A drive through the tea estates of Wayanad

The whole idea was to go on a vacation together, no matter where it would be. Plans kept happening but it never fell into place, until one final day! 😛

Some of them were overly enthusiastic about it, being their first vacation with friends. Last minute bookings were made before heading off, with our overstuffed backpacks, after office.

We stopped at Rasta Café at the outskirts of Bangalore to grab a quick bite. Being ahead of the planned schedule, we reached Mysore pretty early, the late night glittery lights surrounding the palace made it a sight worth adoring.

We opened our eyes to roads with lush greenery on either sides, fresh water streams flowing through, sloping mountains covered with tea plantations, pretty little thatched roofed huts, smoke rising up from tiny chimneys and the aroma of steamed idli’s and coconut chutney filled the air.

After having lost our way and re- navigating through the roads, we decided to seek help from the property owners for guiding us to the homestay, which was a hundred-year-old traditional home.

The hospitality shown to us at the place was extremely overwhelming. We were treated like their own. Breakfast was served on reaching, with hot cups of tea, hot water was available for freshening up and the property owner gave us a rough idea of the places that could be visited on the first day, in the vicinity of the area.

Karlad Lake:

We walked down, and picked up tickets for the entry, kayaking and zip lining. An expanse of the waters lay in front of us, crystal clear and a shade of turquoise, reflecting the clouds on their surface. The lake was surrounding by tree clad hills.

As we kayaked through, we marveled the beauty and the peace that surrounded this place. Lotus beds came in our way as we rowed across the waters. The Zip line stretched from one end to another, and the person on reaching the other side was rowed back to the shore on a tiny boat.

A roadside stall just at the ingress of this place, sold freshly cooked,delicious snacks.

Meenmutty waterfalls:

We noticed the gently flowing stream, in a languid page, tumbling down the little rocks making it look like a series of smaller waterfalls. The air was filled with the scent of moss and lichens growing over the rocks. Stepping into the chilly streams, we dabbled our feet in the pool, splashing and spraying water on each other.

The walk to the waterfalls was through a small elevated area, which was lined with many small stores along the way selling food and clothes. Since we had gotten wet due to the dip in the water, we helped ourselves with fresh pair of clothes and a hot cup of tea at one of the stores.

A few snaps were taken around the beautiful place that we stayed in, the next day, before we checked out. A trek to the chembra peak was decided as the day’s activity.

Chembra Peak:

We reached the Chembra Estate by 12.We were asked to take a jeep till the foothills as the roads were damaged.
After the jeep dropped us off, we walked for over 2 kms to reach the foothills. The trek up the mountain was over 2.5 kms, it felt very long as it was quite steep and the weather being sunny made us sweat endlessly. The route was very steep, rocky and slippery at certain places, and it felt like a challenge. It took us over 4 hours for the complete trek, up to the top and back down. Our whole aim was to complete the trek and we were glad that we could do it.

The top had a heart shaped lake and a viewpoint was around 200 meters ahead.

Against the green hills, the lake shone a shimmering green. The clouds circled around and the mist didn’t let us get a proper view of the little rocky path that we had covered and the Chembra estate, below. However, we did get some really good shots before we began the trek, at the foothills(Chembra estate) as well as at the top of the chembra peak.

Having had skipped lunch,we were a little low on energy and our footing was a little shaky while getting back, hence demanding more focus than required. Once we got back, we were elated that we had managed to complete the trek and were glad that we could now finally grab a bite.
We decided to start back to Bangalore on the same evening owing to the need of having to attend office the very next day. We had snacks on the outskirts of wayanad as we felt famished, and dinner was late at night- on the way between the Mysore- Bangalore highway.

“..And then I realised that adventures are a best way to learn.”

Takeaways:

1. The place where we stayed for the night was 100 year old traditional home nestled amidst the tea plantations and lush green forests. A total value for money and a peaceful getaway from the hustle bustle of the city. Find my review of it here.
2. Owing to the time constraints, we could not cover Edakkal caves and Soochipara falls. These are two must see locations if one is visiting wayanad. The Edakkal caves are said to have depictions of the pre- historic era and gives a peep into how mankind evolved. The gushing waters of the Soochipara falls are an enchanting sight that one mustn’t miss!
3. At the foothills of the Chembra estate where the vehicles were parked, numerous small stalls were lined where one could get freshly cooked snacks and juices for reasonable prices.
4. We had a scrumptious dinner at a place called Fish land, which happens to fall on the Mysore- Bangalore highway.
5. The best time to visit wayanad is during the winters – October to February where the temperature lingers between 10 -25 degrees celsius. The chilled breezes and the pleasant weather makes it an ideal time for a vacation.