Stray Tiger shot dead In Wayanad

After 12 days of fear The Infamous Tiger shot killed at Moolankave a small tounship of Wayanad. Forest officials said that they tried their level maximum to protect tiger. Their mission was to capture the tiger alive. But because of the uncountable mob gathered there to catch the tiger they were compelled to shoot the tiger to death.

Meenmutty Falls, Wayanad

Meenmutty Falls is a three-tiered waterfall with a height of 300 meters. It is Kerala's second largest waterfall and the one most unspoiled in its natural setting.  
It is not for the easy going traveler and requires descending down a very steep slope to have a look at the fall. The climb back can be exhausting. 
If you are looking for an adventure trek meenmutti is ideal for you. The waterfall is worth the is quite tiring and difficult  path to the falls 
Guides are available on the way and it is advisable to get help from them as there are different paths which leads to the different layers of the falls.
Meenmutty falls is in Kalpetta Ootty root and is around 29 Kms from Kalpetta.Each of its three tiers requires a separate hike through a moist, deciduous forest. In Malayalam, the mother tongue of Keralites, Meenmutty means, 'Where fish are blocked'. Since there is upward falls where fishes can't swim further this name is given to the falls.

The Wayanad Churam/Thamarassery Churam

Wayanad Pass (Churam) a view from viewpoint

Thamarassery Churam /Wayanad Churam  is the gateway to picturesque  Wayanad district. (header of this blog is a snap of WAYANAD CHURAM) This pass connects Wayanad to Kozhickode district. as wayanad this pass also is picture perfect. There are nine hairpin bends in this 14 km long pass. This great pass is known for it's beauty and dangerous hairpins . This is the main entrance in four or five passes to Wayanad. It starts from Adivaram,a small town in Kozhikode district. The nine hairpin bends are very amazing. The view from the top to the bottom of the pass will give you a small picture of how the vehicles are moving,slowly through the misty mighty and greatest of all ghats in south india.  in the picture you can see the night traffic of wayanad mountain pass

A walk through this mountain pass itself is enough to make you recharged . You can see the monkeys all the way through. In some occasions, some monkeys even get into the vehicles and will take away the visitors bags and suits. feeding them is illegal and try not to do so.

The view point is another attraction of wayanad pass. This is situated above the ninth hairpin bend, at a height of 2000 feet above sea level( Wayanad is about 1 Km above sea level ).. you will get  excellent view of the green forest beneath. You can see the heavy vehicles moving up, taking long turns in the hairpin bends and the miniature view of small towns beneath. 
Chain tree is the place where the real founder of the Pass is chained. There is an interesting feature about this tree. Although this tree is getting taller, the straight chain hanging on the tree has been just touching the ground.

History of Wayanad Churam :During the British rule, it was difficult to get into the green paradise Wayanad. . It's spices and beauty attracted them the most. But there was not a better route to Wayanad. They tried to make many passes. But it didn't reach any where. The head of a tribal community know the best access to Wayanad. He told them the way, the Thamarassery Churam. They constructed the pass and said that it was their idea and plan. Moreover the real founder was hanged to death. Then according to local myth, it is said that his soul made the travel through the pass difficult. He threw away the vehicles into the valley and made travel through the pass a nightmare. Then he was chained to a tree by a Muslim magician and the tree he was chained is still there (The Chain tree shown in the picture). 

New proposal for connecting wayanad through railway

Its been a century after the first proposal to connect wayanad to the railway map by making the much discussed malabar mysore rail route.
But after successfully completing three surways, one by British and rest by our engineers, still its a dream. Not becoming a reality.
Its a truth that there is thousands of studants from malabar area is travelling through wayanad to reach different parts of karnataka. Apart from this, there is a considerable logistics flow is taking place through NH 212. But after the ban of night traffic through this area, the traffic flow is highly affected. Rail connectivity is the only solution which will cater to the trade as well as travel needs of a huge community comprised of people from wayanad, gudallur of tamilnad, and chamrajnagar, gunlupet of karnataka.
The action commitee which is formed to fuel the action on this issue proposes a new solution which is much economical and eco friendly than the former proposals. The new plan is like connecting Nanjangaud to wayanad trough the 20 kms forest by an elevated bridge. Though the proposed bridge is elevated, which will not influence the forest and animals in anyway. So that night traffic also is possible through this elevated rail bridge.
And the main modification in the new proposal is to end the rail at Gudallur instead of connecting all the way through Nilambur, which will increase the construction cost by multifold. The action commitee states that as per the present estimate, the project can be completed in 825 crore Indian rupee. And within the third year of operation, the new route will be running in profit.

Edakkal cave and Edakkal Stone carvings

Edakkal Cave is the most popular place, and the most visited place in Wayanad. Edakkal cave is well known for the prehistoric stone carvings inside it. The carvings are made somewhere before 5000BC in the timeline. it is assumed that the Edakkal caves had been inhabited at various stages in History.

The name “Edakkal” literally means “a stone in between”, and this describes how the cave is formed by a heavy boulder straddling a fissure in the rock.you have to climb the mount Ambukuthi to reach the first Edakkal cave, but you will surely reach the top if you keep in mind that you are going to watch one of the first artworks made by human.

Edakkal.com describes the carvings as: "Thousands of years ago in a rock shelter at Edakkal, stone age people recorded their disquiet and anxiety at the social changes brought about by Iron Age technology. In 1910 an amateur archaeologist rediscovered their work and sought to bring it to the attention of professional colleagues and the general public. What makes the Edakkal caves important today."  

As far as we can tell, they were probably created during the Neolithic period of the Late Stone Age and date from about 1000BC. In addition to the pictorial carvings, five ancient inscriptions have been identified of which two have been deciphered.

Historian M.R. Raghava Varier of the Kerala state archaeology department identified a sign “a man with jar cup” that is the most distinct motif of the Indus valley civilization. The finding made in 2009 September indicates that the Harappan civilization was active in the region. Interestingly, the “a man with jar cup” symbol from Edakkal seems to be more similar to the Indus motif than those already known from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Mr. Varier said “The discovery of the symbols are akin to that of the Harappan civilisation having predominantly Dravidian culture and testimony to the fact that cultural diffusion could take place. It is wrong to presume that the Indus culture disappeared into thin air.” 

A weekend at a height of 1km from see level :wayanad

Hi all! last week I had a weekend night party at a home-stay situated in the outskirts of Sultans Bathery of Wayanad. I suggest Wayanad as the place you must visited once befor you die. In fact Suthan Bathery is my home place. Nowadays I work at Kochi (Cochin). another tourist hot spot of Kerala , gods own country. I visit Wayanad fortnightly as my parents live there. But this time there was something special which made me go there. one of my close friends sister is getting married, and all our Bangalore buddies were there . so its kind of a fun filled re-union with my friends. I was expecting tons of fun when i am preparing my back pack for the journey. because they all are high voltage guys. spending time with such guys is like recharging yourself.

I reached Wayanad by Friday midnight, and I was tired because of the long journey I have had through the poor conditions roads of Kerala. It is better to travel in a Jeep or SUV because those are designed to perform well in off road too :).

A phone woke up me in the morning. it was a call from my another close friend Mahesh who is working abroad. he is in a vacation here. we planed for a meet by afternoon. looking at my watch, I came to know that I overslept this  weekend too as i always do. after meeting my homeboys(Mahesh, Jobin and others). I headed towards the Brides home. because the actual celebration happens today ie; the day before marriage.  in Kerala, there is some celebration in  the brides home in the evening before the marriage day. which will long to midnight and will be spiced up by live music and some art-forms too. so it is not advised to miss that yesterday fun.

The Surprise

I thought He would arrange some rooms for us. but He my friend, the brides brother managed to book a lonely cottage for us. we all are surprised to know that, and the cottage was in the middle of a coffee plantation and is isolated from the outer world.

Bangaluru guys were already there. and finished with a bottle of whiskey.( but with the cold of winter evening it didn't worked out well ). after changing we moved toward the brides house. there was a live music session as expected. but most of them are listening to music seated and silently. we are the only ones making the evening "live" by making some noise and shaking a leg with the dance numbers sung by the troop.

the funniest thing happened is we made the serious guys to dance including the brides father.
in our locality the elders will behave like "black cats" till end of the function with stiff body language and a smile sicked in their lips even if the event is handled by some event management firm, they will act like they are doing everything including the chefs job . But as an exception My friends whole family is fun loving. they danced with us without any hesitation.

After the fun we made a move to have even more fun. we had the liquor to cater the needs of all weekend drunkards with us and we are going to enjoy the chillness of hill-station night at its heights.

we started by sharing the news's and happenings of our last few month's life. as the night became darker we started with our drinks. and it was really fun having the caretaker of the homestay Unniyetan AKA Kuttettan Alias Damodharan's company. He suggested us not to marry but enjoy life the fullest before getting trapped in the knot. we were in minimal clothes to experience the chillness at its pure form. and we started singing our vulgar folksinging as we finished with our drinks.

the night was unforgettable for each of us  because, this is once in a lifetime kind of enjoyment my be we will not have a chance to meet like this . the mist may not  be there to chill us in the future because the global warming already started showing up. we might not get time to meet like this because everyone is going back to their own tight work schedule.

But it is sure that we will meet again for breathing the purest air available in south India, to feel the healthiest mist in south India , to feel the Homeliness of the loneliest home-stays of Wayanad , and to see the smile in mother natures beautiful face once again when we friends are meeting .

like somebody said, Yes- we are parting to meet again.

At the worlds end

hi all!! hope you all read the yelagiri adventure. now let me share some experience of my last kanyakumari tour. i would like to thank to mr.Sydney savio and family who hosted me for those cool days . i visited there in a christmas time.really the christmas celebration is grand in kanyakumari. i love the way they celebrating it. you can see grand stars and decorations all around kanyakumari.now some guidance to visit kk

Kanyakumari Tourism

Location : The southernmost point of peninsular India.
Area : 11.6 sq km
Attractions : Kanyakumari Temple, Gandhi Memorial,Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Ideal Time to Visit : October to March

¤ Kanyakumari, The Southernmost Tip of India

Kanyakumari or the Cape Comorin, the southern most tip of peninsular India is sprawled over an area of 1672 sq. km, occupying 1.29% of the total extent of Tamil Nadu. Kanyakumari is also known as Kanniyakumari in Tamil Language. It is the confluence point of three oceans - the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Apart from this, it is also a vital Hindu pilgrim center, renowned for its exotic sunrises and sunsets over the horizon. One of the unique features of Kanyakumari is the multicolored sand found on its beach.

This exquisite land is encircled by majestic hills along with swaying coconut trees and paddy fields. There are also a few elevated patches of red cliffs and some free flowing valleys presenting an eye-pleasing scene. One can also see plains between the m ountainous terrain and the sea - coast, with Temples and Churches standing proudly. Truly, a beautiful way to mark the end of the land of marvelous India.

History of Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari or the Cape Comorin was once known as the Alexandria of the east. A hub of art, culture, civilization, and pilgrimage for years, it is famous for commerce and trade. The architecture of this beautiful beach land is greatly inspired by religions like Islam, Christianity and Jainism. Kanyakumari was ruled by the Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Nayaks, all great rulers of south India. The credit for the architectural beauty of the temples found in Kanyakumari goes to these rulers. Kanyakumari was given the name Cape Comorin by the British as it was easier for them to pronounce.

According to a legend Kanya Devi, an avatar of Goddess Parvati, was supposed to wed Lord Shiva. But he did not turn up at the auspicious time and the wedding never took place. Therefore the rice and cereals, which were to be used for the marriage remained uncooked. The stones found here resemble rice and cereals and today one can buy these stones. Native population believes that they are the leftovers of the legendary marriage that could not be solemnized. and the princess Kanya Devi, became a virgin goddess blessing pilgrims and tourists alike.


¤ Attractions At Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari has many tourist attractions luring inn umerable tourists, well promoted by tourism department of Tamil Nadu. Among the most important are the Kumari Amman or the Kanyakumari Temple, located on the sea shore. It is dedicated to a manifestation of Parvati, the virgin goddess who did penance to obtain Lord Shiva's hand in marriage. There are two rocks reaching out of the ocean,

situated southeast of the Kumari Amman temple. One among these is Sri Padaparai, where the footprints of the virgin goddess are said to be imprinted on the rock. It is said that Swami Vivekananda sat in deep meditation and here one can also find the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial built in 1970. There is also a dhyana mandapam here, a perfect place to meditate. Another important attraction here is the Gandhi Memorial, built on the spot where the vase consisting the Mahatma's ashes was kept for public viewing before submersion.

Reach Kanyakumari

By Air : The nearest airport from Kanyakumari is situated at Trivandrum about 80 kms away. It is directly connected with Bangalore, Mumbai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, and Chennai by regular flights.

By Rail : Kanyakumari is well connected by rail to major parts of the country. Kanyakumari is connected to Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi, and Mumbai by broad-gauge railway network. Superfast trains connect the southern most railhead of India with northern cities like Jammu and Delhi. Tirunelvelli, situated around 80 kms away from Kanyakumari is the other nearest railway junction and can be reached by road via Nagarkoil (19 km).

By Road : Kanyakumari is connected by road to Trivandrum (86 km), Nagarkoil (19 km), Tirunelvelli (91 km), Tiruchendur (89 km), Tuticorin (129 km), Rameshwaram (300 km), Courtallam (130 km), Madurai (242 km), Thekkady (358 km), Kodaikanal (362 km), Palani (370 km), Ootacamund (576 km), Cochin (309 km), and Coimbatore (478 km).

Local Transportation : For local transportation there are tourist vehicles and intercity trains, running from almost all the southern cities.