Wayanad: An ideal destination for honeymooners

Meera Raghavan

My wedding with Raghavan was fixed in the last week of October 2008. My fiancee had left the choice of the destination for our honeymoon to me. After a lot of deliberations, I shortlisted Wayanad, Munnar, Ooty, Coorg and Kodaikanal. The decision of choosing one among these five was a hard task and my fiancee clearly told me that he would go with my decision. I plumped for Wayanad for three main reasons - I was always fascinated by Kerala, just 280 kms from Bengaluru and it had more to offer than the other four destinations.

After choosing the destination, I now had to choose the hotel/resort at Wayanad for our stay. I searched on Google and among the entire lot I saw, I liked Green Gates Hotel the best. The feedback on the hotel was good and I opted for their Bamboo Tree House. It was 6.00 am on a Thursday morning and the roads were relatively free of traffic. We reached Mysore in less than 150 minutes and had a wonderful south Indian breakfast at Siddartha Hotel. The fresh air had made both of us ravenous and we did full justice to the breakfast. The filter coffee here was really great.

It was 11.30 am when we entered the huge ornate gates of Green Gates Hotel. The hotel was appealing and the friendly reception totally allayed whatever apprehensions we had about the hotel. We were given a traditional welcome and after a welcome drink, were led to our Bamboo Tree House. Our Bamboo Tree House was very nicely done and faced both the manicured landscape and the swimming pool. We explored Wayanad for the next three days with Ramachandran of Green Gates Hotel escorting us.

On the first day we went to Pookot Lake, 13 kms away from the hotel. It is a natural fresh water lake, surrounded by the evergreen rain forest. A further three km from here took us to the Chain Tree. It is a big banyan tree with a chain woven around it. There is a very popular myth for the chain being woven around the tree & all locals swear by it. Drive a further one km from here brought us to Lakkidi, one of the highest locations in Wayanad. Day two started with a trip to Kuruwa Dweep nearly 35 kms from our hotel. This island is totally uninhabited. This isolated area is an ideal spot for honeymooners. We then drove a further 27 kms to reach Tholpetty wildlife sanctuary, home to spotted deers, elephants, bisons, leopards, etc., or the greatest hunter of them all - tiger, the big cat. Jeep safari is allowed inside and is a big hit with tourists.

On day three after breakfast, we left for Edakkal caves in the Ambukutty Mountains and the Soochipara waterfalls. Both these locations are of breathtaking beauty. After exploring all these places, we both knew that Wayanad was the perfect choice for our honeymoon. My husband complimented me on my choice. If Kerala is 'God's Own Country'; then Wayanad is a 'Jewel in God's Own Country'.

We left for Bengaluru the next day after making a promise to ourselves to come back next year to both Wayanad and Green Gates Hotel to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.