Trip to God’s own Country.. Bangalore to Wayanad Road Trip

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 1^st 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!!!