[saleem_k]

Hi Guys,

I reside in Hyderabad and recently had the privilege of visiting the beautiful place called Waynad! Wifey and I had planned this in the last week of October, as it was our first wedding anniversary but due to some reasons, couldn't do it. Finally managed it in the last week of November. The exact dates were 23rd Nov to 28th Nov.

Members on this trip

Wifey and I

Mode of Transport

Hyd to B'lore - Train
B'lore to Waynad - Bolero (provided by the homestay)
In and around Waynad - Mostly M800 occasionally Bolero

Stayed at

Waynad Blooms - An awsome place with awesome food and awesome service. I will go into the details of this place with pics later as I progress in this travelogue.

Places visited

Eddakal Caves
Pookot Lake
Karapuzha Dam
Chain Tree
Lakkidi View Point
Banasura Sagar Dam
Tholpetty Sanctuary
Chembra Peak
Kuruva Island
Ruined Jain temple

Apart from these we had an organic farm visit and a forest trek, which were also very interesting.

I will post small writeups along with the pics of all these places. The travelogue might get a little long but I assure you that I will keep you all binded with the pics and the adventures we encountered.

to be continued.

[akbaree]

Great start saleem. It sets the context so well. I hope you will not keep us waiting long though.

[team suzuki]

Originally Posted by akbaree

Great start saleem. It sets the context so well. I hope you will not keep us waiting long though.

please post pics as soon as possible,waiting to see it........

[saleem_k]

On 23rd November, we reached B'lore at exactly 7AM. Got a call from the Johnny, the owner of the homestay, regarding where to find the Bolero, that would take us to Waynad. At 7AM in the morning we thought we need to call up to find out but I must say that Johnny is a very courteous and helpful guy and is great at following up. You might find me praising this guy often during the course of this travelogue, but he deserves it!

We got into the bolero and set off for Waynad. Waynad is around 285 Kms from B'lore and it took us 6.5 hours to reach the destination. This includes the time spent for having breakfast, which we did at Mysore. In about 30 minutes we were done with the lunch.

I don't remember the entire route but I know the main places which we passed enroute. The route was like this -- B'lore->Mysore->Gundulpet->Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary->Sultan Bathery->Waynad

Below I'm posting the pics that we took enroute, includes the pics on B'lore-Mysore road, and roads after that.

On the outskirts of b'lore, going towards the Mysore road.


The road goes along with the railway track


The road to Mysore is a 4-lane road


It's almost straight!


Wonderful scenery.


Crowded lorry!


Bridge on Kabini River. This flows through Waynad too.


Railway track and the road, both curve towards the left.


The road after mysore is 2-laned.


Muthanga forest range starts


Spotted Deer eating away merrily. It didn't care when we stopped and took pics.


Nice roads through the Muthanga range.


Bridge through this forest.


Beautiful road.


to be continued.

[laluks]

Wayanad !! Waiting for the pics and yuur adventure. Keep them coming soon.

[saleem_k]

Muthanga forest range


Entrance to the Muthanga Sanctuary


Typical Kerala landscape just near our homestay


Inside "Waynad Blooms" our homestay. That's the well covered by the umbrella


The tree hut, which has a big tree in the middle of it. It is nicely constructed, however, we didn't stay in this.


The 'executive hut', where we stayed. Located at one corner of the area of the homestay.


Another view


one more view


The view when we open the door.


It is a jungle on the other side, with a stream flowing through and then there is a barbed wire fence with a gate (all in the reverse order), to prevent any kind of wild animals entering into the bloom's area. Although the fencing doesn't seem too convincing, the thrill of encountering something is worth experiencing. This is a little scary at night as it is a long and lonely walk from the canteen to this hut. For food we need to go to the canteen which is almost a 5 mins walk from our hut. After dinner, the first day we asked one of the guys to accompany us till our hut as it was a lil scary. Once we felt safe, next day onwards, we came ourselves to the hut.

The view of the jungle is eerie at night, with lot of sounds of insects and what not. Also, we were under the impression that we could encounter poisonous snakes in the night. There are street lights installed but the light was only till the jungle's outer periphery. It was difficult to look beyond that. The whole thing is worth experiencing, I may not be able to express that feeling in words. The excitement of staying at the edge of a jungle in a raised hut, with only a small stream and fencing between our hut and the jungle was a great feeling.

There are other villas too apart from these tree huts. I will not dwell into the details of those. For those interested, they can check the website Blooms Homestay : : Home : :

Wifey all set for the sight seeing. This was next day, will continue in the next post

[saleem_k]

Sorry guys, it was back to office and had to follow up on certain things.

The next day we went to quite a few places of which the first one was Edakkal caves. For Edakkal caves, there is a bit of trekking involved and it would be difficult for kids and aged persons to make it till the cave. It can be done, but it would drain out a lot. We went on Monday and there were quite a few people. I guess on weekends it is much more crowded.

Edakkal mean "middle stone". That's what the guide there told us. The cave has been inhabited by people since BC times. It is also believed that one of the inscriptions (which we first thought was some telugu language) was the inscription made by Gautam Buddha, who also resided in these caves for some period of time. There were lot of other drawings and inscriptions which were later deciphered by archaelogists.

Overall, this is a wonderful place to visit, esp on weekdays, and do some trekking. Now for the pics...

Need to climb these to reach the base of the footsteps. You can walk or either take a jeep. We took a jeep


Instructions at the place where we start climbing.


we start the climb.


There seems to be some problem with uploading pics. I'm getting a database error. I will continue posting the pics once this is solved.

[mjothi]

Nice one. btw, why did you took a Bolero from Bangalore? I dont see you spending any time on the way to Wayanad, like visiting Mysore or surroundings. So, why?

You could have taken the train to the nearest point of Wayanad right {Cochin???}?

[saleem_k]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Nice one. btw, why did you took a Bolero from Bangalore? I dont see you spending any time on the way to Wayanad, like visiting Mysore or surroundings. So, why?

You could have taken the train to the nearest point of Wayanad right {Cochin???}?

mjothi sir, we initially had a plan of going to Calicut, which is near to Wayanad. However, we learnt that it take around 24 hours by train to reach Calicut from Hyderabad. Cochin is almost the same distance from Wayanad as B'lore is, so there is no point in going till cochin, which would again take around 24 hours by train, and coming to Wayanad.

We didn't opt for air, as we easily saved around 12k-14k by travelling in train. Airfares have increased dramatically and are premium now.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by saleem_k

mjothi sir, we initially had a plan of going to Calicut, which is near to Wayanad. However, we learnt that it take around 24 hours by train to reach Calicut from Hyderabad. Cochin is almost the same distance from Wayanad as B'lore is, so there is no point in going till cochin, which would again take around 24 hours by train, and coming to Wayanad.

We didn't opt for air, as we easily saved around 12k-14k by travelling in train. Airfares have increased dramatically and are premium now.

That clears

Yup, the Airfares are gone to sky again. Added to that no meals or refreshment in the flights

[saleem_k]

Guys, there was some problem with uploading pics yesterday. Today, i'm uploading the remaining pics of Edakkal caves.

The climb starts from here


The first entrance like structure at the cave


You enter from there and come out from here for some more trekking before reaching the main cave


Just to give you an idea about the amount of trekking involved.


View from one point of the trek.


Outside the main cave. The view from here is awesome!


Inside the main cave. You have to ask the guide to know the details else you will miss out on some interesting information.


Inside the main cave, from a different angle. You can see the steps near the entrance.


The name of this cave derives from this rock. Edakkal means "middle stone" and this one above the head, is the rock that gives the name to these caves.


You can trek till here if you patience and energy. The point from where the pic is taken is arrived at after climbing further uphill from the main cave. We were tired by the time we reached here. so no question of going for a further trek.


Actual pic of the same place without zoom. Now you know how far that is.


Visitors climbing the treacherous path to reach the main cave.


Drawings deciphered as those of the tribal king, by the archaelogists.


Inscription supposedly made by Gautam Buddha during his stay here. I don't remember what exactly it reads.


We bid farewell to this place. It was a memorable experience, especially when you see inscriptions made during BC period and also the initial AD period. The inscription which is also supposedly made by Gautam Buddha gives you a spectacular feeling when you see it. It is great to know that you are standing at a place which has so much history.

The next destination was the tribal museum of which there are no pics worth sharing. The museum has statues that are very old and found in and around the regions of Waynad. People interested in history would find this place interesting. The scenery outside the museum was very good.

After the museum we went to karapuzha dam, which I believe is still under some construction phase. This was also a nice place, the pics will come in the next postings.

Bye for now. Hope you all enjoyed Edakkal caves.

[Nutty Nair]

Saleem,
I had been to Wynad but was not able to go to Edakkal caves due to time constraints. From your photos I come to know what I missed!

Next vacation Wynad & especially Edakkal caves is definitely on the agenda. Hope you post the rest of the log soon!

Ranjith

[saleem_k]

The next destination was the Karapuzha dam. This dam still seems to be under construction. But the best part is there is no restriction on going anywhere on or near the dam. Moreoever the scenery everywhere around this dam is wonderful. Probably by my next visit this place would be a more touristy kind of place with boating activities and all that. Enjoy the pics!

The backwaters near Karapuzha Dam.


The first view of Karapuzha dam we saw.


Close-up view


View of the canal from the top of the dam.


Another view. You can see our car, from where we started walking.


one can walk on the top of the dam.


The lake formed on the other side of the dam


Another view of the canal


Bye bye dam!


Next place we went to was the Pookot lake. This is a beautiful place, with a serene lake and a walkway around this lake, which is an exciting place to walk as you get the feeling of walking in a forest.

One scary thing that happened when we went for boating was the scare of a crocodile. Well no one saw it clearly, but me and wifey felt that we saw something in the water. The bubbles forming on the surface of the water was similar to what is shown in the wild life channels on tv.

One more thing that added to our concern was that we were the only ones who started boating just then. No one was boating when we started ours. We rushed to do this as we saw a school bus come just as we entered this area. We thought it would be best to go for boating as soon as we can, lest all the boats are occupied later. Once we started our boating we found ourselves alone on the lake.

we thought it would be best to go to the other side of the lake and be near to the shore. we turned the boat the other way and started boating along the coast of the other side. Gradually people started boating just then and once the lake was inhabited by the boats, we felt a lot more secure. Phew! we still can't forget those tense moments.

Now for the pics!

Pookot Lake


while boating in the lake


Boating point


one more view of the lake


same place another view


There is walkway around the lake. This was at one such point in the walkway.


Chain Tree, one of the tourist spots. This tree is supposed to be some cursed tree with a history. The chains put on this tree is to pacify some tribal's soul who was supposedly toppling vehicles at this point. Some pujas were performed to pacify this soul and chains put on this tree. It is believed that as the tree grows the chain also grows along with it.


The next place on this day, the last one was the Lakkidi view point. I will post of the pics of that place in my next post. enjoy!

[saleem_k]

Guys, after the Pookot lake, we went to Lakkidi view point enroute the chain tree. We were lucky coz at the time we reached there were nice clouds. Wonderful feeling, unfortunately the place is not very clean as people have littered this place. Be careful of the monkeys though.

I thought I'll put in a pic of the museum in Wayanad so here it goes.

Waynad Heritage Museum


The view point


One of the roads you can view from the view point.


Wonderful view, the cam can't capture the beauty and feeling of this view.


Trying to get a better view.


One more road that is visible from the view point.


The place has become touristy.


After Lakkidi view point, we departed for home. It was a wonderful day, with lot of sight seeing, but we never really felt the tiredness. It was very refreshing to see the different landscapes and sights. And once we reached our place, we took some rest. The dinner that awaited us was delicious fish fry and currry.

Next day our iterinary was going to Banasura Sagar lake and dam and Tholpetty wildlife sanctuary. Will continue with these in the next post.

Do reply with your comments and feedback guys. Probably it would help me post a better review that most of you might want to see. bye for now.

[rjstyles69]

6 days and we are still waiting for the " adventure" part of the story.

BTW when you went to the Karapuzha dam , dint you try heading over to the other side of the dam ? The place is called Nathamkuni .
This place Nathamkuni overlooks the entire dam and the catchment area ends here.