[KrisTvpm]

ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ನಾಮಸ್ಕಾರ ! നമസ്കാരം! Good day everyone !!

Went on a road-trip from Bengaluru to Wayanad (Kerala) with family (wife, 2 kids) in April 2018. Wanted to post a travelogue on this all the while but due to various reasons & laziness couldn't bring myself up to the task.

Quick reckoner :

• Route : Bengaluru(Whitefield) -- Banashankari -- Kanakapura Road -- Kanakapura -- Malavalli -- Mysore (outer) -- Mysore Airport -- Nanjangudu -- Gundlupete -- Bandipur -- (enter KL) -- Muthanga -- Sultan Bathery (Battery) -- Meenangadi -- The resort (Karapuzha Village Resort)
  
  (PS: Didn't want to take the usually crowded Mysore road, hence decided to go by alternate - Kanakapura road, and I was not disappointed. And since I started around 6am, thought to give Nice road a miss and go by BSK. Roads were partially closed/dug up after BSK for namma metro line work )
  

• Workhorse : Our Ecosport 1.5 P MT (named Eku by the kiddies who insist it's a girl, against my wishes!)

• Time taken : Roughly 7 hrs.

• Pit stops : Mysore outer ring road -- breakfast, Somewhere before Bandipura -- elaneer (tender coconut)

Disclaimer: Due to the recent flood/deluge in KL and south KA, the route mentioned above might not be motorable as of now. Need to check the route viability exclusively.

The Kanakapura road was in various stages of widening, which caused some discomfort at places though overall this was much better than the Mysore road in terms of ease of driving. One sad thing is the number of huge trees being cut for the road-widening . The namma-metro extends all the way upto AOL aashram on K'pura road.

One thing to note if one is taking this K'pura road is that there are no good hotels/eateries all the way upto Mysore (though there's one "Mandarathi" on the K'pura road, this was probably closed during the early hours of the day. While returning I had tea/snacks here at around 3:30pm, quite good). Hence if travelling with kids/older people it might be better to stick to Mysore road, or carry food !

The K'pura road is quite scenic with sparse traffic all along upto Mysore, particularly the stretch from Malavalli to Mysore outer. It was just before election time, and officials were conducting a search of all vehicles to prevent ferrying of blackmoney/alcohol. They stopped my car also, and upon seeing the family/kids they allowed us to pass without much fuss (but not before searching the glovebox, possibly for beer kept for chilling!?).

Wayanad is a beautiful place, with lots of visit options.

The resort where we stayed - Karapuzha Village resort - was quite good. It has about 10 or so individual cottages and some blocks with regular rooms. We opted for the individual cottage, which was quite spacious and comfy. Food was OK, though not much options were available. Breakfast was complimentary. Extra activities/campfire were sparse, but this was amply compensated by the very calm & serene surroundings of the place. It was eerily calm and quite a nice break from the city's chaos.

Let the snaps talk !

Day-1 : Onward Journey - to Wayanad.

Bandipur reserve forest area - we were slightly disappointed because there weren't any animals in sight, and the overall greenery was less due to peak summer season.


Our resort - Karapuzha Village Resort


View from our cottage - catchment area of Karapuzha dam


Our cottage: nice 1BH + balcony


Nice elevated view-lounge: though crowded at times.


Day-2 : Edakkal Caves (made up of 2 Malayalam words : "eda" - gap, "kallu" - stone). These are very ancient natural rock-cave formations, supposedly dating around 4000 - 6000 years! Being a history buff, it was a goosebump-worthy visit for me to see this place, and to think of the ancient men who carved out the beautiful images on the stone-walls inside the cave. What would he/they might've been thinking while carving these !? Did they even think these would stand the test of time much beyond their lives..

Cars are allowed till a particular point at the foothill only. Beware of streetside shop-wallahs who prod you to park your vehicle near their shops. You can proceed much ahead to reach the max permissible limit, where sufficient parking is available. Or else you'd have to walk 0.5km or so extra! The trek from foothill to hilltop is somewhat steep and tiring. Almost all of the way there are iron/grill steps installed by the authorities, with railings. These are a boon, or else one would've to trek the steep rocks with minimal assistance. You have to stamp your plastic bottle with a sticker and pay Rs.20 per bottle at the entrance, which is reimbursable when you come back and show them the bottle! Nice way to ensure that one doesn't pollute the environment


View from our cottage at early morning - all misty & cool.


Our cottage - view


Eku getting the daily cleanup


Edakkal Caves - entrance


Edakkal Caves - sarkari notice for protected monument


Edakkal Caves - Some residents




Edakkal Caves - View from hilltop


Edakkal Caves - Upper Chamber


The "Edakkal" or "Middle Stone" - a natural stone formation, which might've fallen from above eons ago and perched precariously between two huge rocks !


Edakkal Caves - stone carvings by ancient cavemen




Your's truly with family


Day-3 Pookkod Lake & Lakkidi Viewpoint (Tamarassery Pass)
The lake is said to be a natural freshwater formation with lots of plant life. Row-boating is available (no mechanised ones). The Lakkidi/Tamarassery pass is the entry from lower plains of Calicut to the higher altitudes of Wayanad. Also saw something called "Chain Tree" which supposedly has a sad story behind it. It's said that during British "raj", some gora's took the help of a tribal called "Karintandan" to scale the dense rainforest's difficult terrain and identify best possible route for making road. Once done, they killed the hapless tribal guy to steal the credit of the work!

Wayanad map


Pookkode Lake



Lakkidi viewpoint - lush green rainforest with winding Tamarassery pass that comes up from the plains of Calicut



Eku perched near the viewpoint @ Lakkidi


Chain tree


Due to time constraints, we had to skip certain visit-worthy places like Chembra peak, Banasura Sagar dam, Tirunelli temple (dedicated to Lord Brahma), Kuruva island, Jain temple, Soochipara waterfall etc.
Probably for the next visit !

Thanks for reading along, Cheers !

[SmartCat]

There is a new theme park called E3 Theme Park in Wayanad - I think it was inaugurated last year. Your kids would have loved it.



Website: www.e3parks.com

[Rajeevraj]

Nice travelogue. Thanks for sharing. I drive via Wayanad to Calicut several times a year, but such an external perspective always helps bring out the beauty of the place.

As you mentioned, the recent rains have impacted Wayanad badly, but as of now, the roads are all open and things are limping back to normal.

Originally Posted by smartcat

There is a new theme park called E3 Theme Park in Wayanad - I think it was inaugurated last year. Your kids would have loved it.

Never knew this existed. Not on my regular route, but I guess worth a visit.

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

Due to the recent flood/deluge in KL and south KA, the route mentioned above might not be motorable as of now. Need to check the route viability exclusively.[/i]

Its all clear back in Wayanad now, I was back home (in Wayanad) last week. All good. You just saved yourself from the flooded roads near Ponkuzhi (Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary)

There was a KSRTC (Karnataka) Scania which was stuck on the road for a day or some.

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

Wayanad is a beautiful place, with lots of visit options.

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

Bandipur reserve forest area - we were slightly disappointed because there weren't any animals in sight, and the overall greenery was less due to peak summer season.

I was there last week - probably the road that everyone around Sulthan Bathery to go for evening drives and driving lessons.

Thank fully it was super green but very few animals to sight on the road especially as the whole Nilgiri Biosphere received quite some rain. We could only site Deers on the road side.

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

Edakkal Caves (made up of 2 Malayalam words : "eda" - gap, "kallu" - stone). These are very ancient natural rock-cave formations, supposedly dating around 4000 - 6000 years! Being a history buff, it was a goosebump-worthy visit for me to see this place, and to think of the ancient men who carved out the beautiful images on the stone-walls inside the cave. What would he/they might've been thinking while carving these !? Did they even think these would stand the test of time much beyond their lives..

This rains had hit edakkal caves badly, and to my knowledge for the first time - the cave has been closed for visitors as one of the rocks in the first cave collapsed into the cave. The damage is not that bad - they might wait till the safety is assured to open up the space for tourists.

[saratjyo]

Nice travelogue. Wayanad is one of the lush green places which will pull us in again and again towards her. I made my road trip to Wayanad from Chennai for my honeymoon trip and spent our stay at the Vythiri resort. Just pure green wild place to visit and I hope it stays the same and come back soon to her glory from the recent floods.


I took the below routes for my trip.


Chennai to Wayanad : Chennai - Mysore - Nagarhole - Wayanad
Wayanad to Chennai : Wayanad - Coimbatore - Salem - Chennai


The return route should have been the same as the one we went towards Wayand. But due to the Cauvery issue popping up suddenly and protests were going on, we opted for the above return route on the last minute of our return trip.


The route from Wayanad to Coimbatore also had some wonderful well laid winding roads that keeps you smiling during your drive



Will be visiting this place once again

[mpksuhas]

Interesting way to mask face in photos

Since you have been to Edakkal, you could have stopped at tribal museum too near to Ambalavayal.

From the pics it looks like you reached Edakkal when it was not crowded, that in itself is a relief.

[KrisTvpm]

Originally Posted by smartcat

There is a new theme park called E3 Theme Park in Wayanad - I think it was inaugurated last year. Your kids would have loved it.

Never knew of this, else I'd have paid a visit; thanks ! Will definitely add this to my itinerary next time.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

As you mentioned, the recent rains have impacted Wayanad badly, but as of now, the roads are all open and things are limping back to normal.

Good to hear & should be helpful to other forum users planning this trip; thanks!

Originally Posted by peterjim13

You just saved yourself from the flooded roads near Ponkuzhi (Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary)

I didn't go recently during the floods, trip was in Apr'18 ! Thanks anyway !

This rains had hit edakkal caves badly, and to my knowledge for the first time - the cave has been closed for visitors as one of the rocks in the first cave collapsed into the cave. The damage is not that bad - they might wait till the safety is assured to open up the space for tourists.

Hope there is no harm to people or the monument, it would be a shame/loss to lose access to such a wonderful site.

Originally Posted by saratjyo

Nice travelogue. Wayanad is one of the lush green places which will pull us in again and again towards her. I made my road trip to Wayanad from Chennai for my honeymoon trip and spent our stay at the Vythiri resort. Just pure green wild place to visit and I hope it stays the same and come back soon to her glory from the recent floods.

Will be visiting this place once again

I too was told that Vythiri is a nice lush green place; had checked some resort in that area for stay but due to the higher costs had to avoid that one!

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Interesting way to mask face in photos

Hehe, with the onslaught of social-media I know it's silly to mask one's personal data, esp. photos! Anyhow I'm one of those dinosaurs who don't use FB!

Since you have been to Edakkal, you could have stopped at tribal museum too near to Ambalavayal.

From the pics it looks like you reached Edakkal when it was not crowded, that in itself is a relief.

Hmmm yes.. had to give many worthy places a miss, due to time constraints. I've made my mind to cover them during next visit, thanks !

Yes, there wasn't much rush on the day I visited Edakkal; it was a friday.

[smrtdvl]

Originally Posted by peterjim13

Its all clear back in Wayanad now, I was back home (in Wayanad) last week. All good. You just saved yourself from the flooded roads near Ponkuzhi (Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary)

Hi any idea on the road conditions to Wayanad from Coimbatore. I'll be driving a xuv in a couple of days to our resort near muthanga. I am planning to take coimbatore-hasanur-gundulupet-muthanga route while going and come back via gudalur-ooty-coimbatore.

TIA

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

Hi any idea on the road conditions to Wayanad from Coimbatore. I'll be driving a xuv in a couple of days to our resort near muthanga. I am planning to take coimbatore-hasanur-gundulupet-muthanga route while going and come back via gudalur-ooty-coimbatore.

TIA

Hi smrtdvl, I presume there shouldnt be any problems with both the routes you take - though I am not fully aware of things around Hasanur.

Assure is things are all back to normal back in Wayanad, especially around Sulthan Bathery area where Muthanga is in. Going by your route - you are barely entering the State as Muthanga is less than 7-8 Km from the border or may be less. ALL Good there !

I am not aware of any damages on roads around Ooty - Gudalur area. So should be good.

Have a fun filled trip !

[smrtdvl]

Originally Posted by peterjim13

Have a fun filled trip !

Thanks peterjim13. I'll be sticking to the Hasanur-Muthanga route both ways as Ooty might be crowded due to the long weekend.

Any family friendly restaurants in sulthanbathery that you can suggest?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

Any family friendly restaurants in sulthanbathery that you can suggest?

As Peter mentioned earlier, you will not be touching Sultan Bathery on your way to Muthanga. However, incase you plan to get in to town, you can try Wilton Resturant.

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

Any family friendly restaurants in sulthanbathery that you can suggest?

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Wilton Resturant.

There are many family friendly restaurants in Sulthan Bathery, though pure veg options are less than 2 -3.

But as mpksuhas suggested - nothing beats The Wilton Restaurant

[sea_eagle]

Unable to beat the summer heat, we planned a trip to Wayanad last long-weekend or should I say wrong-weekend ?


Stay: Inspired by Team-BHP posts, we stayed at Karapuzha Village Resort. Nice little place with a great view of the Karapuzha dam catchment area. The stay was pleasant with descent bed and bath amenities. The resort as such is constrained for space. So you won't find too many airy spaces to let your lungs out. But it's not bad. Food was not to our taste though. It was a typical Dhaba kind of food. We expected something from the local cuisine but the food was very typical of average resorts standards. Would I go back here again ? Perhaps yes from the cost & location point of view. If I'm staying for more than 2 days, I would definitely chose another place. Some pictures of the view from our room, below.





Roads: Needless to say, the roads were narrow but very drive-worthy. Especially when you are driving through the Bandipur Forest Range to reach Wayanad, is very pleasant, green and beautiful. Even within Wayanad, the roads are of good standards.

Food: Being vegetarians, food was a bit of an issue since we prefer to eat from Pure Veg restaurants. The options are few and the weekend rush just made it all the more bad for us. We managed to find few options and get some decent food. If you are a pure-vegetarian, please figure out the food places before you book the accomodation.

Attractions: Around the resort, the Karapuzha Dam is a 10 minute drive. The dam unlike many dams in Karnataka, is not just a dam but a play/adventure zone for kids and adults. It houses Kerala's longest Zipline which is a must-do for thrill-seekers. It costs 390/- and is a 30 minute affair which could go upto 60 minutes depending on the crowd.

2) The 900 Kandi Glass Bridge is a noteworthy place one must visit. Although the view on top is similar to any other vantage points of a valley, what makes the experience great is the drive up to the Glass Bridge. It is a patch of road which cannot be said motorable by any standards. But the ease with which the MAHINDRAS take you up the valley is simply amazing. It's a must-do experience for all petrol-heads.

3) We wanted to see a few falls & the EDAKAL caves but due to extremely high volume of tourists on the weekend, we could not visit any other place. Leaving a few more pictures from the trip.

A structure found inside the Karapuzha Dam campus.


A church on the way to the Dam


View from the Glass Bridge at 900 Kandi.








A viewpoint somewhere outside Meppadi.




A view from the rooms at Karapuzha Village Resort