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Date of journey: 31/08/2008

Starting from: Bangalore

Destination: Wayanad

Crew: Maneesh, Varun, Sailaja, Manohar, Arpita and Geethasree.

The Wayanad trip planning was done in few hours. Sailaja suggested the place and I quickly made the plan. I wanted to visit Wayanad from a long time but it was postponed due to some or the other work. Wayanad(also spelled as Wynad, Wayanadu, Wyanad, Vayanad, Vayandu, Vynad etc.) is one of the districts in the north-east of Kerala. This green paradise is nestled among the mountains of Western Ghats and is located at a distance of 76 km from the nearest seashore of Kozhikode. The region was known as Mayakshetra (Maya’s land) in the earliest records. Mayakshetra evolved into Mayanad and finally to Wayanad. But the Folk etymology of the word says it is a combination of Vayal (paddy) and Naad (land), making it “The Land of Paddy Fields”. Wayanad offers excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, an insight into tribal culture evocative of earlier centuries, trekking and other adventure activities, and a variety of remote monuments. Wayanad is a land of spices-Almost every crops such as coffee, black pepper, ginger, turmeric, cocoa, areca nut, tea, rubber, vanilla etc are grown here. Black pepper produced from this hill station is famous in the world of spices because of its unique quality and aroma. We hired a cab and started our journey on Sunday morning. The route from Bangalore to Wayanad was like:

Bangalore–135–> Mysore–22–> Nanjangud–36–> Gundlupet-20-> Bandipur-40-> Sulthan Bathery

So, the total distance would be 253 kms. Sulthan Bathery (formerly called Ganapativatom) is a medium town in Wayanad district of Kerala, India. It derives its present name from Tipu Sultan of Mysore who captured the Jain temple here and used it as his battery here in the 18th century, hence the name Sultan’s Battery. Later, came to be known as Sulthan Bathery, its Malayalam version of the name. We took the Mysore road and stopped for breakfast at Bidadi at 9 am. After a nice breakfast of idli and butter we continued our journey. We reached Mysore at 12.30 pm and after a quick tea break we continued. After a three-hour journey we crossed the check post at Kerala border and reached Sulthan Bathery. The first thing to do was to have lunch, as it was quite late. We stopped at a restaurant in Sulthan bathery and I ordered Chicken Biryani. After a nice meal we went to check out our first spot Edakkal caves. We reached Edakkal caves and a person standing nearby said that it is closed. The visiting hours are from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. I checked my watch and the time was 4.55 pm. I asked that guy if we can see anything at that time and he said only Wayanad Heritage Museum will be open. We quickly got in to the cab and moved to the museum. On the way I took a nice shot of the hill:

The Wayanad Heritage Museum is located in the town of Ambalavayal at a distance of 10 Km from Sulthan Bathery. The museum has a fine collection of 14th – 16th century sculptures, tribal artifacts, which include jewellery, hunting and fishing weapons, farming implements etc. Ancient terra cottas, stone weapons, and local art are also on display at the museum. There are various exhibits on display here, amongst which are sculptures and the figure of Nandi and other deities, which were collected from parts of the region that date back to the 14th to the 16th centuries AD. Remnants of stone age tools and pottery found within the Muniyaras are displayed here. Excavations at various points around the foot of the Ambukuthi Hill have unearthed a distinctive series of ancient burial vaults commonly called Muniyaras. Entry tickets for the museum is Rs. 10 per head for adult and Rs. 5 for child and the camera ticket is Rs. 10 for a still camera. From the museum I took a nice picture of the hill:

At the entrance there was a beautiful statue and near to that the entry fee was written:

The museum had a collection of ancient items. Here are they:

• Types of clay



• Ancient household items



• Farming implements



• Ancient Terra cotta: Terra cotta (Latin: baked earth) is a ceramic. Its uses include vessels, water & waste water pipes and surface embellishment in building construction. The term is also used to refer to items made out of this material and to its natural, brownish orange color.



• Ancient Coins



• Bow and arrow



• Utensils and hunting traps



• Tribal musical instruments



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