India Travel - Wayanad

Introduction – Wayanad is a district in the north of Kerala, bordering the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The entire district is a part of the Western Ghats mountainous range. There are two important towns in the district – Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery which can be used as bases for sightseeing. Wayanad is an ideal destination for the outdoors freak with several challenging trekking trails, wildlife sanctuaries, prehistoric caves, raging rivers, wonderful waterfalls and misty mountains.

Why go there?
A vast majority of middle class Indians would pack their bags for the following reasons – a break from work life pressure, to utilize the annual LTA or holiday home facility, clamor of kids seeking a vacation. The question ‘Why go there’ does not apply to the above people as they are mostly location agnostic. For the few discerning wanderlusts whose modus operandi involves choosing the destination as first step, my explanations of ‘Why go to Wayanad’ would be appealing.

Here is a list of attractions in Wayanad. Against each proper noun, I will add its common noun for better understanding
Chembra Peak – Mountain Trek
Pookote Lake – Pedal Boating
Bansasura Sagar Dam – Speed Boating
Eddakal Caves – Spelunking
Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary – Safari
Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary – Safari
Soochipara Falls – Waterfalls
Meenmutty Falls – Waterfalls
Kuruva Dweep – River rapids
Pakshipathalam – Bird Watching Treks

Then there will always be temples and more temples. If it’s Kerala, there always will be beaches and more beaches. Such quotidian ‘attractions’ have been excluded from the above list.
The list of ten is the answer to the question ‘Why go there’. I cannot think of any other district in entire southern India which can boast of such a collection of attractions. To have all the above activities within a radius of 50 kms only is pretty rare and thus merits a travel.

When to go there?
Definitely not during the peak season. I wish to overemphasis this point as I have been victimized by the peak season spoilers. The peak season is December which touches its maddening peak on 25th and 31st. Monsoon months of July, August and summer months of May, June are avoidable as it will baking hot.

How to go there?
Applying ceteris paribus, (which means keeping the economics of getting there away) there is only one direct way to reach Wayanad from most important cities and that is by road. There is no railway or air route of reaching Wayanad. It is about 75 kms from Calicut and 300 kms from Bangalore. If you are coming from distant parts of the country then the only option is to reach Calicut or Bangalore by train or air and then proceed by road. Since I travelled from Bangalore to Wayanad, I shall share the exact specifics of this route. From Bangalore, one can take bus (state or private) directly to Wayanad and get down either at Sulthan Bathery (which the bus conductor will call Batteri) or Kalpetta. It takes about 45 mins from Sultan Bathery to Kalpetta in that order if coming from Bangalore. The problem is these towns come at odd hours in the morning and first timers would get confused. The KSRTC Volvo buses called Airavat are pretty good with reclining seats. The major problem is the chaotic bus stand. The bus for Calicut leaves from Mysore Road Satellite Bus Stand and this place gets crazy. There is no display, announcement, enquiry and it’s a dismay that inter state bus travel in India hasn’t kept pace with the parallel advancement of railways. Not knowing Kannada is also an impediment at such places. The state bus is cheaper but only marginally so my recommendation would be to use a private bus operator.

Another option is a self driven car. Many people do this but this is not my recommendation even if you are a veteran driver. The mountain roads are tortuous, narrow and can tire you down easily especially while climbing. Overtaking is outright risky, as roads are narrow and serpentine so you invariably have to honk while passing. Night driving is a strict no. Although it’s possible to haul a Maruti 800 up the steep slopes, it won’t be an enjoyable ride at all. Only an SUV or jeep is preferable under such conditions. Further, you simply cannot do the sightseeing with lower power/torque cars. The roads are pretty bad and many times non existent. Even our hired Indica was struggling at times. Small car drivers please park your baby at home when you come to Wayanad.

How many days/nights should one plan for?
Wayanad has enough to offer for the entire range of itineraries right from the compact weekend 1N/2D to the idyllic 10N/11D plan. My recommendation however would be 2N/3D for a brief holiday or 4N/5D for a long, relaxed holiday. There is also another point to bear in mind. Wayanad is a paradise for adventure lovers, so the days/nights decision should be a function of how much outdoors stuff one wants and is capable of doing. Kids and senior citizens in the travelling coterie would obviously constrain the ability of outdoor adventures. On the other side, the more sedentary travelers should not stay beyond 2N/3D. I will cover the exact itineraries for both choices later.

What is the ideal budget?
I shall tackle this important question objectively by proposing budgets for two categories – minimum and median. Also, the figure would be for two people travelling together and for decent 3 star hotels or homestay in these parts. This estimate is ex Bangalore. A rough break up of total budget into four components – reaching there, local sightseeing, lodging and food will also be given for a sample case (the way I travelled)

2N/3D: Minimum Budget = Rs 14,000. Median Budget = Rs 18,000
4N/5D: Minimum Budget = Rs 28,000. Median Budget = Rs 35,000
Sample Illustration – In my own example, the total expenses stood at Rs 15,857/- for a 2N/3D trip. The breakup is given below

What is the ideal itinerary?
The first critical decision while planning a trip to Wayanad would be which town to put up at. As mentioned before, there are three options – Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery and Vythiri. Hotels & Homestays in their dime and dozen are scattered across these three towns. My recommendation would be chose a place in Kalpetta as it is the geographic centre of the district and all tourist attractions are within a radius of 50 km only. Moreover it’s a bigger and better town than the other two. It even has an ICICI bank & ATM.
The next thing one must be cognizant of is that all the tourist attractions are pretty far. A 15 km distance in the mountains easily takes anywhere between 45 mins to 1.5 hours. They open at 9 AM and close by 5 PM. This means you can cover only two in a day, comfortably only one!

Itinerary for 2N/3D trip
This case would require prioritizing the list of ten attractions based on individual preferences. I would anyways provide my recommendation. The underlying assumption is non peak season, as you would no way be able to cover two places in one day during peak rush. That’s what happened to me!
Day 1: Arrive early morning, check in. Quick shower and breakfast. Be ready to hit the roads by 10:00 AM, earlier the better. First stop could be Eddakal caves. I do not have any specific inputs on visiting Eddakal as it was closed for renovation. What I know is one has to climb 250 odd steep steps so by 1 PM you should be back to your waiting car in the parking lot. From here move on to Muthanga wildlife sanctuary, which is enroute just 15 kms ahead. They have jeep safaris here. Stand in the queue and get tickets. Counter closes by 5 PM.
Day 2: Kuruva Island and Bansasura Sagar Dam

Day 3: Soochipara Falls and Pookote Lake (if time permits)