Wayanad- Pristine Charm Beckons

This green paradise sculpted with lush tea and coffee estates is nestled among the mountains of western ghats and is located about 280 kms from Bangalore.

Reaching Vythiri

We drove down from Bangalore through Mysore, Nanjangud, Gundlupet, Bandipur in Karnataka, through the Muthunga wild life sanctuary in Kerala, Sulthan bathery and Kalpetta to reach Vythiri in Wayanad district.

Annapara, a homestay in Vythiri was our final destination and our cozy abode for the next three days. The rooms were spacious and very comfortable and the hospitality was great! Praveen and Shibu were very courteous and took care of all our needs. We felt satiated with simple, yet delicious kerala cuisine. Some of the fare that tickled our tastebuds is the tomato curry in coconut gravy, the light and fluffy idiappam served with coconut milk and vegetable curry, Puttu(steamed rice cakes) with kadla (black chana) curry, the celestial ada prathaman and the egg omelette with tender green pepper thrown in to add a zing to it!


Trekking through Vythiri

Trekking through winding trails chiseled through the lush green tea and coffee estates was itself a divine experience. It is a land of spices; Almost every crop such as coffee, black-pepper, ginger, turmeric, cocoa, arecanut, tea, rubber, vanilla etc are grown here. Black pepper produced from this hill station is famous in the world of spices because of its unique quality and aroma. The dangling bunches of tender green pepper tempted us to pick and munch a few, sending our taste buds into a tizzy!

In the dense forest, Praveen showed us the sambrani tree- the fragrant sap of its bark is made into resinous crystals burnt to produce a fragrant, soothing smoke.



We also saw a rare union of two trees of different species, the inner tree snug in a cozy embrace of the outer tree!





On our trek, we rested at a pretty waterfall of the kabini river and soaked our feet in the sparkling cold water.






The sunset was an awesome sight to watch and cherish. We returned to Annapara to warm ourselves around the bonfire and relax in the thatched hut, watching the splendid moon in the silent night.




Wildlife

We rushed out to the raucous calls of hornbills known to love the zing of spicy pepper. We saw a few Malabar pied hornbills noisily fly away from the pepper plantations. Arun spotted a green vine snake, camouflaged in the coffee plantations. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
For a few moments it basked in the camera attention, posing for charming shots. But soon its obvious irritation was palpable, when it threatened the camera with a HISS!