Trip to Wayanad in early Monsoon

Despite all the concerns by our family members and friends about the cyclone Vayu and monsoon in Kerala, we decided to go with our planned short trip to Wayanad. This turned out to be one of our worth remembering trips in monsoon.

With endless browsing for resorts and hotels, we finally booked our stay in Uravu Bamboo grove, a resort by Uravu. It was a bamboo themed resort, which was all we were aware of!

We started our journey friday early morning from Bangalore.  As Bhuvan had already explored Bandipur route to Ooty, we chose the road via Nagarhole to Wayanad. We were lucky enough to have found wild elephants, spotted deers and monkeys spread in the boundless lush green forest. It was an alluring drive with great scenic view.

Wild Tusker at Nagarahole

Reached Kerala around 1pm in the afternoon. We were happy to witness bright sun  among all the perceptions on weather being bad on us. Reached Uravu Bamboo grove resort in an hour. We were welcomed by one of the attendants and the host Saira. It was a beautiful place set within bamboo forests. We were delighted to see the hot Kerala dishes kept ready for our lunch.  We were then directed to our cottage made of bamboo. The cottage was brilliantly constructed with just bamboos and wood. It was spacious with a balcony to relax and enjoy the surroundings. We took quick power nap as we had plans of visiting a nearby dam and bamboo workshop as suggested by Saira.

Uravu Bamboo Grove Resort

We headed to karapuzha dam in the evening. It was about 6 kms from our resort.  It had just rained and stopped when we reached. Hence we could witness mist covered magnificent hills surrounding the dam. But the water was relatively lesser as it was early monsoon. We walked along the dam to enjoy the pleasing cool breeze and the view of picturesque hills with its top covered with dark clouds. As we approached towards the gates of dam, we could hear water burble. We were happy to see water rushing through the opened gates of dam.

Karapuzha Dam

After this, we headed to Uravu. This is an NGO which was setup to empower rural lives through sustainable solutions. They conduct training to rural people, blinds in a fact that they can be employed and earn enough to provide for their family. We were astounded to see the beautiful crafts  made solely of bamboo in the workshop. We spent some time shopping few things and returned to resort. Dinner was served. We had one of the best chicken curries. Mangoes were a complementary 🙂

Uravu

For the next day, we had a whole day plan to visit all the places. So we started early, soon after our breakfast at the resort. We thought of visiting Kanthanpara falls which was around 16kms from our resort. On the way to falls, there were plenty of tea plantations spread over the slopes of the hill. And the drive amidst them in the curvy roads were amazing!

Tea plantations

We spent some time in Kanthanpara falls and started to Lakkidi view point. This is a high view point on the way to Calicut where one can see the best view of western ghats.

Kanthanpara Falls and Lakkidi View Point

As Pookode lake was 3.5kms from view point, we headed there. I could say it was one of our craziest experiences. It was two of us in the pedal boat and the heavy rains in the lake surrounded by dense forest. We enjoyed hot popcorn in the rain :p And, had local food in one of the restaurants on the way to Banasura dam which was almost 1.5hrs of travel from the lake. 

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Pookode Lake

Banasura dam is the largest earth dam in India and the second largest of its kind in Asia. The dam is made up of massive stacks of stones and boulders with Banasura hills in the background. It consists of canal hydro electric power project and satisfy the demand for irrigation. It was a jolly walk in drizzling rain. 

Banasura Dam

It was 8pm when we reached our resort. We had dinner and packed our bags as we had to return back to Bangalore the following day.

Our journey back to our hometown started  with a delicious breakfast to saying goodbye and thanking for a good hospitality to Saira and team. As planned, we drove to Edakkal caves which was 25kms from Kalpetta( headquarters of Wayanad district ). The caves are 3900 ft above the sea level. We were ready to climb the caves with our shoes on! It was an adventurous hike through the caves covered with lush and vibrant green. We enjoyed the walk in tropical weather, and a feeling of being carried away by cool breeze as we approached the pinnacle of the hill. We could see the rare stone age carvings inside the caves. On one side of cleft is a rock weighing several tons that covers the cleft to form the roof of the cave. We climbed down relishing the local food items being sold in the shops along the way to the exit. 

Edakkal Caves

We were now nostalgic about the last 3 days. Recollected all the happy times en route Bangalore via Bandipur.