[wmanu]

We planned a short tour to Waynad, the north-east part of God’s Own Country. The Folk etymology of the word “Waynad” says it is a combination of Vayal (paddy) and Naad (land), making it 'The Land of Paddy Fields'. Wayanad district stands on the southern top of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is the majestic Western Ghats with lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest, tangled jungles and deep valleys, the terrain is rugged. Quite a large area of the district is covered by forest but the continued and indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resources point towards an imminent environmental crisis.

Our journey started from Bangalore on 19th September at around 5.00 am, took the route to Mysore by SH17 and reached Mysore by 7.00am. From Mysore, there are several routes to reach Waynad, but we chose the route Mysore – Gundulpet – Muthanga – Sultan Bathery.
From Mysore, we had to take NH212 to reach Gundulpet. First we reach Nanjangud, a small town which is about 23km from Mysore. By another 35km, we reach the town, Gundulpet. This is the last town in Karnataka in route to Ooty or Kozhikode.



From here, we enter the Bandhipur National park, which is one of India's best known protected areas and is an important Project Tiger reserve. It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka in South India, and is contiguous with the Mudumalai National Park in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, and the Nagarhole National Park to the northwest. It is home to around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants (as per the 1997 census), along with leopards, dholes, gaur and sloth bears. Bandipur is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

The rules inside the National park are – No Parking, No picnic, No horn. So our rest of journey is through the forest until we reach Kerala. Somewhere at the end of the forest, we can see the entrance to the Muthanga Wild life Sanctuary or the Waynad Sanctuary, which is famous for its project elephant site, where herds of elephants can be seen enjoying themselves in mud and water near the water holes. The sanctuary is a great place to just relax and listen to the uninterrupted sounds of nature.



We had to spend some time in the large queue of lorries at Muthanga. Finally, we got out o the queue and through Noolpuzha, Kottakunnu, we reached Sultan Bathery town. It was around 12.00pm, and so we planned to visit the most nearby place Edakkal Caves. We parked the car and had to wait half an hour to hire the jeep to reach the foot of the hill. From foot of the hill, we had to climb up till the caves. Edakkal Caves are two natural caves located 1000 metres high (4000 feet above sea level) on Ambukutty Mala.



The cave here is formed when a big stone fell onto the cliffs of two big stones. Inside the caves are pictorial writings believed to be from Neolithic man, evidence of the presence of a prehistoric civilisation existing in this region. Such stone age carvings are very rare and these are the only known examples in southern India. After exploring the caves and the beauty of waynad from top of hill, we climbed down by around 1.30pm. By then we were hungry and had our food.



On the route we had to visit our relative at Thrishillery via Meenangadi, Panamaram and Mananthavady through the paddy fields and coffee plantations. We had our tea and started to Kozhikode by about 5.30 in the evening. We took the Thamarasherry churam to reach down to Kozhikode. Passing through the hairpin bends, and the views offered are a prized experience for any traveller on the road.

By about 9 at night, we had reached our aunt’s house at Chevayur, where we had our dinner and had good sleep. So this trip was worth as we could meet and spend time with out relatives too. Next morning we had to again climb the Thamarasherry churam, and start our sightseeing for the day. Pookot lake was the nearest one in this route, so we reached there by 11:30am. It is a natural fresh water lake, brimmed with evergreen mountains. One can also enjoy the boat riding. A children’s park and a shopping centre for handicrafts and spices are some of the few attractions of the region, providing recreational facilities to the visitors.



Then the next spot for the day was Banasurasagar Dam, and the journey to the spot was passing via small villages like Pozhuthana, Aachoor; and through the tea estates and finally we reached by 1:30pm. This is the largest earth dam in India. The topography here is such that many islands will be formed in the upstream of the dam when the dam is full. These islands with the background of the Banasura hill will provide a hypnotising sight to tourists. The cool wind refreshes everyone.



And the final day arrives and our journey for the day started by going to Thirunelly temple, which is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu on the side of Brahmagiri hill. The spring and river near the temple is called Papanasini— meaning “washes away all sins”.



Finally, it was time to start back to Bangalore. But this time, we took another route. Again crossing through Waynad Wildlife Sanctuary, my mind was recollecting the wonderful places I had seen during these three days. We reached Tholpetty by around 1pm and then Kutta, a small town in Coorg district having coffee, spices, paddy estates, and we were going to enter Karnataka State.



Also, Kutta is the entry point to the Nagarhole National Park. Nagarhole National Park, also officially Rajiv Gandhi National Park , is special among other wildlife sanctuaries in the Nilgiri Biosphere , and it has significantly higher population of wildlife especially of tiger and huge elephant herds. We could also spot deer herds.





Thus, we entered the SH17 and reached Mysore, where we had our lunch by around 4 in the evening. And then reached Bangalore with lots of memories.

[GrayBerry]

wmanu, nice pictures, was wondering how was your ride in Xylo??? If you drove the vehicle. let me know how the drive was?? how does it handle high speeds?? how is breaking??
Thanks.

[wmanu]

@GrayBerry: Thanks for your comments. The Xylo belong to my brother and I should say it is a real VFM MUV. It has got great power, 116bhp, almost close to Scorpio. We were 8 adults in the vehicle and we could overtake almost all vehicles with ease.

I’ve noticed couple of drawbacks as well:
1) When you pedal hard, you will hear a “kkrrrr” noise from the engine, which may irritate some of us
2) On zigzag roads of Waynad, the 3rd row comfort didn’t meet my expectation
3) Gear liver vibrates more than I expected

If the above mentioned points are not bothering you, then Xylo is a superb choice.

[laluks]

Nice trip.
I see that the tree is still not cleared
I was there on 31/08/2009

[wmanu]

@laluks: Thanks. We did this trip on 20th Sep 2009. Took long time to shape-up the travelogue.

[ravibhat]

Good report, Exactly same route you followed is in my radar since last year! I hope soon I will make it.

Regards,

Rav.

[wmanu]

@ravibhat: Thanks. I suggest using one of the SUV/MUV for this trip, because some stretch requires ground clearance. It’s been some time now and I cannot remember exactly which stretch was that.

[Majic]

Lovely travelogue, enjoyed every aspect of it, though short it was worth going throguh this thread! Keep it going !

[wmanu]

@Majic: Thanks and glad to know that you have enjoyed my first travelogue.

[gadadhar]

Well written travelogue.. I don't remember any part of this road that needs an SUV/MUV. One stretch that was bad was near Kutta but still managable by any vehicle at slow speeds. Did the recent rains created big trouble.

[predatorwheelz]

@wmanu - Very nice travelogue. Vythiri Resorts in Wayanad was the first destination in our honeymoon itinerary (Dec 08). This was my first time in Kerala, and I was amazed at how scenic Wayanad was. Even the houses beside the highway looked straight out of a picture postcard.

The places I visited in Wayanad -

1. Vythiri Resorts
2. Edakkal Caves
3. Sochipara Waterfall
4. The Earthen dam

If I have your permission, would like to upload some of my Wayanad pics here.

[wmanu]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Well written travelogue.. I don't remember any part of this road that needs an SUV/MUV. One stretch that was bad was near Kutta but still managable by any vehicle at slow speeds. Did the recent rains created big trouble.

Thanks. SUV/MUV is not mandatory there; it was just a suggestion from my side. I’ve seen a Civic cruising at low speed, so most of the vehicles should manage.

[wmanu]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

@wmanu - Very nice travelogue...
If I have your permission, would like to upload some of my Wayanad pics here.

Thank you, I'm glad you liked them. An ideal place for honeymoon, by all means. Try a trip to Munnar next time, you'll be surprised. Please feel free to post your Wayanad pictures, I’m eager to see them.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by wmanu

Please feel free to post your Wayanad pictures, I’m eager to see them.

Thank you. Here are some pics we took in Wayanad.

First up, pics of Vythiri resort:

The cottages in which we stayed. Each cottage was built on the bank of a mountain stream which passed through the centre of the resort.



At night, you would be lulled to sleep by the constant gurgle of the stream water over rocks. True bliss.



The reception area.





The wooden bridge. Its really the highlight of the resort. Swinging bridge passing over the brook, beautifully lit up at night.



The swimming pool





The bar cum games area



The path to the main restaurant



The supplies hut



The spa area. Its more beautiful than one can imagine. We were treated to an intense steam session, followed by a nice, luxurious, fragrant oil massage. Delicious!







Rest of the pictures in the subsequent post.

[predatorwheelz]

Edakkal

Edakkal caves in Wayanad has become a tourist attraction since drawings made by stone age men were discovered here. From the bottom of the mountain, you have to go up 1-1.5kms by 4wd vehicle. Then the entrance to the cave starts. The trail is very steep and quite tiring, about 500 mtrs climb.

The start of the climb:



The ticketing counter at the entrance



The view from the ticketing counter - downward. And the real climb hasn't even started!



Just inside the cave. Look at the number of people making the climb



The view from halfway up



Now we're almost there. The spectacular valley view from the summit





The stone wall drawings. The second figure is a woman.

One amazing fact. Stone age man must have been 7-7.5 feet tall. All the drawings were at such a height that its impossible for us modern humans to touch them. I'm 6'2" tall, and even I could just touch the feet of the girl in the pic! So the theory that humans are shrinking in frame as they evolve is true!





Sunlight filtering in through the only opening. The cave is so unreachable by animals, no wonder stone age man found it a safe refuge.





A brave smile by the couple, just before embarking on the return journey



Sochipara

Lets get this clear straightaway. Though the locals hyped too much about Sochipara being an awesome waterfall, I've seen much better waterfalls in North and Central India. Still, a few pics





Beautiful Wayanad

The environment of Wayanad makes it very conducive to grow tea, coffee and rubber. Some coffee and tea plantations we checked out on the way