Christmas time was round the corner and we just could not bear the thought of sitting at home whiling away the precious 4 days holidays we had! So we decided to explore a new destination these holidays. After a lot of consideration we arrived at the decision of visiting Wayanad in Kerala. Wayanad means “Land of paddy fields “is located among the western Ghats. It’s a 6-8 hr long journey from Bangalore. We took the route via Mysore, Gundalpet and finally crossed the Kerala State check post to enter into Sultan bathery, the first entry point to the district from the route we took. It was one of the most thrilling and also a scary drive that I ever underwent. Seemed like a page out of a scary novel where we were driving right in the middle of the forest with thick vegetation on sides with hardly 2-3 cars crossing us during the entire two hours. Signboards of wildlife being present made it even more sinister. We had not planned to venture like this in the dark but the Bangalore city traffic and other unavoidable circumstances forced us to cover this last stretch to reach Wayanad. The trip being totally unplanned did not include any plan for accommodations. There are three kinds of accommodations available…hotels (which I never recommend for any hill station as you are confined in the 4 corners with nothing but the city traffic as the view from the window) , resorts ( offer some consolation in terms of natural beauty and views of valleys/lakes etc) and home stays ( particularly in this case these are homes of the farmland owners built to suit any visitors purpose. You feel completely at home in their house with all facilities provided plus a chance to stay in close touch with nature). It was very difficult to find accommodation as Christmas and New Year are the peak seasons. Also this time of the year rates of any accommodation are the highest. We were lucky enough to find just one of the home stay facilities which had a room available. The very description of the beauty of the place would consume this whole article space so I would try to keep it short and let the pictures speak. It was a cute one storied house set amidst pepper, cardamom and coffee plantation. The small entry gate to the resort and the house tucked away in this plantation is a pick out of a postcard. Another thing about home stay that makes any holiday memorable is their unbeaten hospitality. The owner in this case shared a special bond with each of his visitor. We were treated in a way which proved the old saying “atithi devo bhava”. Food was just like any good homemade food and we were at liberty to choose what we wanted to be cooked as there were 3-4 rooms available so they could afford to provide us what we liked the most. We got a lot of info about the place as the owners are locals of the area and have a great idea about the place. Wayanad as a place offers more than just enchanting views. It’s a great trekking destination too. On the first day we visited Eddukal caves which involved a lot of climbing uphill but the effort was worth it when we reached the top to see the beautiful view! The carvings on the cave walls dated back to Neolithic age makes one stare in awe. The whole visit to the caves itself consumed around 2-3 hrs and by the time we came back on ground we were very exhausted. Our next destination was the Soochipura waterfalls whose sight came as a relief to our senses. There are other waterfalls too worth a quick visit like Kantimara and Meenmutty falls. What makes these falls very beautiful is the rich cover of greenery all around. The route was full of long and winding roads with the petite tea plantations all around. Wherever the gaze could reach one found the tea shrubs! These two places were all that we could manage to cover by the evening time considering the fact that we took time to start (around 9.00 am).It was already dark by the time we were returning. One problem with Wayanad is that good restaurants are very hard to find. The Malabar paranthas /Kerala paranthas are very famous here but one has to be contended with eating out in small and dingy dhabas. We had to manage lunch somehow as a tasty dinner awaited us at the home stay  The next day we started out early for one of the most memorable walks so far! We were to visit the famous Kuruvadweep / Kuruva Island which is one of the most beautiful parts of this place. Unlike the tea shrubs this time w e were enchanted by the sight of bamboo plantations and the yellowish forest cover everywhere. There was almost no one to be seen in the entire 40 min drive that we had! On reaching the spot we were informed that we needed to cross a 3 km rough patch as the road in the forest were kaccha. This added to our joy and we decided to take a walk. This has been one of the most unforgettable experiences ever….walking through the woods as they called it…with only the sounds of dry leaves under our feet and the tall trees swaying in the winds. The bamboos collided against one another to produce a typical strange sound which we heard throughout our walk. Kuruva island visit turned out to be a totally different experience. The islands water comes from the tributaries of Kabbani River. After a lot of careful steps we crossed the several small island kinds of structures. The water was full of slippery rocks beneath. Overall a refreshing experience. Our next destination was the famous Pookot Lake. I must admit that I didn’t find it very special. What was good about this place was the green cover of 2 kms surrounding the entire lake where one could take a walk. Tonga and horse rides are available to cover this circumference and can be availed at reasonable rates. Unlike other hill stations there aren’t many viewpoints in this place. The one that’s famous is the “Lakkidi view point” which is a few kms ahead of Pookot Lake. We spent the evening there having the delicious local feast like chocolate ice-cream bars and had a good time. We had one more place to cover before it got dark and that was the Banasura dam. I must say it was one of the wisest things we did…going there during sunset as the view was awesome. There was negligible crowd there. We went and sat close to the water…sitting on the few rocks that were around to watch the sun go down. So that was all we could cover in the short 2 days time. There were many other famous places that we had to leave out due to lack of time like the Thirunelli temple, wild life sanctuary etc. Overall the visit was worth every penny we spent. Wayanad is a totally different kind of a place. I cannot say it’s a hill station purely but it offers a lot to its visitors. For one.. even in the peak season other than the caves no other place was crowded so one can imagine what it would be like in the off season. The place offers great privacy and peace of mind. Of course food is a problem due to lack of good restaurants but that didn’t seem a very big hassle considering the fact that home stay offered delicious breakfast and dinner. We left Wayanad early next morning.. feeling sad to leave the lush green forests and the home stay of course! Hoping to visit it sometime again!