We reached the small but bustling town of Kalpetta with time to grab dinner. Paul, owner of the Bethel homestay, welcomed us and provided us with almost an hours worth of information on activities to do the following days. It was decided to hike the Chembra peak the next day, followed by a Jeep tour of several other sights on our last day.
We managed to grab the local bus to the base of the peak in the AM, and jumped in a rickshaw for a bumpy ride the last 7 km up to the trailhead. We were purchasing tickets for the required guide, when a Swiss couple showed up and joined in (whom would also share the guide fees). The trek set out amid lush tea plantations, and the morning fog cover filling the valleys was not yet dissipated by the morning sun. The path took a sharp incline upwards after a kilometer. By mid morning we had reached the “summit”- the heart shaped lake on a plateau, that is really the base of the much higher Chembra peak (which we were not allowed to climb). Nonetheless, the views of the endless hills were stunning. On the return path, we encountered many tourists getting a later start, and were glad to not be ascending in the heat. Back at the start point, we continued on foot down the road seven km to the bus stop instead of paying for a rickshaw ride over the rough terrain. A foreigner cannot go very far in India without encountering some curious Indians asking our country and asking for our picture. It was almost a bit much for us at times, but seemingly most inquiries were with good intentions. Paul’s mother Bethel (namesake of the homestay) prepared dinner for us in their dining room and fed us until we really insisted that we were full.
Our final day in Wayanad was occupied in a Jeep with a local guide. We stopped first at a large dam offering a serene morning view then, the Edakkal caves. After a steep hike and hundreds of stairs we reached a semi-enclosed chamber with the 6000 year old carvings etched into the rock. Most carvings were hard to distinguish at first, but the more we looked the more we uncovered. There were many human figures and animals, some near lifesize. Afterwards we made a brief visit to the Wayanad Heritage Museum, featuring many stone artifacts uncovered in the district. Still not fatigued, we took on another short but steep hike up to the Neelimala viewpoint with our required guide. The hike up the dirt track through the tea and coffee plantations eventually flattened out and gave us a view of the venerable Meenmutty waterfall visible across the valley. The three-tiered, 200m high waterfall was still flowing vigorously even during the dry season. Further up the path we came to a grassy clearing at the peak and took in the lush valley below. At the suggestion of our driver we then visited the Pookot Lake. It was a nice spot to sit and relax although it was quite popular with families renting paddleboats and eating ice cream. We concluded our day tour by making a quick stop at another nearby waterfall and taking in the Ghat road hairpin turn from a viewpoint across the valley. There were in fact nine hairpin turns on the road from Calicut, this one was one of the last. The bus ride up the winding road amid traffic constantly jockeying and passing kept us on edge, but got us into Kalpetta safely.
AJ - RTW adventure 