THE GLORY THAT IS WAYANAD

 

KANTHAPARA WATER FALLS MEPPADI

EDAKKAL CAVES

BANASURA SAGAR DAM

LAKKIDI ULTRA PARK

                                                           LAKKIDI VIEW POINT

    

POOKOT  LAKE

WAYANAD MAP

The district of Wayanad in Kerala is adjacent to the Western Ghat mountains with the district of Coorg or Kodagu on one side and the districts of Kannur and Kozhikode on the other.The territory of Wayanad has historical significance even during very ancient times and was originally a Jain town before  Islamic and Western Invasions.

The life-line of Wayanad is a highway that connects Mysore to Calicut as of now that crosses the Bandipur forests and the first town to encounter is Sultanbattery called Ganapathivattom in ancient times. The highway passes through key towns of  Kakavayal, Meenangadi,  Muttil,  Kalpetta, Chundale,Vythiri, Lakkidi before opening into the Ghat roads leading to the town of Adivaram on the foot of the ghat mountains towards Kerala and then to   Tamarassery,   Koduvally, Kunnamangalam and finally Calicut. Calicut is also called Kozhikode. Mananthavady is another key town within Wayanad towards the north of Kalpetta.

Kalpetta is the key and central town of Wayanad and the the other places could be seen as sattelite towns of Kalpetta.Kalpetta is a fine town with the back-drop of a precipice of the Western Ghats.Meppadi, Pulpally and Panamaram are other towns inside Wayanad.

There are many tourist attractions in Wayanad.

1.The Kanthapara Water Fall: This is precisely at a place called Meppadi on the Wayanad Ooty road. You must understand some aspects of this waterfall. Point 1 - it is three kilometres from the mainroad inwards and goes through a residential stretch.Point 2- It is a relatively small waterfall and ideal for water sport and  water related activities..during rainy seoson the water fall could be aggressive.

2.The Edakkal Cave:There is only one cave here possibly used by Jain Monks as residence to be safe from wild animals because it is up in the mountain.Trekking up the mountain to the cave is an adventure. Precisely there are two phases to this climb. In the first phase you climb a hill which is mountain climbing with high gradient at some stretches. In the second phase you have to do rock climbing to reach the cave carefully ascending through rock structures and the Government has also put srair-ways here. Never take the phase 2  of the climb if you have infants and very small children.

On the top is a single cave which is formed between rock formations , a room the size of 100ft by 50 ft. Climbing to Edakkal cave is more of an adventure than a tour.The Edakkal cave comes off the road from Kalpetta to Sultanbattery.

3.The Banasura Sagar dam : This dam is something special few kilometres from Kalpetta at Padinjarethara. It is the largest natural reservoir in the country trapping water from the many hills around.It is not an artificial dam and could be source to the Kabini river and hydel power plant also works with water from this reservoir.

4.The Ultra Park in Lakkidi: A man made adventure park basically for adventure sport. There is a skywalk here made of glass up in the air which gives a view of places around.

5.The Lakkidi view point : A spot at the opening of the ghat section from where the entire expanse of the ghats and its roads can be seen with a view to the foot-hills.

6.The Pookot Lake: A natural lake near Lakkidi the size and shape similar to the lake seen in Kodaikanal with boating facilities.

THE VILLAGE OF KOTTAYAM IN TELICHERRY

 There is a village called KOTTAYAM in Telicherry which had a bazar in older times called Kottayam Bazar which was a nerve centre of the prosperous pepper trade that was carried out here few centuries ago.Today Kottayam bazar does not exist for all practical purposes but the mosque whose foundations were laid during these times still has its place.

The township of Kottayam was a crucial one because it had the residential palace of the king of Kolatunad as the larger expanse of this place was called and in the modern day called as the Pazhassi Rajah.The Mysore Sultans who had a sway over this place had to face resistance from the Pazhassi Rajah many times.The fort of Telicherry which housed the offices of the East India Company is just few kilometers from Kottayam.

Events of these times led to a power struggle between the East India Company and the Pazhassi Rajah  forcing the Rajah out of his palace in Kottayam into the jungles from where the organized Guerilla attacks on the Company over a vast territory comprising Cannanore and Wayanad.

The interesting aspect of Kottayam today is that there are many houses built many hundreds of years ago inter-woven with the modern ones.In these old houses that are seen here lived the various relatives of the Pazhassi Rajah.With the exit of the Rajah into the jungles his relatives sold these houses to islamic traders and settled within the confines of the Kingdom of Chirakkal ...like the house-hold of Kottayam Kadangot seen in Cherukunnu.

The unique aspect of Kottayam as of today is the palace of the Pazhassi Rajah..the large pond in front of his house...a descendant of the Rajah Gopalakrishnan who lives in the house  and most significantly  a large Shaivite temple on a territory as big as one foot ball field.

The village of Kottayam is few kilometers ahead of Kuthuparanbu and the exact name of the stop is KOTTAYAM_POYIL  and the temple and palace is some six kilometers from the mainstay.

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KEY CITIES IN WAYANAD

NOTE SULTANBATTERY, MANANTAVADY  AND  KALPETTA

WAYANAD NEAR BANGALORE

There is a less known tourist spot near Bangalore, more precisely near Mysore.It might be wrong to say less known as by the day many people are becoming aware of this Tourist destination.

Wayanad till the 18th century was less inhabited and the name Wayanad comes from Wayal-nad which means a land of many feilds.Wayanad has a very ancient history less discussed which links it to the Jain religion..this needs more research but possibly Jain monks took to this place for stay and penance.Wayanad is adjacent to Kodagu or Coorg and many roads link  Kodagu with Wayanad.

How to reach Wayanad? Take the Ooty highway from Mysore that goes through Nanjangud and then into a place called Gundlupet..at the Gundlupet check-post turn right into the Bandipur forest. Some one and a half hour journey from Gundlupet one reaches SultanBattery a key town in Wayanad.

The total travelling time from Bangalore to Wayanad could be some six hours or so.Sultan Battery ,Mananthavady and Kalpetta are the key cities of Wayanad relatively close to each other..there are many tourist spots in Wayanad which are less glorified by general public but none the less formidable.There are many smaller towns in Wayanad too like Vythiri and Panamaram.