Exploring Western Ghats : Part 8 : Palakkad Wayanad

Exploring Western Ghats : Part 8 : Palakkad Wayanad

Munnar – Palakkad – Wayanad / May 14 – May 15
Yet another weekend and we need to drive long distance. Target is Palakkad, Kerala where we halt for the night before moving on to Wayanad.

Route Recap :

Hyderabad – Chennai – Kodaikanal – Marayoor Munnar – Kochi – Vagamon – Thekkady – Munnar – Palakkad – Kalpetta (Wayanad) – Masinagudi – Ooty – Ananthpur (AP) – Hyderabad.

For previous part, click here


May 14, 2016

Started around noon from Munnar. Totally forget the mega mess that Aravikulam National Park entrance is. Got stuck in major traffic and wasted roughly 45 minutes there To restore peace of mind, we went to the same river side . Such a nice place and everybody wants to stand in queue at Aravikulam National Park instead. Sad.

The bridge

The Obstacle

Peace

After spending about half an hour by the river, we get going. Nothing significant for the rest of the route except that it was getting crazy hot as we moved closer to the plains. Also, the election campaigns were at it’s peak as it was probably the last day of campaign. But we were totally stunned to see one of the best disciplined traffic in India so far. Here is a video for your reference. It was almost a kilometer long jam and no one moved out of line except 2-3 autos.

May 15, 2016
Palakkad is a beautiful little town with pitch black roads with brightest white markings almost everywhere. It’ll be such a nice place to live only if it wasn’t that humid hell. Sun felt harsh even at 8:00 AM. Since we had ample time at hand, we decided to visit the Palakkad Fort. We were totally surprised when we reached there. It’s a small fort that houses a temple and a state prison now. There is a trench all around for protection. That was a first for us.

Palakkad Fort

Satellite view of the fort

Jail inside fort

After a quick visit to the fort, we started for Wayanad. Roads were smooth all along  and were under development wherever they weren’t smooth. Not many food though. We stopped at this place called Priya Supermarket and Food Court (not on the map yet). Decent place.

Priya Supermarket & Food Court

Sections of Areacode – Thamaressary Road

Thamaressary – Kaithapoyli Section of NH-212

And the best of them all. The Lakkidi climb. Love those hairpin bends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cItQ…FNyCSUwVwI-Yal

View from Lakkidi View Point

Love of my life

Moving on to Wayanad

Our home-stay manager recommended that we visit Pookode lake on the way. We did go there but Sundays are not the days to visit tourist places. I keep forgetting that all the time. Somehow managed to get out of the mess and went straight to the guest house. Took some rest and visited a little waterfall. Peaceful place. One of the best sleeps I had in recent times.

The Jack Fruit Tree – Home-stay

View from balcony. Chembra peak there at the center.

Our home-stay from the other side

The little waterfall behind our homestay

Jumbo home cooked food for dinner.

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