In Gods Own Country- Kerala (Wayanad) Part Two
In Gods Own Country- Kerala (Wayanad)
Part Two
The Trekking Day- 15th Aug India’s 69th Independence day
The plan was to reach the Chembra Peak, which is the highest peak in Wayanad, at 2,100 m above sea level. Chembra is located near the town of Meppady and is 8 km south of Kalpetta. The enthusiasm to be at the top of Hill combined with youthful exuberance of Independence day was making everyone enough inspired to wake up early and get ready for the day.
Everyone was able to reach Peak Base Forest office at around 0830 hrs. It was 5kms uphill ride by jeep with 11 people including a guide . The hilly road was not easy to ride with jeep in uphill way. We had to get down so that jeep could be able to go higher without any breakdown in the midway towards the place where the trekking adventure begins. The Trekking distance was about 3-4 km with approximately 1.5km steep in absolute sense.
The temperature was enough to make the environment humid. Our guide informs us as being not too many people to hike around in this season.
We are getting tired but the moment we saw few college going kids carrying the Indian flag and overtaking us, the motivation for having photograph of carrying Indian flags at the top really makes us feel inspired to carry on in spite of being tired .
Sumeet and I continued hiking towards the top while other choose to take a rest for a while. As seasoned trekker, we took less break in middle and able to reach the top successfully.
The chembra peak was known to have Heart shaped lake near by but since it was very small what we saw. We realize the trekking is far from over finding some people in far distance from where we were discussing the particular lake as seen in the blog.
Reaching the place from where we can view the Heart shaped lake was amazing. A view that captures the heart in reality. We found fellow trekkers singing Indian Anthem celebrating by holding the Indian flag.What a moment to cherish forever for everyone including myself.
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| Heart Shaped Lake |
I have the opportunity to have photograph holding National Flag like everyone else. We chose to take a rest at the Chembra Peak and waited for our mates to reach the peak as well. Frankly speaking I was not convinced whether they will be able or not and as soon as heard Prasad voice, I felt relieved to see every one at peak. In fact path towards actual chembra peak was prohibited by forest officials, however, the success at the midpoint was no less for us. Our guide informed us that Annapurna Jungle can be seen to be if we are allowed to trek that way. Few sessions of photography made us happy to celebrate the moment. Sreejith, Sumeet and Swajit ( All 3 of S) reached the starting point and waited for other people to come down where the jeep was there to take us towards forest office.
Sreejith, Sumeet and Swajit ( All 3 of S) reached the starting point and waited for other people to come down where the jeep was there to take us towards forest office. However everyone decided to take a walk enjoying the scenic environment while the jeep came from behind. Reaching the base point made us realize this trekking is over while new is about to begin.
Kanthanpara Waterfalls
Kanthanpara Waterfalls, a splendid and picturesque cascade situated towards the southeast of Kalpetta, in Wayanad, is a 25 km scenic drive. Some of us chose to have food at Hotel Paradise while Sumeet, Sreejith, Prashant including myself went back to Guest house.We were aware of Bonfire planned for the evening however we found the amazing food and surprisingly made us eat more than we can expect while we went to late evening stroll nearby places. Learned about the Guest house owner who decided to invest everything in operating Guest House and Bakery after leaving his work in a corporate environment for almost eight years. I was motivated, and still I am, wondering if I have the potential to do this kind of thing in my life.
The Bonfire was lit around us. The conversation was around life and overall. My experience as organizer of few trekking events made me feel confident about to ask everyone in the group the following question-
“Where do you see yourself Ideally five years down the line?”. My emphasis was more on Ideally” HERE”. Well, the question is just another cheesy question asked in an interview . I was able to explain everyone in simple terms to be truthful about self and then answer.
This question every trekking partners that been part of trekking events aware and I choose to ask no matter what. Such was the wonderful time that we never realized that it was more than 2-3 hours. there was a lot to learn from each other, every one had a different view towards life ambitions, It was good to see people participating wholeheartedly.
The next day trip was set for visiting Asia biggest Man Made Dam and Banasura Falls. It was our last day in Wayanad. The experience in a speed boat was amazing. Banasura Fall can be reached by almost about 1 km trekking from the parking spot. The access to the fall is through the small bridge. The experience of water droplets falling on everyone is a feel to enjoy.
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| Boat Ride |
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| Bansura Falls |
We had to return to our guest house to start another return journey back home with loads and loads of memories with amazing people around us. The return journey was somewhat tiresome physically, but mentally as I am again getting ready for next trip on my bucket list. The happiness in the achieving the things that I love and able to find people support of people who love doing the same can’t be explained in few thousand words The memories are there to experience and cherish ….Thanks to everyone on this trip I was about to explore myself more about life that has to offer.
Let me end this travelogue with two lines by Mirza Ghalib –
Sair kar duniya ke gafil*, zindagani phir kahan….
zindagani gar rahi to, naujawani phir kahan
zindagani gar rahi to, naujawani phir kahan
* GAFIL (गाफिल) Meaning in Hindi- लापरवाह
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| My Wonderful Co-Riders Sreejith, Sumeet and Prashant |
luxury honeymoon resorts in wayanad with private pool
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