Trip Report Wayanad 1-4 June 2012

I went to Wayanad from the 1st Of June 2012 till the 4th of June. Luckily for us it dint rain on any of the days that we were there. We decided to stay at kalpetta at the Wayanad four seasons home stay. You can check out their reviews from trip advisor.com. The place was very reasonable (1500 per room per night including breakfast).

FRIDAY MORNING
We left Bangalore around 7.30am.

On the way to Mysore some of the eating joints are as follows:
Mc Donald’s is approx 87 kms( From CV raman nagar) on the left side of the road
KFC, Cafe coffee day are approx 85 kms.

We had our breakfast at kamet which is on the opposite side of the road around 70kms from Bangalore( CV raman nagar). The breakfast buffet was for 150 per head, but we opted for individual orders.( Waiting is more for ala cart and less for the buffet). Food is pretty good and would recommend this place as it comes at the right time. Although would have been better if it was on the same side of the road.

We reached Kalpetta around 2 pm with 2 breaks ( 1 breakfast +1 coffee break). Lunch was prepared by our host ( we had to inform them before). Post some rest, we headed out to Pokoot Lake. The lake is open from 9am till 6pm. We found it a bit crowded at the entrance but it has a walking trail around it and the people lessen as you walk further. We took an anticlockwise direction and found a joy ride elephant. The price for the ride depends on season i guess. At that time it was 150 rupees per person.
Close to the pookoot lake is the lakkidi view point. People park their vehicle on the road and enjoy the view below. In my opinion its best to cover Pokoot Lake and lakkidi view point in the evening. But do note that don’t expect the places to be free from the crowds. Also note that there is a 15/- per head entry fee for pokoot lake. They also ask for camera ticket but we smuggled the cameras inside.

We came back to kalpetta for dinner. The 3 places which we found are good for eating out in kalpetta are hotel Pankaj, hotel woodland and new hotel. We ate at hotel Pankaj. Also the walnut cake shop is good for snacks, coffee etc. There is one on the way to Pokoot Lake around 4 kms after kalpetta. It has ample parking space and is peaceful (unlike the outlet in main bazaar kalpetta)

SATURDAY MORNING
Next morning we headed out for Chembura peak. We found it one of the best places in wayanad. It’s best that you reach the place early morning. It’s less crowded in the early morning hours. Once you are inside the tea estate somewhere midway you will need to buy tickets. Its 10/- per head and extra for camera. The end point of this track inside the tea estate will be a parking place. You can trek to the top (you need separate ticket for trekking till the top). From the parking point there is a view point around 1.5 kms away. The views from the view point are spectacular. You can climb up to the terrace of the hut which is there. That place also has a neat washroom. Give yourself at least 45 minutes at the view point. Carry drinking water.
Post chembura peak, we headed off to the soojapur water falls. There is a ticket for entry and parking there as well. It’s a long walk for about 1 kilometre a mix of trail and step towards the end. In the rains the last stretch can get slippery and tricky. There wasn’t enough water in the falls and we found the place overcrowded and full of “nuisance” picnic families, bathing, swimming, shouting for photos etc. Please note that it could be a long walk for first timers.

After the disappointment at soojapur falls, we decided to skip kantapar falls. So from soochipara falls we headed off to the edakkal caves. We reached the parking to edakkal caves around 3pm. From the parking its a long steep hike to the edakkal caves. One must have a certain level of fitness to enjoy this stretch. As always towards the end the hike gets pretty steep and one needs to climb some stairs. The caves were’nt that exciting as such for us. I mean we personally liked the walk and the views more than the caves itself. What impressed was the description that the security guard gave us inside the caves. Actually they are not “caves” as such but more off a covered open space made by a few overhanging rocks. Try and ask the guard to pint out the figures and then only you will make more sense of the place.
Post edakkal caves we headed back to kalpetta.

SUNDAY MORNING
The next day in the morning post breakfast we headed back to Bangalore. So essentially we had left Bangalore on Friday morning and came back to Bangalore on Sunday evening.

TIPS

Just to orient you, chembra peak, soochipara falls, kantipara falls, are in one direction clubbed together (not far from each other). Pokkot lake and lakkidi view point are clubbed together.
Edakkal caves are on the road which connects kalpetta to mysore. I will not suggest doing edakkal on the way back to mysore/Bangalore unless you have a driver. The walk up till the caves is really tiring.
Banasura sagar dam, meenmutty falls and Karalad Lake are close to each other.

Hope this helps you to plan your trip.

Nice trip report. Thanks for sharing the details.

Ronak.

good report and tips!

This is really helpful! Thanks for sharing.

Planning to head to Wayanad next week but having second thoughts because of the rains.

Hi ykanu,

Nice TR, enjoyed.

This side (read Karnataka) is totally unseen to me. Hope to land there someday.