Since Wayanad was a place about which few friends had any idea, we had to formulate a schedule before setting out on the trip.We dug up the telephone number of 'Tourism Information Centre' at Kalpatta and after about ten minutes of conversation with an official, a rough plan was sketched.We decided not to exclude Edakkal, Chembra peak and Kuruva Islands at any cost.(Later we skipped Chembra and added new places once we reached Wayanad)
The Team
Adz, Anoop, Sreej, Me, Vimal & Nitin
We were 6 guys, all from the Merchant Navy who shared the passion for exploring the unknown.We caught the train to Calicut from Kochi, and from there, a KSRTC bus took us to our first destination, Sultan's Battery. Since we knew we would be reaching Battery by 2100 hrs, we had booked rooms in Hotel Dwaraka . So we didnt have to roam around searching for accomodation. Had a grand dinner and hit bed right away...
Day 1 - Edakkal Caves, Ambalavayal and Soochippara
Got up at 0600 hrs, put on our jackets since the cold was extreme and went in search of a tea shop. got the necessary details for our first day's tour from the shop owner and went back to our room to get ready.
we hit the roads by 0730 hrs after our breakfast..
...on our way to Edakkal Caves. we hired a Jeep from Bathery town to reach Edakkal. the driver was an old man, who was with us for the rest of the day. he shared with us stories and facts about wayanad which we never knew. he told us about places deep inside the forest and amazing things which will not be seen anywhere else, in books or websites...so we have made it a point to visit those places he told, sometime in the future, if God wills...
this naked tree was spotted on our way to the edakkal caves. we couldnt help get down and click some pics around this place.the road made a hairpin bend just below this place and beyond that two hills were towering up...a very interesting place in short
We start our trekking to Edakkal caves from this point...a steep and narrow climb awaits us after about a kilometre of this road uphill. the path is concreted and paved with stones till that point.
...the path uphill, to the caves. on either side we could see a variety of flora and fauna, especially monkeys...
...the actual climb starts here. the path is narrow and extremely steep from here onwards, with lush greenery all around.
the entrance of the Edakkal Caves..through this gate, we enter the place where history is frozen and preserved...a place where cave men lived 4000 years ago..
the edakkal peak rise high above the caves..this is a view of the valley down below, taken from the entrace of the cave before continuing our climb further up..
the telescope station. a fine view of the valley, Ambalavayal town and Phantom Rock is possible
the huge rock as you see is stuck up between the walls of the cave, which happened during a massive earthquake. The place got its name (edakkal) from this rock, which is 'Edaykulla kallu' or 'the rock in between'
the Petroglyphs (writings on rock) from the neolithic period (4000 BC to 1500 BC). you can see the images of a tribal leader with raised hands, flowers, animals etc, if u watch close...a scripture in ancient tamil and Brahmi(ancient sanskrit) was also found which refers to an ancient king named Nandu..
we had to squeeze through this narrow opening to climb further up the Edakkal peak.
a view from further up the peak. you start to love life...its all you and nature. calm your mind and insights will flow...we feel happy to be a wanderlust...and the sight instill in you the desire to travel more.. to the extremes of our planet, to sights we have never ever imagined...
adz enjoying the morning sun at the summit. very few people make it to the summit, just for the reason that the peak steeps up and rocks become slippery towards the top. without proper gear, its a risky affair to try the summit
vimal, taking a short break on his way up...another spectacular view of the valley down below
no special effects...the bright background seems to give a serene emotion to this image of the monkey and her kid...found them at the entrance of the edakkal caves on our way back. lots of monkeys were playing around, least bothered about the tourists. but they never gave us the chance to get near them, unlike the monkeys in lot of other places
as we were walking back, lots of tourists were coming up to the caves. this group of school children were fascinated by a little monkey on a tree top. but i was fascinated by their innocent excitement and expressions..
a typical 'pettikkada' or 'small shop' on our way back..the shop owner also sold tender coconut and it was a refreshing thing to have after a tiring trekking session
this sculpture was being made by the shop owner. he use to make this kind of stuff and sell it to tourists. unfortunately, this one was incomplete and we couldnt get it.
The Wayanad Heritage Museum at Ambalavayal. inside it we could see lot of stuffs from the olden periods like "hero's stone", rock sculptures, tools, weapons and utensils related to the tribal people, terra cotta sculptures etc...the soils from different parts of Wayanad is also displayed here.
a terra cotta sculpture displayed inside the museum
on our way to Soochipara Waterfalls..Soochippara was not in our plan once we started thr trip, but we dropped chembra peak to visit the falls. the road from Ambalavayal through Meppadi and Vaduvanchal was a treat for the eyes, with enormous tea and coffee plantations on either side...we passed alongside 'harrison estate' and 'rippon estate'..the road was very good and climate, just perfect. it was during his ride that the driver told us about the various tribal people, their ways of living etc...
Meppadi town. we had not taken anything to take bath at the falls, since it wasnt part of our original plan. we bought towels, soap and oil from this town before heading further, since we didnt want to miss a bath at the falls.
The Soochippara falls. a beautiful place to take the coolness of the wild water to your soul...a bath under the falling current will wash away all your tiredness, but its not easy getting near the falls since the rocks are extremely slippery.
DAY 2 - Tholpetty, Tirunelli Papanashini & Kuruva Islands
From Soochipara falls, we headed straight back to our hotel, packed our gears and caught the last bus to Mananthavady. we had not booked any rooms there since we learned from locals that it wouldnt be a problem to get accomodation in mananthavady at this time of year.we got down at the last stop and cheked in at a tourist home. had a splendid dinner from a nearby restaurant, came bak and had a debate on our next day's plan. finally decided to visit Tolpetty wild life reserve, Tirunelli temple and the Kuruva Islands...and it was time to rest.
this marvellous view was shot from the bus early morning on our way to Tolpetty from Mananthavady via Kattikkulam. the sun exploded in the background, but i couldnt help it, since there was very little time for any settings on the camera...and rather, i feel it gives a strange feel to the picture, which is a watch-house, built alongside a farm land. as we further moved in to the forest, the cold was getting extreme and we regretted not having taken our jackets...the view was marvellous on either side of the road with huge teak plantations, tall wild trees and bamboo forests...an occassional deer crossed our path now and then...
the entrance of the Tolpetty Wild life Reserve. had to pay a pretty good sum to have a ride inside the protected forest, with the hope of seeing some wild animals.
inside the reserve forest..we were eating dust! our expectations shattered as the jeep rolled down the rugged dusty forest path...all we could see was some deers and couple of strange looking monkeys. if we were lucky enough, we could have seen tigers, wild elephants etc..and yeah, for the first time in life i saw a mountain squirrel.
on our way to Tirunelli temple, took a short break to have breakfast at this small shop...indeed tasty food.we hired a jeep from Tolpetty, to take us to Tirunelli.
after breakfast, we found this beautiful huge plant along the roadside, near the shop. couldnt help clicking some shots here. fifth man from left is our driver for the day.
the Kali Temple on our way to Tirunelli...the place seem to be lost in time...inside the forest, this temple was said to be built a very long time ago.
The steps from Tirunelli temple to the Papanashini river...
on our way to Kuruva Islands. though we had hired the Jeep till Tirunelli, we decided to extend the ride to Kuruva, since it would be a difficult task to catch a bus to that place...
The Entry to the Kurva Islands. The Bamboo hut also serves as the ticket counter..
inside the Kuruva Isands...its an extremely beautiful place with trees, water and rocks of all sizes. the river is very shallow and we can cross from island to island.but its not sandbed, but rocks on the river floor, which is slippery ofcourse. should be very careful while crossing the river, since it is hard rock on which you would be falling if you slip, and it would not be a sweet experience..!!
a bamboo structure inside the kuruva..beautiful place to take rest and click some pics
The following three pictures are from inside the Kuruva islands...
The Flower of Bamboo. Bamboo flowers once in forty years, and once it does, the plant dies...Click here to read about this phenomenon in detail.
the paddy field on our way back from Kuruva. Since the Jeep had gone, we had to walk back to the nearest bus stop, and we took this shortcut across the field, and up a steep hill, as per the advice of local people...and indeed the distance was extremely short!
DAY 3 - Thalasherry, Mahe & Muzhuppilangadi Beach
From Mananthavady, we headed to Mahe, where we spent the night with a Smirnoff. a hot tea in the morning, on day 3 and we wer ready for the last day in north kerala. two more friends, Subeesh and Bishen joined us and we headed to Muzhuppilangadi Drive-in Beach after a quick visit at the Thalassery Fort
In 1708 AD, when the British East India Company established its settlement on the Malabar Coast, they built the Thalaserry Fort, as a testimonial to their colonial imperialism. It is said that the fort has a secret tunnel that opens out to the sea through which the inhabitants used to escape in case of an attack.
a view of the Arabian Sea from St.Joseph's Church, Thalassery
a flower from the coast
The Cemetry at St. Joseph's Church...beyond all the cheers and race, this image whispers a universal truth...
the wall behind us was the firing practise area. guess they used dummies..!
a bench placed inside the fort...its not an ancient one, but makes an ideal photographic subject
inside the Thalassery fort..this is the inner side of the main entrance
from Muzhappilangadu Beach..
after about an hour on the beach, we could feel our skin burning. we could see what sun-tan is all about though it dint have much effect one me :-)...
racing against the wind along the beach...the sand is hard unlike other beaches which makes it an ideal place for a fast ride
after cruising along the beach, its time for a photo session, before heading for lunch
couple of colorful boats at the beach
a view from Monthal village, where one of my friend lives...the place has all the beauty and innocence of a typical kerala village. we tried little bit of fishing with no luck..and took a ride around in a surprisingly unstable boat...had the chance to taste "kallummekkaya", a food specific to this northern district of kerala...and this was the last day of our tour. we went bak to thalassery and boarded the night train back to kochi
