Wild and Wondrous Wayanad

Raised a non-resident Keralite, in Chennai to be specific, have always been in love with the greenery and stunning nature of Gods own country. Though I have spent every summer vacation in Kerala at both my maternal and paternal homes, haven’t had much opportunity to visit districts other than Thrissur and Ernakulam. Most of the family are in these two districts and our travels and stay were confined to these places. Until I got married, that is.

J is from Kannur, a huge contrast to the place I was familiar with, not just in topography of the region, the hilly terrains of Kannur is very different from the plains of Thrissur, but also the dialect of Malayalam was totally strange and the cuisine was totally different. Add to it my lack of expertise in authentic Malayalam, I wondered if I was a Malayalee at all. Now this is a topic for another post. 

With J moving to Cochin, he had to  travel the length and breadth of Kerala as part of his work, he was eager to take me to a whole lot of exotic places that he had been to, with his team. He seems to have enjoyed his bachelorhood, don’t you get the hint? So last year around this time, when we had to go for a nephews’ wedding at Kannur, we had planned for a short trip to Wayanad which was on our way back and J seemed enticed with this place. 

Having enjoyed the onset of monsoon rains as a child almost every summer, I was looking forward to the June rains at Wayanad. There’s yet another reason why we chose Wayanad. This year we were completing 25 years in wedlock and Wayanad was the first place we both went together as a couple on a short trip, a couple of days into marriage. Mananthavady, a small hill station ( anyplace that has a few hair pin bends to cross can be called that) is where we had a chance to go on a bike, in fact, even before we went on our honeymoon ( that word sounds so pathetic now, but yeah for lack of another suitable word, have to use it). It was my idea that we revisit all those roads and places that we went to, 25 years ago. 

Wayanad, being adjacent to Kannur, the hilly plateau of the Western Ghats extends here and makes it a green paradise. There is so much to see in Wayanad, that we both had such difficulty in narrowing down on places to visit keeping in mind the number of days we had at hand. And we also wanted to pace it out and relax after all the hectic wedding ceremonies, where we also doubled up as event managers.

 

The country side of Sulthan Batheri, during our morning walks.

The Le Coffee resort

We stayed at a resort with a French sounding name, Le Coffee resort, (nothing else that was French there) at Sulthan Bathery, closer to the town, making it easy for our travels. A lovely resort that lights up in the evenings and keeps the nature and surroundings tender at dawn. Long walks to the countryside in the morning made sure we got to drink in the sights and sounds along with lush greenery around. Kerala has a rustic scent that makes me nostalgic about my childhood, brings in sweet memories of our grandparents and cousins – it sort of always runs in the background. 

The board at the Dam site 

Banasura Sagar Dam was the first place in our list of places. Built on the foothills of Banasura hills, the second tallest peak of Wayanad, impounding one of the major tributaries of the great Kabani river, Karamanthodu. It is the largest earth dam in India and the second largest in Asia. With the cloud peaked mountains as the rim, greenery making the place scenic, scattered islets around, this dam with a vast reservoir looks phenomenally beautiful. A walk across the dam is the highlight and the dark clouds that made the sky overcast made this special. We could just sit there and stare at the mist-clad hills and their breathtaking view for eternity. Thank fully, since we were not in a hurry, we could savor our time there. 

The walk across the Dam - Look at the breath taking views around

 

We could sit here all day!!!

Earth dams (as the name implies) are made of soil, rock, clay, etc., versus Gravity dams that are constructed of concrete. A little note to those who are wondering what a earthen dam is, I didn’t know the difference, until I was there. 

The evening was dedicated entirely for our trip around Mananthavady and all those plantations around Boys Town that we had roamed around as a young couple, while we barely knew each other. Going back in time and reminiscing memories about our bike ride to this place 25 years back was making both of us heady 😊 

At the coffee estates at Boys town, like those bygone days

Starting our trek
at Edakkal caves

A trip to Edakkal caves was in the offing for the next day, at Ambukuthi mala (hills) and I was excited about it. A short but scenic drive from Sulthan bathery was nothing close to what I expected. Visiting this place to me was like going into an unknown past of our ancestors and kept wondering how in the world did people even live in those caves. Situated at an altitude of 1200 metres above sea level, these caves are formed by a split in a rock, that allows sunlight to come in. The cave walls have highly refined hieroglyphics and carvings that depict the lives of stone age people. It is told that the etchings date back to 6000 BC of the Neolithic period. 

The pathway turning Rocky 

The caves can be reached by trekking up a scenic mountain with a green canopy of large trees for almost a kilometre of plain concrete road lulling the trekker into a comfort zone and then without any caution, this road turns into rocky pathway which you have to carefully maneuver. After this comes 380 steep stairs that are quite narrow in some places, built of steel. Not an easy climb, it did tire us out and we had to stop in many places to take a gulp of air. The aroma of coffee and spices fill the air, probably from the little shops that line the pathway initially, the altitude gain making the trekker stoop forward to balance the centre of gravity, keeping up the suspense and excitement of what awaits you and the caves didn’t disappoint us. The caves definitely made us introspect, wonder and definitely gave me an surreal experience. 

The steep stairs of Steel

Edakkal caves were discovered by Fred Fawcett, the then Superintendent of Police of the Malabar district in 1890, during his hunting trip to Wayanad. How did this guy make his maiden trip to this caves, without these stairs, I wonder. The trek down back the same way was not easy either, but our love for an archaeological site did definitely keep us going. Definitely not for the physically unfit ones. Fred must have been in fine fettle to reach these caves in the first place – some of my thoughts.

Etchings on the walls

The Edakkal caves, can you believe people lived here, back then!

The Sign board 

Two more places in Wayanad made me a fan of this place. One was the tomb of Pazhassi Raja. We didn’t realize that this place could be closed on a weekday and we landed up right there on that day. But I don’t take no for an answer. I went into their office which was still working and explained that I have come all the way from Chennai and also that my hubby dear is a great fan of this guy and so we got brief permission to go inside and see the tomb. For the uninitiated, Pazhassi Raja was a brave Chieftain of Kerala, who took the Britishers head on rebelling against them instead of being their ally. The Colonizers in turn, planned meticulously to kill him, which they did. Pazhassi did put up a brave fight for 9 years with the British, even engaging in guerrilla warfare with the support of the local gypsies. 

The memorial that doesn't 

live upto the kings valor

While the place was neat and well kept, people all around had tremendous respect for the Raja, I felt we could have built a better memorial for him. A movie in Malayalam with that name does justice to this guy. I was keen to visit his tomb, as I have heard stories of Pazhassi  Raja as a young bride when I came to J’s tharavad. A hill range in front of our tharavad has a small cave, where Pazhassi Raja was said to be in hiding for some time.  

Next on the cards was Muthanga wildlife sanctuary, which is spread across a massive 400 sq. kms and it was my first wildlife safari in India. Our day started pretty early and we were waiting for our Jeep by 5.30 am. This is a rainforest and a protected area and well into the Safari, I was excited to hear the driver, who is also our guide, stop at a three forked mud road, and tell us one of these roads would lead us into Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamilnadu, the other to Bandipur Wildlife sanctuary, Karnataka and the third one to Muthanga, Wayanad. A Wildlife sanctuary that encompasses all the three states, called by different names in each state. 

The Inhabitants we met at the reserve

The Jeep Ride 

The Jeep drive was bumpy along the forest trail and we had instructions to be silent. Only a certain number of people are allowed in a day, with a pre-booking. This two hour Jeep ride reveals stunning unexpected spectacles to the ones who are alert. At one point the driver stopped the Jeep behind some tall bushes and instructed us to sit still, and after a bit of waiting, across a water body there, we got a glimpse of the moving cat, which was awesome. Though some days the driver said we could see many and on some they never spot any, at all. We also managed to see some exotic monkeys, peacocks, babblers, cuckoos, other jungle fowls, elephants and herds of lovely spotted deers and that too up close. We must have seen at least 500 deer altogether – some sun bathing, playing around in their natural habitat and some eating grass. A sight that refuses to get away from minds eye. A small movement and they disperse into the lush thickets of the forest. 

The ancient Jain Temple

The least expected of all the places that we visited was the Ancient Jain Temple at Sulthan Bathery. One of the oldest Jain temples, with the most intricate architecture, this is a charming stone shrine. I had no idea that Jainism had spread to these parts of the country. Dating back to the 13th century, this shrine is said to have been built in the prevalent architectural style of the then reigning Vijayanagar Dynasty. Maintained by the ASI right now, no prayers are held here now. One is immediately made aware of the sanctity and colourful past that shrouds this temple. Peace and serenity abound this shrine and an untold reverence engulfed us when we were here. 

The side view 

Few holy sites have ever served as a shrine, an administrative hub and as an ammunition base for an invading army. This Jain temple is inextricably linked to the name of the town. It is said that Tipu Sultan, trying to evade the British, came here and hid in the dense forests, building up his army to recover his kingdom. He took over the local Jain Temple and converted it into a warehouse for storing his ammunition. The temple went on to resemble a fortification, and the town a battery, and thus came to be known as the Sultan’s Battery now called as Sulthan Bathery.

One last picture of us at Jain Temple

On our drive back to Chennai, we asked ourselves why didn’t we do this long ago. The grandeur and Mystique of nature that we encountered at Wayanad continued to be in our thoughts and I get that same feel, now as I put down my thoughts here.

On our way back home