Sunday, November 27, 2011

Wayanad


Wayanad is a wonderful hill station in north-east of Kerala (Munnar is another one). It shares border with Karnataka & Tamil Nadu states. The roads are very good and passes through forests, Bandipur national park, Muthanga wild life Sanctuary etc. Its about 300Kms from Bangalore via Mysoore and Gundalpet. Mysoore has many palaces, gardens etc. & in Gundalpet you can see acres of Flower on road side (depends on season). So its good weekend plan from Bangalore.

Driving through Thamarassery Churam - name is familiar to all Keralates, is the mountain road which connects Wayanad to rest of Kerala - was there in my whishlist since childhood.. It is a part of NH212 Mysore-Calicut highway and considered to be the most tedious road in kerala because of the sharp bends and hairpins.  We can see buses and trucks trying hard to negotiate the hairpins. When you enter Wayanad from Kerala you can see a big "welcome" board as soon as you reach the top of this mountain road which makes you will feel happy & proud, that finally you have made it.

There are many wonderful resorts available in Wayanad, Vythiri being the main one. Our stay was actually a company gift for serving 5 long years, but there were no rooms available in Vythiri. So we stayed in Meenmutty Heights, which was also a good one. There are many places to see in Wayanad, but we had other plans & could not visit them. Anyway here are some photos.



The great Thamarassery Churam, Wayanad 

                           Wayanad Roads                             Wayanad  Tea Plantations 

Kuruva Island, Wayanad

Meenmutty Heights Resort, Wayanad 

Meenmutty Heights Resort, Wayanad 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Nandi hills


Went for a weekend drive from the city, about 80km away. Nandi hills are about 1500meters above sea level, very near to new Bangalore International airport (BIAL), so the roads were very good. The view from the top of the hills is fantastic. Many monkeys are there fighting so don't carry any food with you otherwise they will catch it. Keep it in you car & locked. About 15 hairpins are to be negotiated to reach the top of the hill. There are some old temples and architectures. Below the hills you can farmers and their kids selling fresh gapes, we bought some to make some wine.

Top of Nandi hills

           
                    View from Nandi hills                  Neat railway lines on the way to Nandi hills