Nature At It's Best WAYANAD

Gods own country. Known for the tea plantation, serene beaches, lush green paddy field and wild life. In this I will

tell you regarding my journey to the wildlife of Kerala. Yes I am speaking about the Wayanad tourist spots and 

Wildlife..

In this trip I am accompanied with 10 other friends, so make it clear that, it is a well-planned and organized tour. As this

is my second visit to the Kerala though for the first time I was going to enjoy the nature's gift to the people of India and 

World.

22:30- Preparing for the tour, Came by walk to the Silk Board. From there my friend has given me a bike ride to the place

where we supposed to take the TT. Here the thing is we were 3 people in a motorcycle. And without pillion helmet. As it

is night there are very less traffic in Bangalore we have not got caught. Anyhow we should not have taken that risk.

11:15- We started our journey towards the Kerala. As a matter of fact I only know 1 one person out of 11 in that group.

So there is a little bit of hindrance in start talking. Finally I have managed it well. We have taken the Mysore-Bangalore 

route for the passage to the Kerala.

1:00: At this time we left our hope that we will find any place for the cold drinks and other stuff for the journey. Finally

one roadside shop was open and we have taken all we want for the night. After sometime all went to sleep. But I did not 

fell asleep due the excitement and desperation to see the beautiful Kerala, that I heard of the most in my engineering days.

5:00 We have reached the Bandipur National park gate. As there is a rule by Indian Government not to allow anyone inside

the national park Between the 18:00 to 6:00. So please take the other route to Kerala if you are planning a night visit.

Since we did not have any other go, we have parked our vehicle by road side as others have done. All were sleeping and I 

was just wondering If could see a glimpse of any wild animal. But obviously I did not find anything. This is because we have

gone so deep inside the  jungle and making the place more in-habitable for the wild animals.

6:00- Now the time for the gate to open and passage to the Kerala border paper work. As driver was very familiar

with the procedure, we have handed over all the necessary document and money for the passage clearance. In mean time

we have went to the tea shop. There was a little bit photo session. Now we have got clearance. Journey starts with

more excitement in the morning. We thought of go to the proper place for call of nature and other things. So we have

selected a dormitory in Kalpetta. There are some many hotels at that place Other than that Kalpetta is the centre of

the Wayanad and one of the main city. From there one can travel to the Falls easily. Though they are not near the

place. All are in between 20 KM to 30 KM from Kalpetta. So one can't take all the destination at the same time we

have chosen the soochipura falls over Meenmuthy and Kanthapara Falls.

  

9:00- First we went to the Edkal Caves. Though it is not a theoretically  Cave we have celebrated the way it has been

formed. More than the place we have enjoyed the hill climbing with the friends. Also the road is not that much of 

steep, so we have enjoyed a lot, obviously some photo sessions. The scenic beauty from the cave is awesome, Please look

around. The caves are located around 25 KM from Kalpetta. And about the cave, there is not much to see but the

drawings are believed to be 6000 BC old. The inscriptions are believed from the Neolithic Age and Best thing is, this

is the only place in INDIA where such inscriptions are found. There is a Telescope near these caves that are used for

seeing the valley. The caves are discovered by Malabar district superintendent of police Mr. Fred Fawcett in 1895.

There was a tourist guide(Not a certified one) who will actually tell you about the place, Please hire him, it's 

very cheap. So this is it for the Edkal Caves.

After the Tiring Trek to the Cave we were completely exhausted and the day had just begun. We have plenty of places to 

see before the dusk. So we have taken a break(Lunch Break).Though the place don't offer much, we have enjoyed a lot 

with the friends which can only be felt at that place. SO please visit. we have  thought of going to any medium

restaurant and grab a meal.

SOOCHIPARA FALLS

1:00: we headed towards the  Soochipara falls. Also known as the Sentinel Rock Waterfalls. It is three tired waterfall

and is surrounded by evergreen and beautiful forests. The word Soochipara comes from "Soochi" means Needle and "Para"

means Rock. Soochipara waterfalls cascades from the height of 656 feet. The best places to be in the nature and it 

creates moments that one will cherish in his/her entire life.

The falls is at the 20 KM distance from the Kalpetta. Place is awesome in its way. Entry ticket for Soochipara 

waterfalls costs 80 rs per person and 40 rs for camera. If you are carrying water bottles, you are supposed to 

get it tagged and deposit 50 rs per bottle. This money is refunded when you come back and show the bottles

with tags. Those tags are removed and money is refunded to you. Idea is to keep the place around waterfall 

lean and plastic-free. Other eatable are also not allowed beyond the checking.

Main falls is at a distance around 1 km from the bus stand though the jungle and that is what make the Soochipara

falls better preserved in the lap of Nature. It started sprinkling the time we started our journey towards the Falls.

There were some other tourists returning back from the place and faces look tired, we ignored the look and carried

out our journey with a little photo session on the way.

We spent around 2 hours there. As it is getting dark and we were running late as per our schedule, we have not wasted

the time there. The place is very well and worth a visit with the friends to have a bath under the chilling water. After the

trek to the waterfall and the bath, got tired. We went back to the dormitory.

5:00 We spent our day well by taking the good companion in to the note. As sun light is going to fade we have thought of

going to the lakkidi view point and our only chance to see that. Because by tomorrow we have planned to leave the place

before evening. We started from Kalpetta after having the snacks from the nearby hotel.

LAKKIDI VIEW POINT

Lakkidi is located at the crest of Thamarassery Ghat Pass, which features over 9 hairpin curves that start at Adivaram

(downhill). This town is situated at a height of about 2,296 feet above the main sea level. The Air is so fresh, cold

and healthy that one can spent hours to watch the entire Calicut District is visible and you can trace about the major

roads and towns by the help of street lights after dusk.akkidi is also famous for the Chain Tree, which is a large chain

bound ficus tree situated near the destination. Unlike us there are so many other visitors to see the place and good

thing is that no police to interrupt though it is causing little traffic due to the visitors. We have chosen this place

for the evening and night because of the lighting of the road downhill due to vehicle. After 1 hour we left the place

and went to the local market of Kalpetta. We had dinner near the Dormitory and called it a day.

Pookade Lake

7:00: Next day all are freshen up and ready for the new exploring of the beautiful western Ghat. We have decided to the 

Pookode Lake. Though the lake is not very famous, road to the Lake is awesome. Pookade lake is situated amidst the

beautiful forest in the wooded hills. This is a fresh water lake making it as the one of this kind in Kerala. There is boating

facility, which we have taken as a team. There is a Children's park and fresh water aquarium. The Shape of the Lake 

resembles the India Map.

 

BANASURA DAM

11:00: We have decided to Go to the Banasura Sagar Dam, Banasura Dam Is 15 Km North west of Kalpetta. It is the 

Second largest earth Dam in Asia and largest in INDIA. The Dam has been constructed on Banasura Lake situated amidst

the Beautiful Banasura Hills. The Dam is surrounded by the Green covered hill. The Dam is little Uphill and one can not

take their own vehicle to the TOP. Though there is facility of Jeep to go to the Dam with minimal fee but we 

preferred to go the by walk.  What welcomes you on the TOP is Green lush Landscape in one side and Blue water on

the other. So be there for some time , take the cool breezy air and gaze upon the Hills. This is like a paradise for 

the Photographer. Also there is boating facility which attracts tourist very much. We have divided ourselves in two

team and went for the Boating as there is only 5 members allowed to go in one trip. The Price is little high but can't

miss the Scene from the high speed boat. Near to the Dam there is a Children's garden, we have played Swings there.

We spent some time and came back for the next place. As it was almost noon, we have decided to take the lunch break.

Kurwadeep ISLAND

After lunch we went to the Kuruwadeep Island. As the name suggest it is a cluster of island made by the delta in the river

Kabini and spread across 950 acres of uninhabited area. This a natural island with no other activities other than enjoying

the nature. Due to the river and thick forest one can see some rare birds, animals and fauna. The specific geographical

characteristics of island make this place very calm and the forest are always evergreen. This characteristic attracts nature

lover and the tourists who like silent atmosphere.

We reached around the 3 O'clock and there is a fee of 80 Rs per person for Indian Citizen. The best part of the 

kuruwadeep is that one has to cross the river by Bamboo ferry.We have taken the tickets and crossed the river by

Bamboo ferry. There is water streams covers the islands on all the side. One can enjoy that by walking through the jungle.

The path is so clean and at the same time we will not feel you are in a tourist zone. The place is covered by the tall 

trees. For tourist this is mainly Jungle walk below the shades of trees and sides of bamboo trees.

We enjoyed the view a lot by slow walking. There are so many small bamboo bridges which adding the extra beauty to the

land. There is another island which can be seen by crossing the river by foot. In our group very less people opt for that

because of the speed and deep of the stream. I have seen the perfect example of unity as all the people there are helping

each other to cross the river by holding hands. We enjoyed  a lot there. Please visit the place and enjoy the beauty of

nature.

This is the last stop for our journey to the place. We returned back from there by 5 O' clock because we need to cross

the Bandipur national Park by 6 O'clock in the evening. We spotted so many deer and NilGai by crossing Bandipur National

Park.

Have a great day. Keep Exploring beauty of India and share with the World. Leave a comment if you like the blog.

Thank you for reading.