Lakkidi

Wildlife truly roams free in Wayanad whose forests share borders with Bandipur and Mudumalai. This vast stretch of protected earth is a haven of freedom for the fauna of Malabar and the Nilgiris. Add to that the relative lack of development of wayanad District and you get lots of pristine environment unblemished by the excesses of civilization.

So if you’re sick of civilized courtesies and sham creature comforts head to the twin jewels of Vythiri and Lakkidi, tucked into the wild beauty of the forests of Wayanad across the state border in Kerala. 5 km from Vythiri and often referred to as the gateway to Wayanad is 2,297 ft atop Thamarassery Ghat Pass, beyond which lie the Kozhikode Plains.

After Meghalaya’s Cherrapunji – Mawsynram region, Lakkidi registers the second highest degree of rainfall in the world. If you travel along the 12 km ghat road from Adivaram to Lakkidi, amidst thick forests you’ll have to negotiate nine hairpin bends making for a thrilling ride.

Drive out from Lakkidi towords the ghat pass. Just before the ghat begins, you’ll come across a curious sight – the famous Chain Tree of Lakkidi, a Banyana Tree with chain wrapped around its trunk. The legend goes that a British engineer who did not know the road from Calicut to Wayanad was shown the way by an adivasi to preserve his claim.

Soon roads were built over Thamarassery Ghat pass and Wayanad was thrown open to the cost. But the new roads witnessed a spate of accidents soon after complication. A priest was called who attributed the accidents to the restless soul of the adivasi. So he chained his soul.

Pookote Lake

About 3 km from Lakkidi is this small and placid freshwater lake, 21 ft at its deepest and covered in parts with lotus flowers. Pookote Lake is the most visited tourist spot in Wayanad. Flanked by green hills it does make a pleasant spot for picnics and boating. From Vythiri it’s a kilometer on foot; so if you’re staying at one of the resorts there it’s a noice walk to the lake, which emerges from between the trees and dazzles the senses with its dark beauty. In the vicinity of the lake are a children’s park, an Uravu Eco-Shoppe selling local handicrafts and spices a nursery and a freshwater aquarium, when you’re done with for a free boat you could take a stroll along a 2-km pathway around the lake.
Boat raiding timings – 9 am to 6 pm, Sundays till 8 pm.

Where to stay and eat

Green Magic Nature Resort.

Phone No : 0471 – 2331507

Tariff – Rs - 5216 – 853286

Vythiri Resort

Phone No – 04936 – 25366 / 67

Tariff – Rs 3000 – 3500.

Rain Country Resort

Phone : 04936 – 255286 / 87

Tariff – Rs 2500 – 3000