If you think beautiful landscapes, highlands and breathtaking backdrops are legacy of Northern India then I am sure you haven’t been introduced to the astonishing hill station of God's own country: WAYANAD, Kerala. Located near Kozhikode, Wayanad is a green paradise in the midst of western Ghats. Oct to May is the best time to visit this paradise and enjoy the nature and wildlife.
The best thing about Wayanad is accessibility. You don’t have to take long tiresome journey of Northern India and you save time and money both. Of course, there are other touristy hill stations in South like OOty, Coonor but we wanted to explore some offbeat place so that we can enjoy nature at its best without much human interventions. We planned our trip with our friends over the weekend. Our friends Tushara and Aakash are Keralite from Kochi but they haven’t explored this part of Kerala so they were equally excited .
How to reach: We took a KSRTC AC bus from Bangalore .It's 7 hours journey across 300 km. we took Bangalore - Mysore - Wayanad route. This is the most common route with plenty of sights enrooted. We started early morning from Bangalore and reached Wayanad bus stop by late afternoon. From there we took autorickshaw to reach our Hotel “The Kallat Hotel”. Our room was a 3 bhk apartment with all the facilities .The hotel is situated amidst green valley. We spotted coffee plantation all around the locality.
Evening we enjoyed the Bonfire and had dinner at a nearby local restaurant. The restaurant was nice but all the dished were misspelt on the menu card. we were bit skeptical but surprisingly the food was awesome. So we revisited this restaurant for next 2 days for dinner.
Note: The City sleeps early. By 9.00 pm all the shop and restaurant are closed, so plan accordingly.
Next day we woke up to beautiful view from our hotel. After sumptuous breakfast at our hotel we headed to Kuruva island. This is Kerala government eco-tourism project on the Kabini river. We booked a private cab from our hotel itself. In an hour we reached the location and booked tickets for Bamboo raft to the Island. The rafts are steered with the help of overhead ropes. After getting down from the raft we had to walk approx. 1.5 KM amidst the dense forest to reach the island. We spotted trees aging more than 1000 years . The Kabini river was gorgeous and silently flowing. We clicked few memorable pictures here.We also visited a Spice garden near by and spotted raw spices like cinnamon, chilli, pepper etc.
Our next destination was Banasura Sagar Dam. It is one of the oldest earth dam in India and covers huge water reservoir. Silent water was surrounded by lush green hill along, truly picture perfect. One can enjoy speed boat ride here but we choose to just sit, relax and absorb the beauty in our memories. The weather was pleasant and windy.
We visited Soochipara fall. The waterfall was 2 km walk away. The water was oozing out of the mountain .We just sat there and enjoyed natural foot spa.
Then we visited small town in the highway called “Vythiri”. This place is full of luxury resort and restaurant. Most of these places are located in remote cool countryside. There are coffee plantation all around. We had our lunch at a small restaurant “Coffee grove restaurant”. The food was awesome and ambience emits some positive vibes. The hospitality was great. The owner of the restaurant was a Doctor who stopped practicing for his love for food. All the member of his family were doctors but he chose to follow his passion and opened this restaurant. Truly, inspiration is everywhere around you.
On the way, Calicut view point popped up all of a sudden.
Our next destination was Pookode lake. The beautiful lake nestling amidst rich green flora. There are paddle boats available to explore the lake. We took a stroll on the pavement next to the lake and spotted elephants , monkeys and big wild spider. This place is truly beautiful and relaxing.
Later we had dinner from our favorite local restaurant and we took an overnight bus to Bangalore.
Wayanad is the place for you, if you are seeking some peace and want to run away from the stressful city life. Certainly, I wish to visit Wayanad again and again.
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