Wayanad-III

On the second day, we went to see Lakidi view point, Phookot lake, and Vythiri resort. Lakidi is about 2 km south of Chain Tree and is the gateway to Wayanad on the highway to Calicut. It is a ghat pass at an elevation of 700m above sea level. We crossed Kalpetta and drove mostly on NH 212.

Overwhelmed by the scenery, as this highway is heaven on Earth, a beautiful place with a lot of tea gardens on the way. It is an absolutely real picture of natural beauty. This Tamarassery pass’s starting point is Lakkidi, which is one of the highest locations in Wayanad and seems to be second in rainfall after Cherapunjee.

Hearing Lakidi view point, I expected it to be some hill view, but this was, in fact, a valley view with lofty mountain peaks, luxuriant vegetation, and the bird’s eye view of the deep valley with its winding roads. We wanted to drive down the valley to Kozhikode. By then, Aarush was deep in sleep with the motion of the car, so we took an opportunity to go down. It was a really breathtaking experience to drive on those winding roads with 9 sharp hairpin bends, and after a few more KMs, we asked one local how far is Kozikhode - the reply was 40 KMs. We could have gone to Kozikode if there was no other binding or if we had started early morning. In our case, we did booking that morning before starting from the homestay to visit Vythri resort, particularly the restaurant for the lunch buffet. And they are particular about timing from 1-3 PM only. It was already 1 PM on the watch, so we decided to return.

Here, we made one mistake I believe. Instead of visiting the temple and Kurvadweep on day one, we could have gone to Calicut (Kozhikode) for a one-night stay or just to see the sunset at the Arabian sea. Anyways, there is always next time.

While returning, we saw chain tree just 2 kms after the ghat pass. There is a story behind this tree. A tribal man showed a British this Tamarassery pass as a way to reach Mysore easily, and the British killed this man to get the full credit. Then lots of accidents happened on that road, and later one saint said the soul of the tribal man is responsible for these accidents. So the soul is now tied to that tree by a chain, and then it is believed that the accidents are reduced.

Next, we visited Pookot Lake. The lake is very calm and scenic, less crowded that day. Surrounded by hills and greenery. However, we didn’t do boating, as said we wanted to just relax. It is a natural freshwater lake surrounded by evergreen forest. This lake is around 11 km from Kalpetta. It is basically meant for children’s pleasure.

Then we left for Vythiri resort. It’s hidden among the hills. Roads are not yet tarred. Fifteen to twenty minutes’ drive through the tea gardens and forest may be a bit bumpy, but they are very picturesque and worth going there. The place is untouched and not exploited by urbanization. This gorgeous place has much to offer, and you cannot be out of places to see here. The setting is a lovely walk over the bamboo bridge to reach the restaurant and through the plantation. We reached just at 3 PM.

The food was excellent; they had rasam as soup, 5-6 varieties of salad, 3 kinds of cooked rice, and a long list of items like avial, erisery, thorans, varieties of fish curries, and chicken. Last but not least, 3-4 varieties of dessert too. We were truly up to the throat. Relaxed there for a while. Wanted to take their 1-hour trail but because of the dark, we didn’t take any risk and decided to return.

What is Kerala without an ayurvedic oil massage? My caretaker arranged for one that evening. Oh! It was really very soothing, felt like going to sleep in no time. Thanks to Santanu for babysitting Aarush, and he finished his dinner too by the time I was done.

This really was a home away from home. To relax totally and enjoy thoroughly, Wayanad has a salubrious climate. Thanks to Mrs. Sitha to make us feel at home with her warm hospitality and smiling face, which will remain deep in our hearts for long. She was always there for providing us with all kinds of comfort, be it looking after Aarush or washing his bottles or with boiled water. She is an excellent cook. We had puttu, appam, puri, Kerala parotha, kadi, and many others at her place. Mainly farm-fresh and organic products are used for cooking. Now I really feel 3 nights are very less to experience all this.

The next morning, we started our journey back to Bangalore around 11 from there. We had enough time to go to Edkaal caves and Soochipora falls, but we didn’t. One due to time crunch, secondly with Aarush we didn’t want to climb up or down the stairs to view these places which would have fatigued us. So without draining our stored energy much, we decided to return home. By 3 PM, we crossed Mysore, had Maddur vada and dosa on the way to Bangalore.