[neo45007]

A quick travelogue on our recent trip to Wayanad & Kannur.

We just wanted a leisure trip for 3-4 days. "Relax and do nothing".
After thinking of many options, I zeroed down on a 'Resort + Homestay combination' which turned out to be a perfect one.

Places stayed : Meenmutty High resorts (Wayanad) & Beach n Bay Homestay (Kannur)

Day 1 : Bangalore to Wayanad
Route taken Bangalore - Kanakapura - CMRJNagar - Gundulpet - S.Bathary - Left to Ooty road - Meenmutty
(315 Kms from Whitefield)
We started late and had breakfast @ JP Nagar (at one of our favorite eat-outs). Left Bangalore city by 8 AM.
This ensured that we are greeted with plenty of two wheeler traffic till Kanakapura. It was the first time I took this route instead of regular Mysore road. While most of the road was good, I would update on following 'path-holes':-
1) Around Malavalli/Kollegal; there are couple of villages - where you have single road, so we got stuck here behind trucks couple of times.
However you will find some of the beautiful old houses & structures on both side of this road.
2) Road from CMRJnagar to Gundulpet is not good. Road is broken at many places.
3) And as most of you know - there aren't any "good" places to eat/freshen up except in CMRJnagar.

My suggestion - If you are with family and not staying in south Bangalore, this route doens't make sense untill last stretch is repaired.

Coming back to the journey; we reached S.Bathery at 1 PM and decided to have lunch @ Mint flower restaurant (right on the road).
I must mention that they have a nice bakery next to it where you get snacks, juices and everything (Must try). Post lunch, we headed to Ooty road from S.Bathery and went upto Vaduvanchal. From here the resort is few Kms.

Roads around Wayanad were mostly good (except some stretch on this road). Meenmutty High resort is located inside a tree & coffee plantation.
About 1 km journey inside the resort/plantation is bad for any vehicle, but trust me "you won't have any regrets".
I had heard about this on "trip advisor"; surprisingly there was no mention on Team-bhp.

We were greeted with a refreshing 'welcome drink' and upgraded to superior room (as we were the only guests, being a weekday).
If you are really looking for a leisure trip like we wanted, this is a "must visit" place.
Some highlights about this resort :-
1) They have different types of rooms (Choose as per your budget); Quality / Hygiene is good.
2) Let me put it this way, they have restaurant and play area at the base, some rooms on first elevation (level on the hill) and some on 2nd floor (top most part of the hill).
3) Ofcourse rooms on 2nd elevation provide the best view; but view from first elevation is equally good. (I would suggest, choose first elevation in summer and second elevation in rains).
4) This is the only resort I have seen so far.. where you have Tea + Coffee estate together (you can see the pictures).
5) You have a river flowing within the resort which later forms "Meenmutty Waterfalls". The best part is you can hear the waterfall throughout the resort and it's so refreshing.
6) Service & Staff : Excellent
7) Food : We enjoyed breakfast more than anything else. Rest (taste/price) depends on individual. We found is good.
8) You have free activities like Cycling, Cricket, Basketball, Badminton, Carrom.
9) On the other side of 2nd elevation; you can see western ghats (the view is awesome).
10) Good place for bird watching.
11) If in group, you can book the top most resort area (2nd elevation) - where you have 5-6 rooms and it has seperate garden area.
12) They have TV's + Idea & Vodafone connectivity within the resort.

Day 2 : We spent 2 nights at this resort and just enjoyed this place. We didn't want to go out and see any tourist spots. On 3rd day we had almost decided to extend the stay, but the plans & further bookings were ready; hence we checked-out. But, with the promise that "we shall come again".
I will highly recommend this place to anyone travelling to Wayanad.

Day 3 : Wayanad to Kannur
Thanks to Team-bhp friends, who advices the route through Mananthvady - Periya Ghats - Kannur. Roads were good and scenic. From Vaduvanchal - Kalapetta roads are beautiful (as you can only see tea gardens all around). Road just before Kalpetta was bad (3-4 kms), but that's all.
Periya Ghats downhill & ghat road was too good to drive on. We started around 1 PM from Wayanad and we reached Kannur outskirts by 6 PM.
We took multiple breaks in this journey for various reasons.

The homestay "beach n bay" was referred to me by some other resort owner and I booked it (as it was brand new + it was a homestay).

Highlights about this homestay :
1) Food - Excellent. Thanks to Mr.Baby (cook) of this house.
2) Location - Right in front of the beach (Almost like your private beach).
3) Free Wi-fi.
Few things that you may not like :
1) No air condition in the room.
2) Rooms are basic & very small.

I would say - you have many options around Kannur at different price range. Choose as per your budget. I will still recommend this homestay for the "food & location" aspect (if you are travelling as a couple of small family - since rooms are small).

Day 4 : Kannur to Bangalore
We started for Bangalore after lunch as hosts had prepared yummy Payasam and Fried fish especially for us. The route taken was Kannur - Irrity - Virajpet - Siddapura - Periyapatna - Hunsur - Mysore - Bangalore

Road condition : You have almost no road between Siddapura - Periyaptna (total distance is 30 kms & road for almost 20 kms is real bad).

However, I heard this is much better than the other route i.e Virajpet - Gonikoppal.

We reached home late night after regular stops at CCD, KFC etc.

Now, let pictures do the talking.

Cheers,
Neo

For both the resorts/homestay : you can find details on their webpage through Google.

[GTO]

Pic lineup corrected. Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogue Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Ddrive]

Good information about Road conditions, Routes, Eateries and homestays.
Could be of much use for Bangaloreans.
Thanks for sharing.