AdmirableIndia.com

You can read the previous posts on Wayanad trip: Trip to Wayanad: Day 1: Part 1: Wayanad Heritage Museum, Ambalavayal and Trip to Wayanad: Day 1: Part 2: Wayanad Heritage Museum, Ambalavayal(continued…)

After taking a lot of photos in the museum we moved on to see if anything else is open. I saw a signboard of Meenmutty Falls and we continued in that direction. Meenmutty in Malayalam language literally means where fishes are blocked. Many waterfalls in Kerala is called as Meenmutty falls, indicating that fishes cannot swim upstream the falls. Meenmutty Falls is located 29 km from Kalpetta. It is a three-tiered waterfall with a height of 300 meters and is the largest and most spectacular waterfall in Wayanad. It is a 2 km hike though the jungle from the main Ooty Road. Meenmutty is Kerala’s second largest waterfall and the one most unspoiled in its natural setting. Each of its three tiers requires a separate hike through a moist, deciduous forest. At 6 pm we arrived near the falls and a guy over there, said that one has to go by walking for 2 kms. and it is dangerous. Well, I didn’t understood what is the danger involved. I, Varun, and Manohar thought of checking it out. The guy said that his name is Matthew and he’s been living there from many years. He was walking and we followed him. It was getting dark and the there was a dense fog:

After walking for about 2 kms. we saw tea plantation. I wanted to inquire Matthew that it was already 2 kms. and there was no sign of the falls, but he was way ahead of me and I was busy taking shots:

After the tea plantation the route was not simple, there were curves and steep sides. Check out this video:

Well, after walking like that for 15 minutes I was able to hear the sound of the waterfall. At that time I was fully exhausted. Last night I didn’t had a nice sleep and I wasn’t expecting a trekking. Somehow I made it to the waterfall. When I saw the falls, amazingly I forgot the exhaustion. As it was a rainy season the water was in full flow and I was ecstatic by the scenery. I tried to take a shot by activating the night mode in my camera but still it wasn’t good due to darkness. However, I took this video:

After some time the thought of going back scared me as it was 6.45 pm and soon after it will be complete dark. We stared to trek uphill and believe me, it was a hard one. After trekking for about 10 minutes I was completely exhausted. Then, Matthew helped me a lot on the way sometimes by telling the route and sometimes by giving me a hand. We used my cell phone as a torch. Wow! Nokia N73 is really better than a torch and a good handy tool. Once I saw a programme on Discovery channel about King Cobra and guess what, Wayanad is a King Cobra territory. The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world’s longest venomous snake, with a length that can be as large as 5.6 m (18.5 ft). Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means “snake-eater”, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. That thought keep popping from my mind and eventually I asked Matthew, “Are there any snakes over here?” and he said in a slightly dull voice, “No”. Well, a simple no is scarier than an explanation. Having all these scary thoughts in mind we finally made it to the place where our cab was parked. Matthew invited us to his house and there I had 3 full glasses of water. What a relief. After some time it started raining and I was feeling much better. I asked Matthew if we could get some hotel or guesthouse for the night and he took us to a small hotel. I asked the hotel guy about the charges and told it will be Rs. 500 for a double room. Wow! That was pretty cheap and I agreed instantly. Then, we had Puris for the dinner. After dinner I took Matthew’s number and gave him Rs. 120 for his incredible help. I also said him that next time I will be visiting Wayanad I am going to meet him. What a nice guy he is. Then, it was time to go to bed. I put alarm for 5 am and I don’t even know when I got slept.

No related posts.