Wayanad – October 2010
I am gonna try and write as much as I remember of these trips as I am writing about the past. Wayanad has been memorable to me and here I am to share the trip with all.
As always this was a well planned trip and we had our tickets booked to Calicut and we had decided to take the public transport from there. So we boarded the train at Chennai Central and the next morning around 9ish we reached Calicut. Since we were very hungry we decided to eat something at the railway canteen before we proceeded with our journey. Post breakfast we went to the local bus stand and took the bus to a place called Kalpetta. The roads were pretty much bad at many points in the hills.
We could see the weather changing as we started climbing a bit and started to cross the different hills to reach Wayanad. Once we reached Kalpetta which is supposed to be a small village in the Wayanad district we took an auto from there (Was sent to us by the resort themselves) to reach the resort which was located amidst the variety of plantations.
Initially before booking accommodation as always, I went through a lot of resorts and finally decided to zero in on Wynberg as it sounded more interesting because firstly it was mentioned as an eco friendly resort and the number of activities that you get to do there.
So finally we reached our resort and checked in to our Deluxe cottage that we had reserved prior to coming. The entire place felt very interesting with lots of trees and plantations around. The approach road is pretty much bad and would be a single lane road where usually its easier to go on tractors. We were given tender coconut as we arrived and were shown our way to the cottage.
The first impression of the much searched for resort was very good and we were happy with our choice. The package we booked for included all meals and when we had our first meal is when we realised it was cooked in home style and that the owner’s mother was the one who taught the cook to make the variety of vegetarian dishes. We had an awesome lunch and started out on our plan to do some sightseeing and the first place we headed to was the Edakkal Caves the same evening. These caves are situated at a distance of about 16 kms from Sulthan Bathery which is supposedly the largest town in Wayanad district. There were 3 caves and these were considered to be one amongst the earliest sites of human settlement. Each of these caves has ancient stone scripts, symbols, weaponry figures etc. It was at a good altitude and one has to walk all the distance after parking the vehicles. If you go there in a bus or any other public vehicle, you will have to walk about a KM before you start climbing the caves.
Though we went till the base of the caves it was a great challenge for me especially to climb the caves as they were very steep and you will realize after climbing some distance that you have just touched the base of the cave as such.
So after much excitement to see the caves, I also climbed and after a point it was all rocks and you have to manoeuvre your way through. It was slippery in some parts because of some water coming from the hilss. It was fun, at the same time adventurous. At one place to go from one rock to another, they had erected a ladder which was absolutely steep and as I climbed up I was very scared to look back. I climbed and climbed but then at one point of time, I decided I couldn’t go further and stopped midway and decided to wait for my husband who was absolutely fit and enthusiastic about going all the way to the caves on top.
I should admit here that my fitness was nil and that was the main reason I was finding it difficult to go up. So I stopped and was waiting for a while before I decided to come back to the base and wait there instead of standing midway. When I was about to climb down and I looked at the ladder I didn’t have the courage to actually come down as it was really scary. There were more people and so I decided to just tag along with them and walk down and gaining courage I started down. Some places were only rocks and I had an amazing experience of slipping and falling on one of the rocks and someone had to give me a hand to help me get up as the rock was slippery and I couldn’t get up on my own.
Once my husband arrived I saw the pictures of the cave and was repenting why I did not go up. Anyways it was too late by then and we had to move on. On our way it started to rain and we reached a point where there was a dam (Karapuzha) and to see that we had to again climb a number of stairs. Good fun and it was very eventful day at least for me. We stopped for tea in one of the road side shops and in that chill weather the tea was so soothing and I was waiting to get back to my resort.
Upon reaching, we freshened up and had an amazing dinner where the owner was also there. Before I write more, I should say a few words about the owner of the resort. He constructed this eco friendly resort more as a passion towards plantation tours, nature walks and that is what his resort offers to travellers as well. He arranges for birding, wildlife treks, plantation tours etc. He also conducts a lot of classes on these subjects and most of his audience are foreigners.
So we had a long chat with him during dinner and he told us about what different we can do in this trip. He offered to take us for a wildlife safari in the Bandipur national park and we were pretty excited about the whole thing. He also suggested that one of the mornings he would take us on a plantation tour and show us through the rubber plantations and the other variety of spices that are grown there.
So we were getting excited about our next day trip to the jungle and after a hearty breakfast we were strolling around the place and taking pictures of the resort and the variety of birds and tress we came across. After lunch we started on this much awaited jungle trip along with another couple who were from the UK. We were taken in a car till Bandipur and we settled for a drink at the Jungle Inn lodges.
After a while we boarded the safari jeep which was a open one, and we had an armed guard and another nature lover who joined us from there. I learnt about him later that he visits the reserve almost every month to spot the tiger and also attends the tiger census. Befriending him was fun because he knew so much about the jungle and could easily spot many birds. This safari went on for 3 hours and they covered about 25 kms and I should say that it was one place where you could forget everything about the outside world and blend with nature.
The silence of the jungle, the sounds of birds chirping here and there, the smell of animals all these cannot be explained but can only be experienced. We did spot some deer as usual, Sambar deer, Bison and many different varieties of birds. This was the first time I ever came across not one but many Bison's few feet away from the vehicle. We could see they were scared and were trying to run away from us. After all we were invading their territory. We went through many more trails and the 3 hours passed so memorably that I am still waiting for an opportunity to get in to the jungle for many more such trips.
So once our safari was done, we came back to the Jungle Inn lodge where they were ready with some pakodas and hot tea for us. Once done, we started our way back to the resort.
The next morning we started on our plantation tour just after our coffee and it was fun. Each of us were given sticks to walk through the mushy area of the plantations and were told to carefully keep our steps as it can be very slippery. I nodded and realised the next step I took inside the resort I skid and fell and my husband was heartily laughing out.
We continued on our plantation tour and came across some spices like pepper, betel leaves, then coffee plantations, pineapple, yam, ginger, lemon, pumpkin, what not and finally through the entire rubber plantation. We were explained how rubber gets collected and even saw the machine where they process and dry the rubber in to mats and other forms.
By the time we got done with this it was pouring heavily and all of us got back drenched and after a good shower settled for a hearty breakfast. Evening was for us and as it was raining we decided to spend time inside the resort. There was one more day left with us and we used that day to explore all around the plantations, the area little away from the resort and enjoyed our stay thoroughly. We went back the same way to Calicut and did some shopping there before we bid goodbye and started our way back to Chennai.
