This district of Kerala is dripping with the beauty of nature and is a perfect paradise for nature lovers. There are many forests, waterfalls, caves, hills and water bodies to visit and explore. Adventurous people can enjoy hiking, rock climbing, trekking, camping, bicycle tours, forest walks and safaris here.
Packed with the beauty and calmness of nature, Wayanad is an abode for all nature lovers. Known for its cool atmosphere, Wayanad is abundant with waterfalls, forests and home to wild animals. It is also a place for those who love adventures.
Chembra Peak, Phantom Rock, Pookode Lake, Meenmutty Waterfalls, Edakkal Caves, Tholpetty, Muthanga, Lakkidi, Kuruva Islands, Nagarhole, Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Mudumalai National park, Kuruvadweep, Sulthan Bathery, Vythiri, Thirunelly, Pookode, Edakkal Caves, Soochipara Waterfalls and Banasurasagar Dam are some of the best places to visit in Wayanad.
Find one of the best nature resorts or wildlife resorts in Wayanad to make your trip memorable.
Wayanad is a rural district situated in Kerala known for its soothing temperature all around the year. The rich soil of this hilly district is favourable for growing coffee, tea and spices. Wayanad located on the higher elevation of Western Ghats has different altitudes ranging from seven hundred meters to twenty-one hundred meters.
Wayanad is home of three major towns namely Sulthan Bathery, Mananthavady and Kalpetta. It is also home to many indigenous tribal communities. Some of the major tourist attractions of Wayanad are Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Edakkal Caves, Karapuzha Dam, Paddy fields, Chembra Peaks, etc.
Wayanad is known for its rich soil and predictable climate. Horticulture is practised on a large scale here. Natives of Wayanad rely on agriculture for their subsistence. A major portion of areas in this district is utilized for agricultural purposes. Some of the important crops grown in this area are vanilla, tea, cocoa, pepper, coffee, ginger, rice, plantain, cardamom, etc.
Here are the different types of plantation stays in Wayanad:
1. Spice Plantation Stay
You must have noticed different spices like pepper, cinnamon, etc stored in the tin boxes by your mother. Did you ever wonder how these spices found their way into the kitchen? Well, thanks to Kerala. Kerala is known as the spice garden of India. Spice plantation is a common phenomenon in the state of Kerala. You can find both rich and modest-income households having a kitchen full of different spices.
Do you like experimenting with your food? If yes, black pepper is the spice you would add to your food to give it the much-needed taste. Not so surprisingly, black pepper is grown in Kerala amongst other spices. It is also referred to as black gold. No wonder it’s used sparingly in the dishes prepared in the kitchen.
It’s a known fact that Europeans came flocking to India in groups to trade in different spices. Black gold is one spice known to lure them to India.
2. Rice Plantation Stay
Not long ago, Wayanad was home to more than hundreds of varieties of rice. Today, you can find around 50 varieties of paddies in Wayanad. Matta rice has been grown in Kerala for hundreds of years, historically popular for it's unique taste. Red rice is used in many traditional Kerala dishes, like appams and idli, and is also a staple grain.
Most of the tribal communities, living in Wayanad, treat farming akin to a festival. They do not deem it an economic activity like us. If you wish to partake in this celebration and enjoy the rich culture of farming and harvesting, you should visit Wayanad in the months of harvesting. You will cherish this enriching experience, years down the line.
3. Coffee Plantation Stay
Coffee is grown simultaneously with fruits. This is so because the fruit trees provide shade to the coffee plants, they act as a canopy, they shelter the coffee plants from all kinds of turbulence in the atmosphere. Apart from that, in the areas covered with sloping terrains, fruit trees prevent soil erosion and prevent the plants from collapsing.
Coffee plants are harvested around November to January. If you take a walk through the farm of coffee plantation, you will spot coffee berries. These berries are green in colour and small in size. If you think these berries taste anything like coffee that we drink, you are misleading yourself. Pop one berry in your mouth and you will realize they taste nothing close to a coffee.
They are bitter. Wondering what gives it the taste of coffee that we are mad after? Well, these coffee berries taste like the ‘regular coffee’ after being through a roasting process.
4. Camping in Tea Plantations
Even though people think that Wayanad is all about coffee and spice plantations, only a handful of them know that it is also one of the most favourable places for tea plantations. This culture of growing tea is Wayanad is almost a hundred years old.
A bunch of Englishmen came to Wayanad looking for gold. They dug here and there but left with disappointed face. But before leaving they gave a personalized touch to the breakfast table. They passed on their habit of sipping tea. Since then, this habit of growing tea has gone down to many generations.
It continues even today despite not being as famous as growing crops or spices. Some of the areas in Wayanad known for tea plantations are Vythiri, Thondernad, Pozhuthana, Tavinjal, Mananthavady, Muppainad and Meppadi.
The district of Wayanad is not only known for growing tea. Instead, it is also famous for manufacturing and transportation of tea across different cities of Kerala and states of India. Even though done on a small scale, tea plantation in Wayanad is just as important for its economy as coffee and spice plantation.
Booking your stay with one of the best luxury tea plantation resorts in Wayanad would help you enjoy the various activities such as a plantation walk, cycling through the plantation, tasting the tea and spices, etc.
If you have always wondered about different ingredients such as tea, coffee and spices that find their place into your kitchen, you should plan a trip to Wayanad. Don’t worry, you won’t be the only one going on this journey in the history of Wayanad. A vast majority of tourists find their way to Wayanad to walk through the tea, coffee and spice plantations.
You will learn about the different soils in which they are grown, different methods of harvesting them, etc. You must have learnt about these plantations in your school books. It’s time you learn something by experience. So, what’s spotting you? Book your tickets for Wayanad and get ready to process some information. Good luck!