District 12 · Kerala

Wayanad

The misty highland plateau

The lie of the land

A green plateau folded into the Western Ghats at 700 to 2,100 metres, Wayanad keeps its own climate — cool, misted, coffee-scented. Neolithic petroglyphs in the Edakkal caves, a heart-shaped lake below Chembra's summit and elephant corridors through its sanctuaries give the district a wildness the rest of Kerala has traded away.

Best season: October – May
Getting there: Calicut Intl (CCJ) · Kozhikode rail, then ghat road
Known for: Mist, coffee, caves, wildlife

Up here the coffee blooms in mist, and the elephants still hold the right of way.

The essentials

Three reasons to come

01Trek

Chembra Peak & heart-shaped lake

Wayanad's highest summit at 2,100 metres, its permit-only trail climbing grassland to a lake shaped unmistakably like a heart. Hridaya Saras never dries, and neither does the queue of sunrise trekkers.

02Heritage

Edakkal Caves (petroglyphs)

A natural rock shelter high on Ambukuthi hill holds carvings dating back over 6,000 years — human figures, animals and symbols pecked into stone across several eras. It is one of the few petroglyph sites of its kind in South India.

03Dam

Banasura Sagar Dam

India's largest earthen dam impounds a reservoir scattered with islands beneath Banasura hill. Speedboats cross to drowned-forest shorelines, and the trek to Banasura peak begins along the rim.

Go deeper

7 more places that define Wayanad

Waterfall

Soochipara (Sentinel Rock) Falls

A three-tiered fall dropping some 200 metres into a rock pool deep in Vellarimala forest, reached by a stepped walk down through plantation. The cliff faces around it draw climbers as well as swimmers.

Lake

Pookode Lake

A freshwater lake shaped, locals note, like the map of India, ringed entirely by evergreen forest near the Lakkidi pass. Pedal boats, a small aquarium and shaded walks keep it gently busy.

Wildlife

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Muthanga/Tholpetty)

Twin ranges on the Karnataka border form part of the Nilgiri Biosphere's great elephant landscape, contiguous with Bandipur and Nagarahole. Dawn jeep safaris regularly meet herds, gaur and, with luck, big cats.

Waterfall

Meenmutty Falls

Wayanad's largest waterfall drops roughly 300 metres in three tiers, hidden down a forest trail off the Ooty road. Each tier must be earned on foot, which keeps the crowds honest.

Island

Kuruva Island

A cluster of uninhabited islets in the Kabani river, dense with bamboo, orchids and birdlife, crossed by bamboo rafts and root bridges. Entry is regulated to keep the river forest intact.

Temple

Thirunelli Temple

An ancient Vishnu temple standing alone in a bowl of the Brahmagiri hills, served by the mountain spring of Papanasini where ancestral rites are performed. Its weathered stone colonnade against bare peaks is among Kerala's great temple settings.

Viewpoint

Lakkidi viewpoint & hairpins

The gateway pass into Wayanad, where nine hairpins climb 700 metres from the Kozhikode plains and cloud pours over the rail of the road. The chain tree of local legend stands near the top.

Continue the journey

Kannur

Land of looms and Theyyam