god’s own country
Kerala.
Here we are on the road again…
As usual we
decided to start as early as 5AM from Bangalore to beat the Bangalore à Mysore highway traffic.
We started
off by 5:30 AM and we had our first pit stop in Adyaar Anand Bhavan or A2B as
it is often called in Maddur.
After
indulging in some fresh Filter coffee and Hot idlis we set off to our next
destination i.e., Masinagudi.
The
following was the plan on Day 1. Have
lunch at Gundulpet, Scenic drive through Bandipur & Madhumalai forest and
5-10 min break in the forest, Safari in Masinagudi & check into the hotel
at Wayanad by 3.
The plan
sounded very doable but thanks to the road widening work in bandipur forest and
bad road conditions in Madumalai Forest we lost lot of time on the way and we
decided to drop the plan of Safari in Masinagudi. However we still drove
through the scenic routes through the Madhumalai forest & Bandipur Forest and
through the tea plantations on the Gudalur à Sulthan Bathery route.
We reached
the Accommodation by 2 and because of the hectic travel we just dumped our luggage
and took a quick 1 hour nap.
We stayed at
the Olive’s homestay and it had some amazing views of the surrounding hills
from the resort. The owners Biju & Raji were very courteous and helpful and
met all our demands.
This was
roughly our itinerary or places we had planned to visit in Wayanad
Day 1: Banasura Sagar dam
Day 2: Chembra Peak, Edakkal Caves , Kanthapara waterfalls
& surrounding tea estates, Lakkidi view point & Pookode lake
Day 3:
Kuruva islands & Muthanga forest and head back to Bangalore
So based on
the plan we visited Banasura Sagar Dam on day 1. We set out at 3 in the evening
to visit the dam and I had no great expectations from this place but I was
completely proven wrong. This was one of the most beautiful spots I have
visited in the recent past and you don’t need to do a photoshop on the pictures
of this place because the natural beauty of the Banasura Sagar Dam is
breathtaking
Banasura Sagar Dam
The Banasura
Sagar Dam is one of the larget earth dams in India. This dam is constructed on
the tributary of the Kabini river flowing from Karnataka into Wayanad. The dam
is located on the foothills of the Banasura hills and offers some spectacular
views of the hills.
This place
has boating options too and if you are planning to visit this place then
boating is a must do activity in this place. Apart from other activities like
horse ride etc. this places also has small outlets for fish spa etc.
This is a
must visit place while you are in Wayanad.
After a
visit to this place and a drive through the beautiful roads of Wayanad we
decided to call it a day.
Day 2:
As planned
we decided to 1st visit Chembra peak early in the morning and
followed by Eddakal caves. Biju our homestay owner told us that it is not
possible to visit Chembra peak and Eddakal caves on the same day because it
would be too strenuous. Hence we planned to drop Chembra peak as we were not in
a mood for trekking and we wanted to spend a leisure holiday.
Hence this
was the modified plan for day 2.
Edakkal
caves, , Kanthapara waterfalls & surrounding tea estates, Lakkidi view
point & Pookode lake
After an
amazing breakfast in the homestay we headed off to our first destination of the
day, Eddakal Caves
Edakkal Caves
This place
gets its name Edakkal which literally means “Stone in between” because of a
huge rock hanging in between two rock formations on the ceiling. Once inside
the caves you will find stone carvings on the walls of the caves which were
supposedly carved out by Stone Age people centuries ago.. There are carvings of
the king, Queen etc and this place was discovered by a Britisher named Fred
while he was on a hunting trip. This place is of great archaeological
significance and there are many guides inside the cave who explain the stone
carvings and give you a quick history lesson. So don’t forget to visit this
place as this is again a must visit place while you are in Wayanad.
After a
tiring trek to the caves we were completely exhausted and the day had just
begun and we had many more places to be visited.
We relaxed
sometime at a cafe and then headed off to our next destination Kanthapara
waterfalls
Kanthapara Waterfalls
Kanthapara
is a small waterfall similar to Iruppu falls in Karnataka. You can bathe under
the falls and it is a very good picnic spot. The road leading to this falls is
very narrow and hence it is advisable to hire a vehicle to this place instead
of taking your own vehicle.
Tea Estates, Pookode lake & Lakkidi
view point
Here are few
pics of some beautiful tea plantations which we encountered on the way and the
Pookode Lake & Lakkidi viewpoint. Pookode Lake is not that great and you
can give it a miss. Lakkidi view point is the entry point to Wayanad from
Kozikode and from here you can view the roads leading to Wayanad from Kozikode
from the hills.
So with that
we complete the Day 2 of our journey and this will be the last night we spend
in Wayanad as we will head back to Bangalore on Day 3 so that calls for some
romantic candle lit dinner with some wine in a beautiful setting amidst the
Western Ghats J What more can you ask from a holiday
J
Day 3 the
last leg of our Journey in Wayanad
After having
breakfast and checking out of the lovely homestay we visited Kuruwadwep island
which is similar to Nisargadhama wherein the river Kabini flows through a
jungle and there are few spots where you can take bath in the flowing river.
After
visiting this place we drove back to Bangalore through Muthanga forest &
Bandipur forest and had some wild elephant spotting.
We reached
Bangalore by 7PM and that completed our first trip to God's own Country, Kerala.
All in all
it was a Weekend well spent in Wayanad J
Thank you
Wayanad for a memorable experience!!!
