<< Kerala People and Lifestyle

There is a land not far from Calicut, the city of Zamorins, yet a world apart from Keralas agricultural and industrial epicentres. It is a quiet place where scenic beauty, wild life and traditions matter, where simplicity is a virtue and beauty still blossoms from the mountainous horizon and from the green glaze of alluring vegetation. This is Wayanad - the green paradise - the border world of greener part of Kerala. Clean and pristine, enchanting and hypnotizing, this land has a history and mystery, culture and social epistemology yet to be discovered. Located at a distance about 76 km. from the sea shores of Calicut in the Western Ghats, this station is full of plantations, forests and wildlife. Wayanad hills are contiguous to Mudumala in Tamil Nadu and Bandhipur in Karnataka, thus forming a vast land mass for the wild life to move about in its most natural abode.

Home to several spices, Wayanad has a viable spice cultivation program. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama had landed on the Kerala coast in the late 15th century and opened the sea route for spice to Europe. From Cardamom to Cinnamon, Pepper to Ginger and even Vanilla, you can see for yourself the abundance of spice all along the hills of Wayanad. Around 45% of plantation crops in India are grown in Kerala out of which a major chunk is from Wayanad region. Many of the spice farms are homesteads where small scale farmers have only a few acres of holding.

This mountain district is in many ways the most picturesque in the state, with its rolling hills covered with tropical rainforest. Wayanad also contributes richly to its fortunes, thanks to the flourishing cultivation of Tea, Coffee and Cocoa besides spices. Wayanad is situated at a height of 700 to 2100m above sea level and is home to many species of animal and plant life. Temperatures range from 12 to 25 degrees centigrade. This district also has the added advantage of linking Kerala with the golden triangle of South India : Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty.Wayanad is a homeland of various tribal communities.

The natural resources of Wayanad offer several opportunities for adventure tourism, rural tourism, pilgrimage tourism and historical tourism. The hills, rocks and valleys which make the very unique character of Wayanad offer plenty of amenities to cater to the ever increasing demands of pleasure for the tourists.

For further information on the green paradise, log on to wayanad.com

For more details on wildlife in Wayanad, click Wayanad Wildlife

For Accommodation - Hotels / Resorts / Homestays in Wayanad

Kerala - Tourism in a nutshell