01/02/2010 I and my three friends went for a long drive early morning on 31st December 2009 in one of my friends Safari Jeep from Kozhikode to Wayanad which is nearly 100 km journey by road. We planned drive to Wayanad, Lakkidi (one of Lakkidi’s lesser-known claims to fame is that it boasts of receiving the highest rainfall in the country after Cherrapunji); the gateway to Wayanad. Wayanad is probably the only hill station of its kind in Kerala. As our car wound its way up the Thamarassery Ghat, I craned my neck to have a peek at a banyan tree bound by a large chain around its trunk. Legend has it that a tribal from Wayanad had showed a British engineer (who was searching for a route to build a road running through Wayanad) the Thamarassery Ghat as an easy way to reach Mysore from Kozhikode. Eager to take credit for the same, the engineer bumped off the tribal. He buried the latter’s body under a nearby banyan tree. Soon after these roads were built, the Thamarassery Ghat witnessed a spurt in the number of accidents. These horrendous accidents were attributed to the tribal’s wanton spirit haunting the place. Before long, an exorcist was summoned… The latter is said to have chained the tribal’s spirit onto that banyan tree. It’s believed that since, there has been a dramatic fall in the number of accidents here.
One of the better kept secrets of Wayanad happens to be Annapara; a hideaway cocooned in the lap of nature at Vythiri, it is the nearest town, just 5 km from Lakkidi. Leaving Lakkidi behind, We headed for Vythiri… Annapara is as cut off from the world as it can get. The moment we stepped in, we were transported into an ethereal world… We were received with warmth by one of the friend residing in Wayanad, Rohit Kumar.We got really excited when he went on to tell me of the ‘Vythiri Wilderness Trail’ that they had recently designed. The spirit of adventure was already brewing in me. We could hardly wait… Before long, we had set off on the ‘Vythiri Wilderness Trail’…
The ‘Vythiri Wilderness Trail’ took us past sprawling tea plantations, through a vast stretch of rainforests, towards the awe-inspiring Chembra Peak (towering 2,100 meters above sea level, Chembra happens to be the highest peak in Wayanad)… The whole experience, I must say, was quite exhilarating. There is so much to see around Wayanad, that you are spoilt for choice. We were up early, the following morning, to set off for the primordial Edakkal Caves ensconced atop the Ambukuthi hills near Ambalavayal. The Edakkal Caves are basically two rock formations. They’re believed to have been formed by a large split in a huge rock. Legend has it that they were caused by the arrows fired by Luv and Kush, the sons of Rama; the legendary hero of the Ramayana. Like the world-renowned Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, the Edakkal Caves too were stumbled upon by a British (in 1890) while on shikar. Over the years, the Edakkal Caves have drawn the attention of archaeologists from around the world. The latter say that the engravings found on the walls of the Edakkal caves shed light on the existence of a Stone Age civilisation in Wayanad.
We drive down the Kalpetta-Udagamandalam road later that afternoon, took us towards the Meenmutty Waterfalls; the second largest waterfalls in Kerala. Before long, we began to hear the roar of the cascading waterfalls… The Meenmutty Waterfalls has to be really seen to fathom its utter beauty. I stood awe-struck by the magnificent beauty of the cascading waterfalls… we rounded off our visit to Wayanad with a bout of boating at Pookote; a perennial fresh water lake nestled among the wooded hills near Vythiri. Back after our boating at the Pookote Lake, we refreshed ourselves with a sip of tender coconut. While basking in the splendour of the sunset.
Soon we had left towards Thalippuzha, the major attraction here are the tree houses which are built on trees at great height to bring one closer to nature. We had great time here and enjoyed the nature very closely. We also had great time with delicious food stuff. Since time was not enough to drive all places in Wayanad so we rounded off our tour and started back to home. It was very short drive with my friends in eve of New Year. Really we enjoyed lot and had lot of fun in Wayanad and also missed lot of places in Wayanad due to lack of time. But we will surely have a trip in future for a week in wayanad from our college.