Hyderabad to Wayanad road trip.

[tejub]

Wayanad - Truly a nature's paradise

 

Why : Monsoon drive

Where : Wayanad, Kerala

Distance : ~2000 kilometres

Ride : Maruti Suzuki Wagon R

Fuel : Petrol Mileage : 15KMPL

Stay: Thejas Resorts

 

Route Taken:

Hyderabad (Gachibowli) - Kurnool - Bangalore - Mysuru - Gundlupete - Wayanad.

 

Road condition: 

The road conditions throughout the drive have been splendid and we enjoyed every bit of our drive on the ghat.

Except for a few bad stretches in the interiors of the village when we explored new routes, rest of the main roads are excellent.

The season being monsoon, added a lot of beauty to the scene.

 

 Places to visit in Wayanad:

• Edakkal Caves
• Karapuzha dam
• Phantom hill point
• Jain Temple
• Banasura dam
• Pookot Lake
• Lakkidi View point
• Minmooty waterfalls
• Wayanad wildlife Sanctuary
• Soochipara Waterfalls
• Kanthampara Waterfalls
• A lot of Tea states enroute and amazing roads.

 

Day-00: Hyderabad - Kurnool - Bangalore (550 kms & 7.5 hours including a dinner break)

 

Day-01: Bangalore - Mysuru - Gundlupete - Wayanad (Sultan Bathery) (6 hours of drive time - 275 kms)

 

We reached our stay by 9:00 AM @Thejas resorts in Sultan Bathery. It is sited amidst one of the most beautiful locations of Wayanad between the forest offering best of the authentic Kerala ambience.

 

We started our drive to the first site, that is the Edakkal Caves post breakfast.

 

You need to walk around 2 kms up the hill on a paved path from the parking area.

 

Trek up the Ambukutty hills to reach the foot of the cave which was quite strenuous but adventurous. The rain during our trek added more fun to the scene.

 

The first sight of the cave. It is technically not a cave but a rock shelter caused by a piece of rock splitting away from the main body.

 

 

Beautiful view of Wayanad from the top of the Ambukutty hills.

 

We had to get down a lot of stairs on our way back from the cave. The view throughout our descent down the hill was just splendid as we walked through the cloud cover.

 

Few stretches of this track were quite interesting.

 

Don't forget to carry an Umberella or a raincoat when you take this place.

 

There are quite a few view points on the edge to get some good clicks of the views that the place has offered us.

 

Our next drive was towards the Karapuzha dam. We took the road which was quite a loner passing through interiors of numerous number of villages as we moved towards this dam.

Note: Choose the main road if one has to worry about the road condition as this track doesn't offer you the best of the roads. We chose this track to enjoy the remote beauty through the fields. 

 

Karapuzha dam is one of the biggest earth dams India has got and totally for the purpose of irrigation.

 

The path towards this dam offers some amazing views of nature

 

This dam was built on the Karapuzha river a tributary of the Kabini river

 

Some pleasant and beautiful pictures of the place.

 

One of the best places to walk around the path and spend an evening amidst nature to relax

 

 

Phantom rock is one of the rarely visited archaeological sites in Wayanad which is located 13 kms from Kalpetta.

 

Phantom rock was our last visited spot of the day. We moved back to the resort for the night to enjoy some authentic Kerala delicacies for dinner.

 

[tejub]

Day -02 (Wayanad wildlife safari, Banasura dam, Pookot lake, Lakkidi)

 

We started our day with the Wayanad wild life sanctuary.

The safari starts at 8 AM in the morning. The number of entries for the safari is limited to 10 Jeeps per session. Make sure you are available at the ticket counter by 6 AM to queue up.

Number of members per jeep for the safari is 7 members which costs around 220/head.

 

Few pictures of the tracks as we traced our path into the Wayanad forest reserve.

 

The forest seemed quite a denser one when compared to the Bandipur and Mudumalai forest reserves.

 

 

 

 

Pardon me for the image qualities as they were clicked from my mobile during the hiccups of an off-road drive.

 

We spotted a group of elephants and deers during the safari.

 

The Safari drive lasted for an hour.

 

Our next destination was towards the Banasura dam.

 

The Banasura Sagar Dam is located around 20 km from Kalpetta which is the largest earthen dam in India and the second largest in Asia.

 

Banasura Sagar Dam impounds the Karamanathodu tributary of the Kabini River

 

This project is to support the Kakkayam Hydro-electric power project in order to satisfy the demand for irrigation and drinking water in a region known to have water shortages in seasonal dry periods.

 

The dam's reservoir has a set of islands that were formed when the reservoir submerged the surrounding areas.

 

The islands with the Banasura hills in the background provide a spectacular view.

 

 

The dam is made up of massive stacks of stones and boulders.

 

We drove down through a numerous number of tea estates which offered a spectacular view on our way towards the next destination i.e. Pookode lake

 

Enroute Pookode lake

 

 Pookode lake is a natural freshwater lake in Wayanad nestling amid evergreen forests and mountain slopes. Boating is one good thing you can enjoy here. The place is quite crowded towards the commercial end.  

 

We then drove down towards one of Wayanad's best view point. i.e. Lakkidi View point

 

Lakkidi is a true rainforest along some deciduous forests in the ghat section of Wayanad which happens to rain continuously between May to December. It is called as the Cheerapunji of Kerala

 

A bird's eye view from the Lakkidi view point which is located 700m ASL. Closest town to Lakkidi is Vythiri.

 

[tejub]

 

Day -03 (Soochipara waterfalls, Kanthanpara waterfalls, Kalpetta)

 

The next day, we had checked out of the resort and started towards the Soochipara waterfalls.

 

Beautiful monsoon views enroute Soochipara

 

 

Our drive for this trip has fared quite good during a few off-road tracks to my surprise

 

 

Splendid view of the village next to Soochipara

 

We reached Soochipara falls by 10:00 AM and it started to rain heavily.

 

It is a 2KM hike from the parking point till the foot of the waterfalls. Don't forget to carry your rain wear or umbrellas.

 

 

After an hour's hike in the rain, we get to click the first site of the Soochipara waterfalls

 

 

We drove to the next point i.e. the Kanthanpara falls. Both Kanthanpara and Minmooty falls remained closed due to heavy rain and monsoon as it turned out to be risky.

 

Walking track enroute Kanthanpara falls

 

Water flow towards the falls

 

After we got done with winding the beauty of Wayanad into our memory bank, we started back to our base and reached Hyderabad by 11PM.

Before I close down, I would like to share a few pics of the beautiful resort we stayed at and some authentic Kerala delicacies we savoured.

 

View of the resort from the entrance

 

 

Overlooking at the beautiful view our verandah was offering us

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We savoured some authentic Kerala dishes such as 'Pathri' and 'Puttu'

 

-Thank you.

[sagar]

Great post @teju b.. You haven't missed out on any. Loved the resort. Minmooty waterfalls is another placed you have missed out on. Great show as always!

[Gowtham]

Nice report guys.
Resort looks great.
How much does it cost?

[hsudhir]

Wayanad is the best place to relax during the monsoons and you have captured everything very beautifully. Thanks a lot for sharing all the needed information. The resort which you guys stayed looks so authentic and fabulous. Any spotting of tigers or other wildlings apart from elephants and deers?

 

[tejub]

3 hours ago, Ranger said:

Nice report guys.
Resort looks great.
How much does it cost?

Thanks so much @Ranger.

Thejas resort is basically a non-profit organisation where in the profits serve a charity home which is one thing I loved about. The food is very economical and delicious too.

The resort is actually priced around 4500 INR per night for a premium room which includes breakfast buffet in compliment.

The resort staff right from the reception desk, chef, room service and staff in the restaurant have been very helpful, friendly and polite.

 

22 minutes ago, hsudhir said:

Wayanad is the best place to relax during the monsoons and you have captured everything very beautifully. Thanks a lot for sharing all the needed information. The resort which you guys stayed looks so authentic and fabulous. Any spotting of tigers or other wildlings apart from elephants and deers?

 

Thank you @hsudhir, We couldn't spot any other apart from elephants and deers. Frankly, Bandipur safari is much better than Muthanga safari in terms of spotting wildlings.

[mansur]

Lovely pictures @teju b. Wayanad looks absolutely beautiful during the monsoon. can these places be covered in a weekend considering Saturday and Sunday?

[brteja]

Wayanad during monsoon looks awesome. I have been to Wayanad before but it was during the month of December. It was peaceful but rain is what i have missed at that place. Looks really beautiful and pleasant to spend a holiday. 

[murthy]

@teju b Amazing story lined up with some lovely pictures. Nature at it's best. In love with the resort you have chosen. Perfect place to relax on a holiday.

[Saran]

Great write up@teju b

Beautiful pictures.
whats the total expense for the trip. I'm planning for this road trip?
 

[tejub]

On ‎14‎-‎07‎-‎2017 at 5:31 AM, Saran said:

Great writeup@teju b ..... beautiful pictures... whats the total expense for the trip. I'm planning for this roadtrip.

Sent from my S7 - Using India-Drive App
 

 

Thanks a lot @Saran. The whole trip costed approximately around 15K per head which includes everything.

[gunadat]

Excellent pics.
 

[mayank]

@teju bAwesome stuff yaar.. Pictures on every place that you visited and details on every place that you provided will definitely help the members planning their travel to Wayanad. And as I read above, a special mention about the resort and their charity work. Wayanad looks really beautiful during the rains. You have visited during the perfect time.

[vinz]

Excellent travelogue and pics.

[Arvind]

On 10/07/2017 at 9:29 PM, sagar said:

Great post @teju b.. You haven't missed out on any. Loved the resort. Minmooty waterfalls is another placed you have missed out on. Great show as always!

Fantastic... Great job... Nice review.

[sharma]

Hi @teju b .. Lovely narration and great pictures.

A small update, The minmooty falls which was closed during your visit is now open to visitors as the water flow got down comparatively. People planning their travel to Wayanad this season shouldn't miss to visit this. Please make sure that your visit is before 4 PM max. as all the places close down by 5 PM.

[SSSS]

Really nice travelogue. Wayanad is now in my bucket list.

[karthik]

Waynad is pending in my to do list.
Do you guys think it is possible to do Hyderabad to Waynad in a single day?

[kkkumar]

yes, we started 4.00 AM in Hyderabad and reached  Waynad by 6 PM.

 

[Gowtham]

21 hours ago, kkkumar said:

yes, we started 4.00 AM in Hyderabad and reached  Waynad by 6 PM.

 

 

That is quick.
How are the roads after crossing Bandhipur forest?
Im planning to drive down on this month end.
I will be driving Civic, so little concerned about ground clearance issues.

[kkkumar]

I did this in jun 2016.

One of my friend did in December 2017, he said roads are good.

[Gowtham]

20 hours ago, kkkumar said:

I did this in jun 2016.

One of my friend did in December 2017, he said roads are good.

Thank you for the update.
Im driving down to Wayanad on the next weekend.

 

Any must visit places?

[kkkumar]

chembra peak

[Gowtham]

11 minutes ago, kkkumar said:

chembra peak

 

I heard it is closed. Will be opened again in monsoon.
Reason : Forest fire

[Guest lokesh]

Hi,

Nice thread. Great information and pictures. Yes, it is possible to do Hyderabad to Wayanad in a single day provided, make sure you reach or cross Bangalore by 11 AM. I would recommend to do this trip in monsoon. Though it rains, wayanad poses the best for us during monsoon.

[Guest Sejil]

18 hours ago, kkkumar said:

chembra peak

 

One can only trek up this Chembra peak from the parking point. It's a moderate level trek and not so easy for any beginner. But, It surely is so much fun. Dont miss it.

[Gowtham]

6 hours ago, Guest lokesh said:

I would recommend to do this trip in monsoon.

 

Agree on it, monsoon is the best time to visit hills. 

 

5 hours ago, Guest Sejil said:

It's a moderate level trek and not so easy for any beginner.

It helps, thank you. 

[Jitender]

On 2/19/2018 at 2:45 PM, kkkumar said:

yes, we started 4.00 AM in Hyderabad and reached  Waynad by 6 PM.

 

How many tolls are there from Hyderabad to Waynad and whats the cost it would be great if you can help with this we are planning for January trip

[Murali205]

Tolls are only on Hyderabad - Bangalore highway, around Rs.1000, one way.

Make sure that you cross Muthanga forest check post before 9PM. It will be closed 9PM-6AM.

I have done few trips recently through this route.

[Gowtham]

On 12/26/2019 at 4:20 PM, Jitender said:

How many tolls are there from Hyderabad to Waynad and whats the cost it would be great if you can help with this we are planning for January trip

 

Major section is between Hyderabad to Bangalore. 

Welcome on board to the group. 

 

On 1/7/2020 at 2:08 PM, Murali205 said:

Make sure that you cross Muthanga forest check post before 9PM. It will be closed 9PM-6AM.

As Murali suggested,  ^^this is very useful information. 

This is the reason we stopped over at Mysuru and started on the next day.

I would recommend you to stopover at Mysuru, very good accommodations are available at decent price. 

Cover few places(like Palace etc) and start over to Wayanadu.