The last long weekend, we decided to make a short (3-day) trip to Wayanad, Kerala. From Bangalore the distance according to google map’s about 270km (~169 miles). On paper, the estimated time of journey was 5-1/2 hrs, on-road reality was at 7-hrs (with about an hour break). That works out to cheap 38.5 kmph (~24 mph)! That’s no indication that I am too slow a driver, but rather a grim picture of the infrastructure conditions in India.
The onward journey:
NICE Ring rd. –> Bangalore-Mysore Exp. Way –> Mysore –> Gundlupet –> Sulthan Bathery –> Wayanad
The NICE road, was really pleasant to drive on. We started off by 6:30 am. Not much traffic around. When we hit the Mysore-Bangalore Express way, we were greeted with devilish speed-bumps (breakers). Many parts of Mysore seem to be hosting these speed-breakers in triplets. Most places in India I’ve gone to, I’ve only seen these single-hump speed breakers, Mysore had three of them running in a wave-flow fashion. That’s clearly very bad engineering. We have to end up holding down the clutch pedal of the car as we go over those three bumps. Sad.
The roads were fine other wise without much of surprise potholes.
The drive in Kerala was fairly “Kerala-like” – narrow lanes but good roads for the most part.
Reverse-journey to Bangalore:
for this we chose to skip the Mysore road an instead try the kanakpura road.
Wayanad –> Sultan Bathery –> Gundlupet –> Mysore –> Malavalli –> Kanakpura Rd. –> Bangalore
For this trip too, most of the roads were fine until Kerala (narrow, but fine). The moment you hit the kerala-karnatake border, you are again invited with speed-break bumps. They continue on almost every kilometer for a really long time until you cross the national forest. At many places, the annoyance is even greater since there are no indications or road-signs or any warnings to indicate the humps. That’s what happens when you imitate instead of imbibe. (we continued the road humps from the Britishers, but never really got to the bottom of our own needs and requirements.)
Kempe Gowda would certainly be cursing the current league of Karnataka politicians for ruining the city of Bangalore.
Another issue with the Kanakpura road is poor-to-no-lighting on the roads. When you are driving after dusk, it’s impossible to move around without high beam – which of course is not nice for the motorists on the other side of the road! To me Kanakpura side of the return journey seemed like accident waiting to happen. Luckily it was uneventful.
Stay in Wayanad:
We chose the The Kallat Hotel at Kalpetta. The hotel itself was fairly decent. Was a little hard to find at first. We recognized the need for not relying on the GPS for navigation to the hotel. The GPS took us to some remote corner befitting a cheap bollywood movie dacoits union square! Best thing to do is to ask the locals (auto drivers are very helpful and knowledgeable) for Kalpetta and then the Kallat hotel. Once at the hotel, you can set the GPS to set the current location with a specific tag and use that for future navigation requirements. That worked better.
The staff at the hotel were a delight to interact with. All of them were friendly without being over-bearing. Room size was impressive. We stayed in a 3-bed room A/C suite. Housekeeping could have been a little better here. We received no soap on day 2! No toilet tissues were provided. We had to ask for it all. Once asked, they were prompt and responsive in the delivery.
The hotel offered complimentary breakfast. If it was up to me, I would send the cook back to culinary school to learn it all from the basics. The idlis were soft on the outside and hard (very hard) on the inside. Salt was either too little or too much. Paneer was roasted and burnt beyond recognition. Bread was like rubber (on day 1). We had to make special request for butter-knives.
Thereabouts at Wayanad:
First stop was Banasura Sagar Dam: We parked our car and stepped into the gate towards the Dam to book a Jeep for Rs.100. There were four of us. We had the option of inviting four more to share the cost, but we chose not to. As soon as we dismounted the vehicle, a downpour started. We had to huddle in a nearby shed for 15-20 min. before choosing to walk out under umbrella. After-all we had to leave by 5:30pm and so no time to lose. Couldn’t get too may good photos here.
At Banasura Sagar Dam
Second stop was Edakkal Caves. It tuned out to be a really long and tiring “trek” to the mouth of the cave. Although the infrastructure at the place is good, senior citizens might feel a bit stressed unless they take multiple breaks on the journey. This actually has really strong historical implications, but lack of any guide or posts at the place makes it look like a worthless trek that’s all about the journey and nothing about the destination. Hope the Kerala government will take some steps to remedy that.
A Red Hibiscus
Line to entrance of Edakkal caves
Next stop was the Soochipara Waterfalls. This was also a little longish trek along well laid out pathway, but elder-lies may find it a little tiring and will certainly need some helping hand at various points, particularly the last 200 meters. I was annoyed at the sight of young men walking around callously when then could have easily offered a helping hand to many elderly folks on the way. I did my bit and offered help to those that seemed to possibly need it.
The place is very scenic and beautiful. Although, I felt they could maintain it much more better for the amount they charge as entrance and camera fees. The place was teeming with people and hence impossible to snap a picture without someone in it!
A Panorama shot at the Soochipara Waterfalls
The Soochipara Waterfalls
Another Panorama @ Soochipara
Another place we visited was the Pookode lake. Not really a great place and worth our time. Still, a snap at the place –
At the Pookode Lake
We would have loved to go few more places including the national forest and wildlife sanctuary. nonetheless, few more snaps to wrap it all up –
A Foggy Morning @ Wayanad
Silhouette in the Dusky Sky