വയനാട്ടിലേക്ക് ഒരു യാത്ര: Wayanad Trip

Sivadas

Wayanad offers a sumptuous feast to visitors in terms of its diversity of destinations. It has in store serene lakes, enchanting waterfalls, long stretches of evergreen and deciduous forests, rich wildlife, ancient temples and caves, big dams and a lot more. Visitors cannot afford to forget the unique ambience that Wayanad presents. Located at an altitude of 2,100 meters above the sea level, it is blessed with a cool and enchanting climate inevitable for an ideal tourist spot. Frequent sightings of wild animals are common even during a casual drive along the highway passing through the forest. Wayanad is home to rare species of fauna and flora.

It was past 8 am when we set off our three days long trip to Wayanad in Shaji’s Indica. We proceeded to Thamarassery from Naduvannur. We reached there in 45 minutes. The scene which greeted us in Thamarassery was that of a group of liquor craving people waiting impatiently for the Beverage to open. We had tea and snacks from Thamarassery. Then we headed to Adivaram on NH 212. Though, it is a major national highway leading to Mysore and Bangalore, there was no dearth of potholes; some of them resembled small ponds. In spite of a fairly long planning and information gathering, our travel itinerary was not final. So, we decided to meet Shaji’s friend Tomy residing nearby expecting to get some firsthand information and guidance. He suggested Banasura Sagar Dam and Kuruva Island. Still, the uncertainty was not out of the way. We continued our journey towards Adivaram. Pineapple and coffee plantations were seen on either side of the road. Shortly we reached Adivaram, the starting point of the winding ghat road to Wayanad.

At Pazhassi's Tomb

Our next target was Lakkidi, the gateway to Wayanad, which is known for receiving the second highest degree of rainfall in the world. A 15 km drive up the winding ghat road will take you to Lakkidi. A literally breathtaking drive presents awesome snapshots of the low lying areas from different altitudes. The views became more and more beautiful as we climbed up the hair pin bends. An army of monkeys stationed on trees and road side barriers, eagerly looking at passersby expecting to get some eatables and their comic gestures present a beautiful and funny scene to the visitors. Cool and pleasant atmosphere, chirping birds, sprawling streams running down the hillocks and a host of other mind boggling sights add to the ambit of the thrilling drive on the winding roads. The journey finally ended up in Lakkidi, the culmination point of the winding road. We got out of the car and approached the Lakkidi view point, which gives a bird’s eye view of the adjacent areas. Visitors to Wayanad rarely drive on without a halt at the view point to have a vista of the deep green valley blanketed by lush green vegetation. One-day trekking program is conducted between Thusharagiri and Lakkidi. We spent a few minutes there and had a few slices of salty mangoes and gooseberries preserved in brine, which are common throughout kerala. Then, we continued our journey. Hardly had we covered 200 meters, an ASI signalled us to stop the car at the entry point to Wayanad. Though we had put seat belt till the view point, the same had gone out of our mind when we resumed the journey. After giving Rupees 100 to the ASI as a donation to the government exchequer, the journey continued. Our first destination, Pookode Lake is only 3 KM away from the viewpoint.

Pookode Lake

We reached Pookode at around 11.30 am. Its main attraction is a small natural freshwater lake surrounded by evergreen forest. Entry to the lake is through ticket and so is parking of vehicles. Though I had visited Pookode twice before, it was not a deterrent for a third visit because such is the beauty of the lake and the surrounding area. In Pookode, even the breeze carries the fragrance of lemon grass oil and spices. A walk around the lake under the natural shadows knitted by trees and trailing plants will leave for ever a drop of colourful and cool memory in the visitors’ minds. Pookode offers boating facilities to the visitors, which include pedal boats and rowing boats. As we had the experiences of speed boat journey on multiple occasions and this being nothing new, we didn’t go for boating. Pookode has a small nursery, where saplings of some beautiful flower plants and trees are available for sale. It also has a shop selling Wayanadan products, which offers for sale different varieties of tea and coffee, lemon grass oil, honey, handicrafts, spices etc. Green tea, which is claimed to be good for diabetes patients, is also on hot sale here. Many such shops under the brand name “Gandhigramam” can be spotted in different locations in Wayanad.

Vythiri is a short distance drive from Pookode. By spending about an hour at Pookode, we set our journey on. We decided to have lunch at Vythiri. Though it is advisable to avoid non-vegetarian food during trips, we had to give in before chicken biriyani. After having some shopping, we headed on the national highway towards kalpetta. There came the main turning point of our journey. We were on the way to Soochippara waterfalls as planned; a sign board to Banasura Sagar Dam triggered a second thought and consequently we diverted our journey to Banasura Sagar Dam. This diversion drove us away from the main towns such as Kalpetta and Sulthan Battery and the sorrounding tourist spots such as Edakkal caves, Chembra peak, and Muthanga wildlife sanctuary.

Banasura Sagar Dam

On the way to Banasura Dam, you can experience the beauty of tea plantations spread across hundreds of acres. Tea and coffee plantations, which are abundant across the length and breadth of Wayanad district, make the drive a pleasant experience. We took about 45 minutes to reach at the Banasura Dam, which is the largest earth dam in India and the second largest in Asia. Its picturesque and calm reservoir is dotted by many tiny and beautiful islands, which add to its beauty and elegance. Lying next to it is the Western Ghats mountain ranges. Banasura offers a unique and scenic 360 degree view of the beauty of the nature. A natural garden in the forest made without hampering the natural ambience with traditional type entertainments such as traditional swings is a rare attraction here. Banasara offers speed boating for the visitors. Boating in the reservoir naturally beautified by many small green blanketed islands and long stretches of mountains in the backdrop is a thrilling experience. Tourists flock Banasura during weekends. By concluding the day’s sightseeing in Banasura, we proceeded to Mananthavady for the night’s stay. There, after a long search, we managed to get Kappa biriyani for the dinner.

We got ready by 7 am for the second day’s journey. Our first target is Pazhassi’s tomb, which bears the ever lasting memories of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. It is located in the Mananthavadi town. Pazhassi Raja, who fought gurilla war against British, has been in the spotlight again on releasing the Malayalam movie “Pazhassiraja” directed by stalwart Hariharan. A visit to the spot raises many questions in the visitors’ minds regarding Pazhassi and the British era. Pazhassi’s sword, hide out etc are among the historical remnants of Pazhassi’s past glory preserved here for the visitors. We spent a few minutes there and had a few snaps of Pazhassi’s heritage. A visit to the Pazhassi’s tomb took us back to the memories of Pazhassi’s era, about which we had learned during our school days.

Pazhassi's Tomb

We proceeded to our next destination Thirunelli Temple, which is 32 Km away from Mananthavadi town. We proceeded on Mananthavadi -H D Kote – Mysore road and took a left turn from Kattikulam. Lying adjacent to Thirunelli is Tholpetty range of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Road to thirunelli temple runs through the reserve forests and frequent sightings of wild animals make the journey an unforgettable experience. It is at the Thettu junction, on the way to Thirunelli, “The jungle view tea shop” which is famous for the tasty unni appam made with a secret recipe. We reached Thirunelli temple and after spending half an hour there, we continued our dash to Tholpetty.

En route Thirunelli

Tholpetty is the headquarters of Tholpetty range of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, which gives permission and conducts sightseeing trip to the forest. Next to the forest range office stands a sandalwood tree, which is a rarely seen one. A lion share of wayanad forests belong to the category of moist deciduous forest, which comprises of a variety of trees and plants which shed leaves during dry season. Evergreen forests are found at and around Pookode lake, Lakkidi, Kuruva etc. A sightseeing trip to the flora and fauna rich Wayanad forest, though a bit scary, is an inexplicable experience. Wayanad forest is abundant with wild animals such as elephant, spotted deer, sambar deer, wild guar, bear, bison and tiger. If you are lucky, you can have a sighting of the big cat. Karnataka border is just 1 Km drive from Tholpetty. We had tea and snacks from Tholpetty. Forest officials gave us a helping hand in deciding our next destination. They suggested us to visit Irpu waterfalls located in Coorg district, Karnataka. It is 14 Km away from Tholpetty.

Irpu Waterfalls

We headed to Irpu, on Kutta - Mysore road. It was a tough journey as the road leading to Irpu was badly damaged. Entry to the waterfalls requires a ticket of Rs.10. After taking the ticket, we walked towards the waterfalls. Lying next to Irpu is Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary. We slowly climbed up hundreds of steps made alongside the stream to approach the waterfall spot. Slowly the atmosphere turned cool, birds' chirping resounded the atmosphere. We felt as if we were inside a thick forest. We stepped into the flowing stream; a face and hand wash in the chilled water was enough to wash off the tiredness of the tiresome journey. After about 15 minutes walk, we reached near the waterfall. Irpu stream originates from the formidable Brahmagiri hills in the Western Ghats. Many people were found taking a dip in the water underneath the waterfall and enjoying like children. The scene of water spreading down from about 50 metres high was marvellous. Some of the visitors were with a backpack and bed roll. They were on a trek to the Brahmagiri peak, which is 8 KM climb from Irpu waterfalls. After spending about an hour near the waterfalls, we got back at the parking area. By that time stomach had started whistling. We couldn’t find many shops there except a couple of shops selling gift items. We had masala dosa from the one and only homely tea shop found there.

Near Irpu waterfalls

Our next destination was Kuruva Dweep. We drove back to Kattikulam, the place where the Thirunelli road is junctioning with the Mananthavadi- HD Kote- Mysore road. We had our lunch there. Kuruva Dweep is 5 Km away from Kattikulam. Though distance is less, it took about half an hour to reach there as the whole stretch of road leading to Kuruva was muddy. Kuruva is the place where we found the largest crowd among all the places we visited. Kuruva is a 950 acres uninhabited group of islands covered with evergreen forest on the banks of the east flowing Kabani river. Kabani is one of the three east flowing rivers among 44 rivers in Kerala. Long queues of visitors waiting for their turn to cross Kabani in the small rowing boats were seen. We knew that even longer queues are present on the other side of the river to get back from the island. Since the time was too late, after a small deliberation we decided to put our decision to visit Kuruva on hold. You should set aside a whole day for visiting Kuruva. Many shops were around selling Wayanadan products. We also had a small shopping there. Then, it was time to stop the day’s visit.

Kabani River Crossing to Kuruva Dweep

Though our plan was to have a stay somewhere in the forest; we were not made to disappoint. Luckily we got a “Serambi” for the night’s stay, which is maintained by the forest department. The Serambi is located in the Begur forest surrounded by teak plantations. It is made of wood and can accommodate two or three persons. With a view to ensure safety from wild animals, the wooden room is constructed on an elevated platform supported by concrete pillars. Big trench has been dug around the Serambi to prevent wild animals getting close to it. We all felt the stay in Serambi a lot more interesting and thrilling than the experiences at different destinations themselves. It has been designed with a balcony on all sides to watch the forest and animals. I had been to the place about 15 years back for 3 days nature awareness camp conducted from my college. In Wayanad, three such Serambis are available for stay at Begur, Tholpetty and Muthanga. Much to our surprise, while approaching the Serambi in our car in the darkness, suddenly a spotted deer ran across the road just in front and we had to brake to avert an accident, which might put us in trouble. At 10 PM while we were on a chat over dinner with a forest official, we heard some sounds from the vicinity in the darkness. In the flash of torchlight we could find a lone elephant encroached into the nearby nursery breaking the branches of a tree. We watched it with a fast beating heart for a few minutes and when it came close, we threw stones to keep it away.

Serambi at Begur

Next day morning we started our journey back home, but this time we took a different route via Kuttiyadi churam. We started driving down the churam road carrying a heap of live and cheerful memories. Wayanad never sends back visitors without dropping in their mind a handful of cool, spicy and sweet memories to cherish for ever.

Parking area in front of the Serambi

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