We wanted to do a road trip as part of our honeymoon. Wayanad was chosen only because we saw Banasura Hill resort . It was the best decision as it is a unique place to stay.
We started around 8ish from Bangalore and drove continuously. Breakfast was done on some place along the highway. The drive was good. The route to Wayanad goes via Kabini lake and both of us were curious to see water from close. So, at one place, we could see an open ground, followed by some fields and then the lake. This visual cue was enough for us to go for a small hike to the lake. Kabini lake is quite beautiful and serene. What should be a 6 hr journey took us 9 hrs to finish.
Banasura hill resort is very nicely done. Located at the foothills of Banasura hill, it is completely made of mud. At the foothill, there is a small forest. These folks have just removed few trees and in place created mud houses. So, it feels like you are living practically within a forest. Living in a mud house is like living inside a matka (ghada), it is naturally cold.
So, while on one side, Banasura is a natural paradise, on the other side, it just spoils you when it comes to food. They prepare proper Kerala food and it is mind-numbingly tasty. For people who live to eat, I can not recommend it enough.
We had taken a package at the resort. As part of that we visited the Meenmutty waterfall and Banasura dam. The waterfall was nice as we even got to hike on stony rocks to see the source of fall up-close. Banasura dam is known to be second largest natural dam, we took a speed boat tour to enjoy the cool air. The evening was spent to relax our old bodies by means of a kerala oil massage.
The next day, we hiked to see a local waterfall and saw some coffee/pepper trees along the way. The evening was spent in watching movies sitting at the porch. We watched The Wind Rises and Alive Inside. The Wind Rises is the last Miyazaki film and a decent one. Alive Inside is just brilliant, it will move you to tears. What couple goes on to honeymoon, stays at an awesome natural resort and ends up watching movies on their laptop. Well, I don't know how many have done it but for us, it was a memorable experience. Later that day, the resort guys had set up a candle light dinner for us.
On the day of return, we did a short hike and toured their local tea plantation. Kanishka by this time had realized that if Arvind Batra hears that there is a hike, he will be on it in a short while. We also visited a small cave which was used by some Raja as a hiding place during British era.
On our way back, we ended up touring the famous Kuruvadweep, an ecologically preserved island on our way back to Bangalore. The only thing that I would like to remember from Kuruvadweep visit is to not visit it ever again. The place is underwhelming beyond description. But thanks to its elaborate setup, our 6 hr return journey became 12 hrs.
The end
1 comment:
Nice post good information about Wayanad.
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