This'll be the last update for the Wayanad getaway...
Day 4:
(3rd August)
Wake up time: 10 AM (I guess.. we were up pretty late that day). All our plans got delayed. The previous night we had planned to see Edakkal Caves and Meenmutty falls. Change of plans, we decided to actually visit the top of Chembra peak that day. But we went to Soochipara falls which was never in our list.Also known as the Sentinal falls the Soochipara falls has three stages. We were fortunate enough to visit the first two stages. 'Twas one of the most mystifying experiences in my life... I felt like sitting down there for ever and ever absorbing nature's beauty infinitely... I'll be putting up the pictures shortly..
We had hot parathas and dal for lunch. Pre-ordering system prevailed there.We had to order food before we went to explore the three stages.We drank masala tea... another experience in itself.. it was raining hard when we reached this lunch place.. I had gone cold and was dripping from head to toe and badly needed to stuff in something hot into my system... the piping hot masala tea was very much welcome...
Without much ado we left Soochipara falls and reached Kalpetta. We went to Vythiri to visit the Lakkidi view point again.It was evening by then and it was a completely different experience. I cant really put down the overwhelming feeling that flooded my senses then in words here... Use your imagination... We stayed on until pretty late in the night thougoughly enjoying the beauty of nature and went back to Kalpetta.
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
GOD'S OWN COUNTRY - WAYANAD (part-4)
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DAY 3:
(2nd August)
I consider this day to be one of the most beautiful day in my life.Our destination was Lakkidi view point.We were on the road by 10:30AM.On the way to Lakkidi view point, we visited the Pookot Lake.Pookot lake is a commercial lake and lies in the middle of tea plantations. there was a light drizzle when we entered the lake. We hired a pedal boat and entered the lake.And the very obvious photo session followed.
The lake was surrounded by tall trees whose higher branches were hidden in the clouds.When we were in the middle of the lake it started raining heavily.The picturesque natural ambience did a great deal to my mood that day.The views from the middle of the lake was simply amazing.
Our next destination was 18KM away from Pookot lake.We left for Lakkidi View point.We reached the place at 1 in the afternoon. And what do we find there??? The sight was the most breathtaking one ever in my life.Clouds moving on the roads and up the hill.When you look down from this point you get to see the winding hairpin curves on the slope of the hill.Thick green forests and little waterfalls accompanied us all the way till the bottom.The trees and stones were covered with moss and it was green everywhere.Different shades of green painted the whole landscape.It was freezing cold all the way down.
For more pics of Lakkidi Click here. All in all it was a heavenly experience.
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CALICUT:
This was a totally unexpected decision we took when we reached the bottom of the ghat section.From there Calicut was only around 40 plus kilometers so we decided to visit the beach.This was a once in a lifetime experience.In a span of six hours we started off on top of a mountain, were at the beach and again back on the mountain.Though we stayed there for a very short time we absorbed the scene thoroughly.The time we went was off-season and so the beach was nearly empty.Click here for the pics taken at the Calicut beach.
We returned to our logde at Kalpetta pretty late in the evening.We had a heavy dinner and took a stroll on the main road of Kalpetta. We fell asleep late at night after planning for the next day.
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DAY 3:
(2nd August)
I consider this day to be one of the most beautiful day in my life.Our destination was Lakkidi view point.We were on the road by 10:30AM.On the way to Lakkidi view point, we visited the Pookot Lake.Pookot lake is a commercial lake and lies in the middle of tea plantations. there was a light drizzle when we entered the lake. We hired a pedal boat and entered the lake.And the very obvious photo session followed.
The lake was surrounded by tall trees whose higher branches were hidden in the clouds.When we were in the middle of the lake it started raining heavily.The picturesque natural ambience did a great deal to my mood that day.The views from the middle of the lake was simply amazing.
Our next destination was 18KM away from Pookot lake.We left for Lakkidi View point.We reached the place at 1 in the afternoon. And what do we find there??? The sight was the most breathtaking one ever in my life.Clouds moving on the roads and up the hill.When you look down from this point you get to see the winding hairpin curves on the slope of the hill.Thick green forests and little waterfalls accompanied us all the way till the bottom.The trees and stones were covered with moss and it was green everywhere.Different shades of green painted the whole landscape.It was freezing cold all the way down.
For more pics of Lakkidi Click here. All in all it was a heavenly experience.
=====================================================================================
CALICUT:
This was a totally unexpected decision we took when we reached the bottom of the ghat section.From there Calicut was only around 40 plus kilometers so we decided to visit the beach.This was a once in a lifetime experience.In a span of six hours we started off on top of a mountain, were at the beach and again back on the mountain.Though we stayed there for a very short time we absorbed the scene thoroughly.The time we went was off-season and so the beach was nearly empty.Click here for the pics taken at the Calicut beach.
We returned to our logde at Kalpetta pretty late in the evening.We had a heavy dinner and took a stroll on the main road of Kalpetta. We fell asleep late at night after planning for the next day.
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GOD'S OWN COUNTRY - WAYANAD (part-3)
=====================================================================
Day 2:
(1st August)
Forgive me for my language from here.I cannot put down my experiences without getting a little too informal.This day we were up pretty early as we wanted to make it to Kalpetta by afternoon.After breakfast and tea we left the place at around 7:30AM.(breakfast menu: half cooked idlis and watery chutney \m/).We were on our way to Sultan Bathery.The road was through the luxurious forests of Bandipur and was a no parking,no stopping,no picnic and no horn zone.
But we took the liberty of violating the first two rules.
Spotted Deers came pretty close to the road but due to the sound of speeding trucks and other vehicles,they moved deeper into the foliage.We were lucky enough to get some snaps though.
A peacock too made itself visible for us to just see it.We couldn't get it on the lens.Even a few Langurs found us interesting enough to actually sit on tree tops and stare at us all the time we were "observing" them.So there was mutual entertainment taking place in the middle of a forest.( ain't that a perfect example of symbiosis??? :P) After a few miles on the road we spotted two baby elephants.It was their breakfast time.We decided to be a bit rude and interrupted them for an elaborate modeling session which lasted for maybe half an hour.Then we left the baby elephants in peace.
Luckily their mum wasn't around otherwise we would have been thought a lesson in basic manners the hard way:P.We were back on road for sometime.Then the bike was parked in one of the tracks and then came another rigorous photo session.That particular spot was very beautiful.
The bike in the picture is the steed which carried the two of us all the way till Calicut and back safely.
The thing above which appears to be a human is actually a Langur from that very forest.
The very man and his machine...
After the photo session we drove through the forest for some time and crossed the border and moved into Kerala.On the way we took some snaps on the banks of River Kabini which flows right through the middle of the forest.
Our next stop was at Kalpetta, the headquarters of the district of Wayanad at 12:00PM.We got into a manageable lodge where we stayed for the rest of our trip.We had a quick lunch and decided to hit the roads again.This time the destination was Chembra Peak and the blue eye pond on top of the hill.We did go up to a point but then later learnt that the last 3KM had to be covered on foot.The risks involved were too high as this place is the home of a few leopards and we had no one with us. Even the the Govt tourism office was closed.
We went on this path but then realized that we were getting nowhere so we turned back.
The only thing that made the journey worthwhile was the beautiful tea estates. The tea estates looked like His own playground.The terrain rose and dropped smoothly and was covered with tea plantations and mainly silver firs in between.
In the back drop there was Chembra Peak whose peak was always hidden in clouds.Both of us returned home frustrated and tired as we dint get to the top of Chembra Peak and also because of the bad roads within the Chembra estate. We returned home and slept peacefully.Got up at 5:30PM.All the places of tourist attraction around Kalpetta close at 5:00PM. So we really had nowhere to go.We got down to the streets and loafed around pointlessly.It was here that I took up the phrase "swamiye sharanam ayyappa" as my war cry for the time I was in Kerala.(and for sometime in Bangalore too). I got my spectacles fixed as well (and that too for free).The people of Kalpetta are extremely co-operative, helpful and very tourist-friendly with not a speck of ego in them.They are as beautiful as the place itself.Nothing worth mentioning happened later that day. We just went to bed at some odd time,chatting away to glory till we slept...
Day 2:
(1st August)
Forgive me for my language from here.I cannot put down my experiences without getting a little too informal.This day we were up pretty early as we wanted to make it to Kalpetta by afternoon.After breakfast and tea we left the place at around 7:30AM.(breakfast menu: half cooked idlis and watery chutney \m/).We were on our way to Sultan Bathery.The road was through the luxurious forests of Bandipur and was a no parking,no stopping,no picnic and no horn zone.
But we took the liberty of violating the first two rules.
Spotted Deers came pretty close to the road but due to the sound of speeding trucks and other vehicles,they moved deeper into the foliage.We were lucky enough to get some snaps though.A peacock too made itself visible for us to just see it.We couldn't get it on the lens.Even a few Langurs found us interesting enough to actually sit on tree tops and stare at us all the time we were "observing" them.So there was mutual entertainment taking place in the middle of a forest.( ain't that a perfect example of symbiosis??? :P) After a few miles on the road we spotted two baby elephants.It was their breakfast time.We decided to be a bit rude and interrupted them for an elaborate modeling session which lasted for maybe half an hour.Then we left the baby elephants in peace.
Luckily their mum wasn't around otherwise we would have been thought a lesson in basic manners the hard way:P.We were back on road for sometime.Then the bike was parked in one of the tracks and then came another rigorous photo session.That particular spot was very beautiful.
The bike in the picture is the steed which carried the two of us all the way till Calicut and back safely.
The thing above which appears to be a human is actually a Langur from that very forest.
The very man and his machine...
After the photo session we drove through the forest for some time and crossed the border and moved into Kerala.On the way we took some snaps on the banks of River Kabini which flows right through the middle of the forest.
Our next stop was at Kalpetta, the headquarters of the district of Wayanad at 12:00PM.We got into a manageable lodge where we stayed for the rest of our trip.We had a quick lunch and decided to hit the roads again.This time the destination was Chembra Peak and the blue eye pond on top of the hill.We did go up to a point but then later learnt that the last 3KM had to be covered on foot.The risks involved were too high as this place is the home of a few leopards and we had no one with us. Even the the Govt tourism office was closed.
We went on this path but then realized that we were getting nowhere so we turned back.
The only thing that made the journey worthwhile was the beautiful tea estates. The tea estates looked like His own playground.The terrain rose and dropped smoothly and was covered with tea plantations and mainly silver firs in between.
In the back drop there was Chembra Peak whose peak was always hidden in clouds.Both of us returned home frustrated and tired as we dint get to the top of Chembra Peak and also because of the bad roads within the Chembra estate. We returned home and slept peacefully.Got up at 5:30PM.All the places of tourist attraction around Kalpetta close at 5:00PM. So we really had nowhere to go.We got down to the streets and loafed around pointlessly.It was here that I took up the phrase "swamiye sharanam ayyappa" as my war cry for the time I was in Kerala.(and for sometime in Bangalore too). I got my spectacles fixed as well (and that too for free).The people of Kalpetta are extremely co-operative, helpful and very tourist-friendly with not a speck of ego in them.They are as beautiful as the place itself.Nothing worth mentioning happened later that day. We just went to bed at some odd time,chatting away to glory till we slept...
Monday, 6 August 2007
GOD'S OWN COUNTRY - WAYANAD (part-2)
=====================================================================================
Pre-planning:
On the 29th Aravind had come to my place and we together planned out the trip using the information available on the official website of Wayanad and also a popular application known as Google Earth.Thanks to these we had a pretty decent Plan A and Plan B to start off with. Plan A was that we'd go through Kalpetta,visit all the places close by and proceed to Mercara(Madikeri) and return via Mysore. Plan B was that in case the roads to Mercara were not traversable then we return via Ootacamund.Later it turned out that we stuck to neither of the plans and came up with on-the-spot decisions.
We very well knew that the monsoons had set in fully in Wayanad and both agreed to the fact that this would be the best time of the year to visit places there as this is the time when nature is at its best and it would be worth all the risks taken in traveling during heavy monsoons.
Unexpectedly and luckily it took very less time to convince my parents.I really couldn't afford to get a negative response since Aravind had already refused to go with his friends as he wished to go with me.I was relieved when I got my parents' permission.
With permission granted by higher authorities at home and a decent plan at hand we finalized the dates.It was planned out for five days (From 31st July to 4th August) with the first and the last day exclusively for traveling.
=====================================================================================
DAY 1:
(31st July)
We had lunch and left my place at 2:50PM.We did take a few pitstops on the way though none of them were very significant.But something worth mentioning is about a restaurant called "Kamat-Loka Ruchi".Its on the highway somewhere close to Ramanagaram.The food here was truly delicious and the ambiance too is one its kind which is why I took the pains of mentioning it here.
At Kamat-Loka Ruchi...
Another thing which I think I should write about is after quite some time on the road the Pulsar's speedometer cable broke.We did run around a bit to get it fixed then and there and in the process we saw traffic indiscipline taken to a new dimension at Mandya.It dint really matter if you went in the wrong way there.You could overtake from the right,left,centre,above or below, or in any other direction you can come up with.It did get a bit frustrating.
Above are some of the pics taken at Mysore...
Then on we had a smooth ride but after it turned dark we encountered very heavy rains, as a result we had to slow down and stop at Gundlupet itself instead of Sultan Bathery as planned before.We booked rooms and had dinner.It was a sleepless night and all we did was fool around all night eating potato chip, banana bajjis, drink tea and use our engineering skills at making the TV set given in the room work but to no avail.We did get a little sleep that night.
=====================================================================================
Pre-planning:
On the 29th Aravind had come to my place and we together planned out the trip using the information available on the official website of Wayanad and also a popular application known as Google Earth.Thanks to these we had a pretty decent Plan A and Plan B to start off with. Plan A was that we'd go through Kalpetta,visit all the places close by and proceed to Mercara(Madikeri) and return via Mysore. Plan B was that in case the roads to Mercara were not traversable then we return via Ootacamund.Later it turned out that we stuck to neither of the plans and came up with on-the-spot decisions.
We very well knew that the monsoons had set in fully in Wayanad and both agreed to the fact that this would be the best time of the year to visit places there as this is the time when nature is at its best and it would be worth all the risks taken in traveling during heavy monsoons.
Unexpectedly and luckily it took very less time to convince my parents.I really couldn't afford to get a negative response since Aravind had already refused to go with his friends as he wished to go with me.I was relieved when I got my parents' permission.
With permission granted by higher authorities at home and a decent plan at hand we finalized the dates.It was planned out for five days (From 31st July to 4th August) with the first and the last day exclusively for traveling.
=====================================================================================
DAY 1:
(31st July)
We had lunch and left my place at 2:50PM.We did take a few pitstops on the way though none of them were very significant.But something worth mentioning is about a restaurant called "Kamat-Loka Ruchi".Its on the highway somewhere close to Ramanagaram.The food here was truly delicious and the ambiance too is one its kind which is why I took the pains of mentioning it here.
At Kamat-Loka Ruchi...
Another thing which I think I should write about is after quite some time on the road the Pulsar's speedometer cable broke.We did run around a bit to get it fixed then and there and in the process we saw traffic indiscipline taken to a new dimension at Mandya.It dint really matter if you went in the wrong way there.You could overtake from the right,left,centre,above or below, or in any other direction you can come up with.It did get a bit frustrating.
Above are some of the pics taken at Mysore...
Then on we had a smooth ride but after it turned dark we encountered very heavy rains, as a result we had to slow down and stop at Gundlupet itself instead of Sultan Bathery as planned before.We booked rooms and had dinner.It was a sleepless night and all we did was fool around all night eating potato chip, banana bajjis, drink tea and use our engineering skills at making the TV set given in the room work but to no avail.We did get a little sleep that night.
=====================================================================================
GOD'S OWN COUNTRY - WAYANAD (part-1)
[This blog is for the sole purpose of keeping the record of my visit to Kerala.]
[Click on the pictures to see the larger size]
Recently I had a been to Wayanad district of Kerala.This district is known as the "rain country" and also "God's own country". When I heard these names I felt scandalized and thought that the keralities were a boastful lot.But now I have a different story to tell...
BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE TRIP:
*DURATION: 5 days (31st July to 4th August)
*DISTANCE TRAVELED: ~950km (on motorcycle)
*NUMBER OF PEOPLE: 2
ARAVIND and I(Raghavendra)
*VEHICLE: BAJAJ Pulsar 150(Aravind's)
*DEPARTURE: 31ST JULY 2:50PM
*PLACES OF SIGNIFICANCE VISITED:
1.BANDIPUR FOREST
2.CHEMBRA ESTATE
3.POOKOT LAKE
4.LAKKIDI VIEW POINT
5.CALICUT BEACH
6.SENTINAL ROCK FALLS
*ROUTE TAKEN:
1.NICE BANGALORE MYSORE CORRIDOR
2.NH 212
BANGALORE > MYSORE > NANJANGUD > GUNDLUPET > SULTAN BATHERY > KALPETTA > CALICUT
*STAY:
1.31ST JULY: SURABHI LODGE,GUNDLUPET
350Rs./DAY w/ TV
300Rs./DAY w/o TV
2.1ST - 3RD AUGUST: ARUN'S HOLIDAY HOME,KALPETTA
440Rs./DAY w/ TV
200Rs./DAY w/o TV
*TOTAL EXPENDITURE:
~Rs.3500/- (including all stay,fuel,food and entry fees where applicable)
*DISTANCE TABS:
-Bangalore-Mysore = 139 Km
-Bangalore-Kalpetta = 285 Km
-Bangalore-Calicut = 354 Km
*ARRIVAL TIME:
4TH AUGUST 6:00PM
The intention of this blog is to only put up my wonderful experiences and not to give you information about the distances between traversable places in Wayanad.
For information on destination and accommodation options in Wayanad click here.
=====================================================================================
[Click on the pictures to see the larger size]
Recently I had a been to Wayanad district of Kerala.This district is known as the "rain country" and also "God's own country". When I heard these names I felt scandalized and thought that the keralities were a boastful lot.But now I have a different story to tell...
BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE TRIP:
*DURATION: 5 days (31st July to 4th August)
*DISTANCE TRAVELED: ~950km (on motorcycle)
*NUMBER OF PEOPLE: 2
ARAVIND and I(Raghavendra)
*VEHICLE: BAJAJ Pulsar 150(Aravind's)
*DEPARTURE: 31ST JULY 2:50PM
*PLACES OF SIGNIFICANCE VISITED:
1.BANDIPUR FOREST
2.CHEMBRA ESTATE
3.POOKOT LAKE
4.LAKKIDI VIEW POINT
5.CALICUT BEACH
6.SENTINAL ROCK FALLS
*ROUTE TAKEN:
1.NICE BANGALORE MYSORE CORRIDOR
2.NH 212
BANGALORE > MYSORE > NANJANGUD > GUNDLUPET > SULTAN BATHERY > KALPETTA > CALICUT
*STAY:
1.31ST JULY: SURABHI LODGE,GUNDLUPET
350Rs./DAY w/ TV
300Rs./DAY w/o TV
2.1ST - 3RD AUGUST: ARUN'S HOLIDAY HOME,KALPETTA
440Rs./DAY w/ TV
200Rs./DAY w/o TV
*TOTAL EXPENDITURE:
~Rs.3500/- (including all stay,fuel,food and entry fees where applicable)
*DISTANCE TABS:
-Bangalore-Mysore = 139 Km
-Bangalore-Kalpetta = 285 Km
-Bangalore-Calicut = 354 Km
*ARRIVAL TIME:
4TH AUGUST 6:00PM
The intention of this blog is to only put up my wonderful experiences and not to give you information about the distances between traversable places in Wayanad.
For information on destination and accommodation options in Wayanad click here.
=====================================================================================
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