God’s Own Country! That phrase itself makes us think about the natural beauty that Kerala has to offer! Which is why, we planned to celebrate our 2nd marriage anniversary by doing what we love; riding and traveling to explore new places!
Starting from Bengaluru and proceeding towards Wayanad, Kochi, Vagamon, Munnar, Kodaikanal, Salem and then back to Bengaluru, we planned to embark on our first long distance ride through mountains, jungles, waterfalls, tea estates and nature in general!
Read on below to check out what we had in store for day 2 (Exploring Wayanad).
Our plan for today was to visit Kurumbalakotta Mala for sunrise followed by Banasura Sagar Dam, Karlad Lake and finally the Edakkal Caves before heading back to the room to get enough rest for the ride to Kochi tomorrow.
Kurumbalakotta Mala
We woke up at 4:00 AM, got ready and started riding towards Kurumbalkotta Mala. The sunrise timing was 6:15 AM on that day and the estimated riding time was about 1 hour. As such, we started by 5:10 AM assuming that it would be fine.
Quick note, it a pretty long hike to the view-point from the paring area and it would be a good idea to reach this place at-least 30 to 40 mins before sunrise. We left the bikes at the parking area and started walking towards to the viewpoint. If it weren’t for a small stretch of no roads (and a lot of slush), we would’ve taken the bike all the way to top. After walking through some steep inclines all the while carrying the riding gear and helmets, we observed that a few bikes were making their way after crossing that bad stretch that we spoke about.
This prompted us to think for a while whether to continue with the trek or to go back and try to get the bike. We opted for the second one (bad idea), but the bike started skidding and slipping in the slush and given that there were deep ditches with very narrow paths, we didn’t risk going further. Lifting a heavy bike like the classic 350 out of a deep ditch might require a lot of effort with help from many people and such a fall might also damage the bike.
Given that we had another 8 more days of riding in this trip, we turned back and parked the bike. After contemplating for a while whether to re-start the hiking or to head towards Banasura Sagar dam, we decided to skip the hike (we were already tired and sweating big time) and started riding towards Banasurasagar Dam, which was about a 30 minute ride away.
On the way to Banasura Sagar dam, we came across many beautifully lush green fields and couldn’t resist stopping for to click some photos!
Banasura Sagar Dam
Banasura Sagar Dam is supposedly the second largest earthen dam in Asia and is at the foot of the Banasura Hill. The views that this place has to offer is simple Majestic.
And it’s not just the views from the dam; the ride leading up to the dam is amazingly scenic as well. Think of cloud covered mountains, lush green field; we felt that we were truly in Mother Nature’s lap! After spending more than an hour here, we headed towards Karlad lake.
Important tip: Try to reach this place as early as possible to avoid the sun as well as the crowd. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to take some amazing photos!
Karlad Lake
This was a relatively small lake but is surely a popular spot with many tourists. One may just sit and relax for a while or opt for a boat ride (both pedal and row boats options are available) or one can go Ziplining as well. Indu opted for the Zipline adventure. Check out the video below.
Indu trying out the Zipline at Karlad Lake!
After spending some time here, resting, we headed back to the parking lot where there was a bakery. We had an Egg Maggi each and some coffee (much needed refreshments given that the next point involved some intense trekking).
After filling our bellies, we were on our way to Edakkal Caves, which was about 1.5 hrs ride from Karlad lake.
Edakkal Caves
The Edakkal caves are not technically caves, but rather a cleft, rift or rock shelter approximately 96 ft (29 m) by 22 ft (6.7 m), a 30-foot-deep (9.1 m) fissure caused by a piece of rock splitting away from the main body. (Info taken from Wikipedia).
Now, the caves by themselves are not that impressive. However, what’s impressive is that sense of achievement of completing the trek late in the evening after having been up and sightseeing for close to 12 hours! Not to mention the splendid views that this place has to offer from the top!
What’s truly astounding is the fact that we saw an 70-80-year “young” man complete the trek and he looked a lot more comfortable than most of us were after the trek! Simply amazing!
Dinner
The restaurant named “Wilton” is one of the highest rated restaurants near Sultan Bathery and that is precisely where we had out dinner. Our host for the evening was kind enough to suggest their specialties, and take good care of us, and we totally enjoyed their Fish Chatti Curry and Avoli Pollichathu with Kerala Poratta and Vellappam.
If in Wayanad, do head to Wilton for some amazingly delicious food!
Once done, we returned back to our room and packed our bags to be ready to leave as early as possible. We’ve heard many people say that the route from Wayanad to Kochi is terrible both in terms of traffic and the road condition!
That marks the end of this day’s travelogues. For details from the other days, check out the links below!
- Kerala Ride – Basic Overview
- Day 1 – Bangalore to Wayanad
- Day 2 – Exploring Wayanad (Kurumbalakotta Mala, Banasura Sagar Dam, Karlad Lake, Edakkal Caves)
- Day 3 – Wayanad to Kochi
- Day 4 – Kochi to Vagamon
- Day 5 – Vagamon to Munnar (with Vagamon Meadows)
- Day 6 – Exploring Munnar (Top Station, Echo Point, Matupetty Dam)
- Day 7 – Munnar to Kodaikanal
- Day 8 – Kodaikanal to Salem
Happy Riding!
The RE Travelers