8 Natural Sites That Make Wayanad The Most Beautiful Parliamentary Constituency In India

Wayanad, a little known place in Kerala, has been hogging the headlines in the national media for the past few weeks over the possibility of Congress President Rahul Gandhi contesting from there.

After being in denial and dragging their feet for nearly two weeks, Congress finally confirmed last week that the party chief is, in fact, contesting from Wayanad other than his sitting seat in Amethi.

And just like that, everyone were searching on Google for Wayanad. Let us for the time being keep the politics aside and just focus on Wayanad.

As someone who had been there multiple times, I can, from personal experience guarantee Wayanad is one of the most beautiful places that you can ever visit.

Wayanad is located in the north-eastern part of Kerala and border both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The name Wayanad is derived from Vayal Nadu which means the land of paddy fields.

The hilly terrain which is located at an altitude of 700 meters and 2,100 meters above sea level is one of the most biodiversity-rich spots in the entire Western Ghats. It has also a number of picturesque locations, mountains, forests, waterfalls and everything else that you could ask for.

Here are some of the best tourists spots in Wayanad.

1. Edakkal Caves

It is not a cave in the typical sense, a rock formation. It has large rocks and a small one, which is wedges between the other two and has two chambers inside. Located in Nenmeni, it is a popular trekking route and has historic significance.

The two caves are filled with pre-historic inscriptions and pictorial scripts believed to be as old as 6000 BC. It is believed that a highly sophisticated and people so advanced for their time used to live in the caves.

The meaning of the script is yet to be deciphered.

2. Soochipara Falls

Have you ever seen rocks formed in the shape of needles? Soochi in Malayalam means needle and para mean rock. As the name suggests, the three-layer waterfall in Kalpetta has rocks pointed like needle due to the force in which water falls on them.

3. Meenmutty Waterfalls

Meenmutty is another famous waterfall in Wayanad and is located close to Kalpatta itself. Tourists have to trek for about 2 kilometers through the thick jungle and is a sought after location for adventure activities like rock climbing and swimming.

4. Chembra Peak

Chembra Peak, which is located just eight kilometers from Kalpetta is probably the most unique sight that you will ever see.

At a height of 2,100 meters above ocean level, Chembra is the tallest peak in Wayanad. That is not all, there is a naturally formed heart-shaped lake on the top of the peak.

5. Banasura Sagar Dam

Banasura Sagar is one of the largest dams in Kerala and major tourist place. There are options for boating, trekking and nature walks at the dam. Banasura Sagar is also home to the largest floating solar plant in India which was inaugurated in 2017.

6. Chain Tree of Karinthandan

According to local legend, this tree in Vyithir which has a chain hanging from it has the ghost of a tribal man locked on it. According to tradition, a tribal man, Karinthandan helped the British in the 18th century to discover the Wayanad Ghat route which made travel a lot easier. Instead of thanking Karinthandan for his help, the British engineer who was with him shot the tribal man dead.

Years later, after a series of unexplained road accidents, the legend of Karinthandan resurfaced and it was believed that his ghost is causing the accidents. It is believed that a local priest managed to chain Karinthandan to the tree.

7. Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary

A visit to Wayanad cannot be complete without visiting one of the many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the district home to all kind of animals like elephants, tigers, etc.

Located in Muthanga the Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the most famous. It is known for the wildlife safaris where you can spot all kinds of wildlife like elephants, tigers, leopards, bears, deer, monkeys, and reptiles.

8. Tea and spices

Wayanad is also famous for its tea, coffees, and spices like pepper which are cultivated across the district. You can reach Wayanad by road from Kozhikode, which is the nearest airport. Sorry, there are no trains to Wayanad.

So, it's better to forget about politics. Nature has gifted immense beauty to this place. No matter who becomes the MP from here, Wayanad has to be on your must visit place.