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Civved : Wayanad
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https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/138720-civved-wayanad.html)
Christmas generally is a quiet family affair, and with kids growing up fast it also means some time to go out for long holidays. The Christmas and New Year of 2012 was planned to be at Goa, but on the spurt of a moment we thought, why not drive to Goa via Wayanad :D
Well, I had only once driven through Wayanad before this, and that was in the year 2009, and it was midnight, which saw me driving through the periphery of forest which was devoid of roads via Tholpetty, Kutta, Gonikkoppal, Hunsur to Bangalore. I encountered wild elephants, got scared with absolutely no vehicles that night on that route with my Civvy, and thanked our lucky stars to have reached Hunsur safe. This kind of gave a strange attraction to the place! Made me always feel that Wayanad is a thick forest!
But as usual the other plans got priority and Wayanad went on being elusive till that strange evening in 2012 when we decided to drive to Goa via Wayanad! That was the evening when a good friend called for a meet at Wayanad, where all his fan club members would meet. No guesses for who the good friend is, he is our own HVK.
So the plan was set, we would drive out to Wayanad on 22.12.2012 and would be there till 29.12.2012, discover Wayanad and meet HVK and then continue on towards the New Year bash at Goa.
On researching about Wayanad, it was like a box full of surprise. There were many reserve forests around Wayanad, Wayanad had a few dams, Wayanad had a few lakes, Wayanad had a few mountains, Wayanad had tea estates, Wayanad had paddy fields, Wayanad had caves, Wayanad had rivers, Wayanad had an island! Well Wayanad details turned out to be so much exciting. Does this mean Wayanad is a mini Kerala in itself except for the back waters and beaches? Well that was what we set out to explore! And Wayanad being just 300KM from Bangalore added to the excitement!
Wayanad here we come!
A few details about Wayanad before continuing with the log.
Quote:
Wayanad District in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on November 1, 1980 as the 12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. The region was known as Mayakshetra (Maya's land) in the earliest records. Mayakshetra evolved into Mayanad and finally to Wayanad. The Folk etymology of the word says it is a combination of Vayal (paddy field) and Naad (land), making it 'The Land of Paddy Fields'. There are many indigenous tribals in this area. It is set high on the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2100 m.
It is the least populous district in Kerala. History
According to archaeological evidence, the Wayanad forests have been inhabited for more than 3,000 years. Historians are of the view that human settlement existed in these parts for at least ten centuries before Christ. Much evidences of New Stone Age civilization can be seen in the hills throughout the present day Wayanad district. The two caves of Ampukuthimala, with pictures on their walls and pictorial writings, speak volumes of a bygone civilization.
The recorded history of this district exists only from the 18th century onward. Agriculture Cultivation started broadly after 1900 A.D onwards.In ancient times, this land was ruled by the Rajas of the Veda dynasty. In later days, Wayanad came under the rule of the Pazhassi Raja dynasty of ancient Kottayam. When Hyder Ali became the ruler of Mysore, he invaded Wayanad and brought it under his sway. In the days of Tipu Sultan, Wayanad was restored to the Kottayam royal dynasty. But Tipu handed over the entire region of northern Kerala to the British, signing the treaty of Srirangapatna with British army officer and colonial administrator Cornwallis.
This was followed by fierce and internecine encounters between the British and Pazhassi Raja of Kottayam. When the Rajah was driven to the wilderness of Wayanad, he organised the war-like Kurichiya tribals into a sort of people's militia and engaged the British in several guerrilla type encounters. In the end, the British could get only the dead body of the Rajah, who committed suicide in the forest. Thus, Wayanad fell into the hands of the British and with it came a new era.
The British authorities opened up the plateau to cultivation of tea and other cash crops by constructing roads across the dangerous slopes of Wayanad, to Kozhikode and Thalassery. Later, they extended these new roads to the cities of Mysore and Ooty through Gudalur. Settlers emigrated from all parts of Kerala and the fecund lands proved a veritable goldmine with incredible yields of cash crops.
When the State of Kerala came into being in November 1956, Wayanad was part of Kannur district. Later, south Wayanad was added to Kozhikode district. In order to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Wayanad for development, North Wayanad and South Wayanad were carved out and joined together to form the present district of Wayanad. This district came into being on November 1, 1980 as one the twelve districts of Kerala, consisting of three taluks; Vythiri, Mananthavady, and Sulthan Bathery.
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(Source: Wikipedia)
That's an absolutely stunning history for the place. I have learned about Pazhassi Raja in school. We were taught that he was the Lion of Kerala.
Wayand has Pazhassi Kudeeram-a memorial for Pazhassi Raja at his burial spot in Mananthavadi
What do you have in Wayanad to explore?
This is some from my list :D
Lakes Mountains- Chembra Peak (2,100 metres (6,890 ft))
- Banasura Peak (2,073 metres (6,801 ft))
- Brahmagiri (1,608 metres (5,276 ft))
Rivers- Kabini River (an important tributary of the Kaveri River) and its three tributaries, the
- Panamaram
- Mananthavady and
- Kalindy rivers.
Dams- Banasura Sagar Dam
- Karapuzha Dam
IslandWaterfalls- Soochippara
- Chethalayam
- Meenmutti
- Kanthanpara
Wild Life Sanctuaries- Muthanga
- Tholpetty
- Begur
- Nagarahole is quite near
Caves- Edakkal Caves
- Karadi Kuzhi
Trekking Options- Chembra Peak
- Pakshi Pathalam
View Points- Sunset Point
- Neelimala View Point
Temples, Mosques, Churches- Thirunelly Temple
- Thrissilery Shiva temple
- Seetha Lava Kusha Temple
- Valliyoorkunnu Bhagavathy Temple
- Puliyanmala Jain Temple
- Varembetta Mosque
- Pallikkunnu Church
Other interesting places- Heritage Museum
- Phantom Rock
- Pazhassi Tomb
- Chain Tree
- Lakkidi
- Regional Agricultural Research Station
Ghat Roads- Nadugani Churam
- Thamarassery Churam
and the list goes on and on clap: ...
The Plan Trip 1 : Christmas Drive Day 01 : 22.12.2012 : Bangalore - Sargur - Kabini - Wayanad
Day 02 : 23.12.2012 : Wayanad
Day 03 : 24.12.2012 : Wayanad
Day 04 : 25.12.2012 : Wayanad
Day 05 : 26.12.2012 : Wayanad
Day 06 : 27.12.2012 : Wayanad
Day 07 : 28.12.2012 : Wayanad
Day 08 : 29.12.2012 : Wayanad - Mahe - Thalassery - Kannur - Mangalore - Karwar - Goa :D
Day 09 : 30.12.2012 : Goa
Day 10 : 31.12.2012 : Goa
Day 11 : 01.01.2013 : Goa
Day 12 : 02.01.2013 : Goa - Mollem - Dharwad - Bangalore
Goa Part of the trip can be read
here
Drive Total - Approximately 3000KMS
After Trip 1, while we were discussing about what to do for our 15th anniversary, we thought of going back to Wayanad for a candle light dinner in a cave stupid:. Since the date of the actual anniversary had exams for PPGs, we preponed our anniversary drive to February and this was the plan!
Trip 2 : Anniversary Drive
Day 01 : 22.02.2013 : Bangalore - Gagan Chukki - Gundulpet - Muthanga - Wayanad
Day 02 : 23.02.2013 : Wayanad
Day 03 : 24.02.2013 : Wayanad - Kabini - Mysore - Bangalore
Drive Total - Approximately 950KMs
Anniversary Dinner
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