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.
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.
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.
Sections of Areacode – Thamaressary Road
Thamaressary – Kaithapoyli Section of NH-212
And the best of them all. The Lakkidi climb. Love those hairpin bends.
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.
For next part, click here