Wayanad - The Enchanting Beauty Queen of God’s Own Country

PRAMOD KUMAR T

We drove to Wayanad under heavy showers. Raindrops were drumming on the cab. The blue ribbon road of the ghat section took us to Hill Viewpoint, which is a picturesque spot with luxuriant green meadows, paddy fields and mist-kissed mountain in the long distance. Monsoon painted the entire ghat section in lush vegetation.

We passed Lakkidi, which is one of the most elevated spot in Wayanad. It receives the highest rainfall in India after Chirapunchi. The hills at infinite distance were floating in mists and fogs, and as the sun sets over Wayanad, each hilltop looks like a gigantic elephant. We reach Vythiri resort, the portal of the resort was enthroned with drummers and pipers in connection with Malabar Tourism and Travel Mart 2005 (MTTM). We were welcomed with traditional and touching hospitality by the resort. Vythiri resort is one of the best eco-friendly resorts in Malabar, which sprawls over an area of 150 acres inside deep jungles. Cottages constructed with mud and roofs were thatched in perfect ethnic tribal style. The resort is very close to nature and far from the maddening crowd. Nature's cool air-conditioned climate and deep silence put me to sleep.

Next morning when I opened my eyes and gazed from my window I was delighted to see a stream gurgling nearby. The chuckling of giant squirrels, chirping of birds, and dew glistering on the grass was an unbelievable sight for me. After a mouthwatering breakfast of hot soft puttu and Kadala, we started our next lap. We reached the Pookkot Lake early morning. This perennial fresh water lake nestled among green meadows looked like an innocent village beauty. This lake is less crowded. With gentle breeze blowing around, it has been developed as a recreation centre with children's park, handicraft emporium, aquarium and perfect facility for boating. Near the lake is the kingdom of cardamom, Sugandhagiri, Asia's biggest of its kind. At 11.00 am we made a dash from Pookkot Lake to Edakkal caves. En-route I saw some bungalows of colonial throwback, which outspread over green-blanketed tea plantation.

In the far distance I could see Chambra Peak, the highest hill in Wayanad towering 2100 mtrs. We reached Edakkal caves at 13.00 hrs. This is a world-class tourist product of Wayanad. Rock carvings and pictorial inscriptions of human and animal figures will tell you about the pre-historic monuments dated back 3000 years. This archeological wonder was formed as a result of split in a huge rock roofed over other rocks. This cave is also in the world heritage monuments list of UNESCO.

A half hour drive took us to Sultan Battery, the commercial capital of Wayanad, once famous for Jain Temples. Tippu Sultan, the great warrior, kept his arms and armament in 'Kidanganadu Basti', a huge Jain temple, hence this place was named as Sultan's Battery and later changed to Sulthan Bathery.

We moved to Muthanga sanctuary by driving for 13 Km by road, with bamboos dangling over both sides of the road. Muthanga sanctuary is the second biggest sanctuary in the state of Kerala, which sprawls over an area of 344 sq.km. This is a part of Nilgiri biosphere. Heavy monsoon supports a very wide variety of flora and fauna in this sanctuary. My eyes feasted on elephants, spotted dears, gaur, sambar and a variety of birds. We stayed back in Bathery and the next day we proceeded to Kuruva Island. This verdant wonder island is of 950 acres spread along the banks of Kabani River, with rain pouring million shades of green to Kuruva. The magical land of nature with limitless water around, shoal of fishes, birds, herbs and very rare collection of orchids will assure unmatched experiences to visitors.

At noon we were treated to the traditional Kerala Sadhya on a plantain leaf with nearly 18 dishes. Our leaf rounded off with colorful items and Payasam. We reached Thirunelli Temple at 17.00 hrs. This great temple is situated in the lap of Brahmagiri near Papanashini River. This temple is otherwise called as 'Dhakshin Kasi'. Half a kilometer down to this temple is Papanassini, a crystal clear and divine stream. As per belief, a dip in this stream will wash away all your worldly sins. We moved to Pazhassi Tomb as a last destination and saluted the Lion of Kerala at this tomb were his body was cremated. History created one of the bravest warriors of Kerala, Pazhassi Raja.

The sun is almost down to western horizon. Taking the dazzling memories of Wayanad with me, we drove down through ghat section. I have only seen a bit of Wayanad but I immensely enjoyed the entire journey. Wayanad is undoubtedly one of the best places for hiding with nature. Here you can celebrate silence with nature and smell the spice-scented breeze.

The writer is a nature writer and can be contacted at: tpramodnair@rediffmail.com