A trip to Wayanad district, Kerala

Wayanad District came into existence on 1st November, 1980 as the 12th District of Kerala consisting of Mananthavady, Sulthanbathery and Vythiri Taluk. The name Wayanad is derived from ‘Vayal Nadu’
which means the land of paddy fields. It is a picturesque plateau situated at a height between 700 meters and 2100 meters above the mean sea level nested among the mountains of the Western Ghats on the Eastern portion of North Kerala and on the sides of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka States. The District was carved out from the then Kozhikode and Kannur Districts. About 885.92.sq.km of area is under forest and hence the culture of Wayanad is mainly tribal oriented. Wayanad is the only district in Kerala that shares border with both the neighboring states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It shares border with Kozhikode, Kannur, and Malappuram districts in Kerala; Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu; and Chamarajanagar, Mysore, and Kodagu (Coorg) districts in Karnataka. set high on the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2100 m, there are various things one could do here like:

1. Visit the scenic Chembra Peak
2. Exoplore Edakkal Cave that has evidences of stone age civilizations with its markings on the cave
3. Visit the uninhabited Kuruva Island and observe rare species of birds, orchids and herbs
4. Visit Muthanga Wild Life Sanctuary, the biggest abode of wild animals in Malabar
5. Visit the largest earth dam in India, the Banasura Sagar Dam
6. History lovers could visit the Pazhassi Raja Tomb in North Wayanad. It’s also got entertainment spots for children.
7. You can witness stretches of waterfalls ranging at places from 100 to 300 feet height at Soochipara waterfalls. The pool below, provides for water rafting, swimming, bathing,etc.

The higher elevation and forest cover of Wayanad creates a comfortable and a cool climate. Hence the place has cool weather throughout the year. Even the summer heat here is quite tolerable with the maximum temperature rarely exceeding 31 degrees.