Vythiri

I had heard about Vythiri Resort during my stay at Lakkidi, the gateway of Wayanad district. Though I did explore the neighbor, I could not personally go and check out the Vythiri resort. My friends Anjana and Avinash took a break recently at this resort with their two daughters and came back to Kochi in happy spirits with lots of tales to tell. In this post Anjana share her exploits at the resort while Avinash contributes through his beautiful shots. Btw Avinash happens to be the official photographer of our gang of friends 🙂 Thanks guys for sharing this….

If Kerala is Gods Own Country, then Vythiri in Wayanad district is the abode of the Gods!! Think of the cleanest air that you can breathe, think of the untouched forests that one can reach, think of the most wonderful green that you can dream of and you get an idea of what Vythiri is all about. Hopefully…:) We were on the lookout for a holiday where we could just relax and recharge our batteries and a friend happened to mention the Vythiri resort in Vythiri, Wayanad. On the online space it seemed exactly what we were looking for, and on the whole it just was as it was to be in real life!! Wayanad is in the north eastern part of Kerala, and its topography is characterized by rugged terrain, wild deep forests, and beautiful valleys. It is one of the last bastions of the tribal presence in Kerala. Vythiri is situated at the very beginning of the district when you approach from Kozhikode, 66km away. After a slightly arduous, yet visually stunning drive through the hairpin bends, Vythiri welcomes you to the district of Wayanad. We had a slight problem with our car and so our departure from Kozhikode was delayed. Inspite of this the Vythiri resort staff were quite accommodating about our late check in and even offered us a late lunch when we arrived at the resort at 3:30 pm.

The first thing that struck me when I got out of the car was the absolute sense of calm that washed over me. Bye-bye travel weariness, Hello new found calmness! The reception at the Vythiri resort is quite quaint with a huge uncut log of wood as a bench and also a water body with big ugly fishes swimming around in it. I could hear the faint hum of a generator which incidentally powers the entire resort. Other than that there are no artificial sounds. The resort was designed to be completely eco friendly with minimum changes incorporated to the surrounding forest, and by forest I’m talking about thick wild jungle. Our rooms were tastefully done in a minimalistic style and there are no air conditioners or televisions in the room. I was quite thrilled about the later, since I wanted my daughters to realize that they could unwind even without the idiot box. Our room which was on stilts (to discourage creepy crawlies) looked out onto a gurgling stream which flowed through the resort. Oh, what bliss! I just wanted to sit there and gaze and gaze into the flowing water. Important revelation for me – the jungle is not silent!! There was the gurgling of the stream, the chattering of monkeys, the cicadas’ concert and a whole lot of other sounds (which I couldn’t classify!!). The cottages were on one side of the stream while the restaurant and common room were on the other. So each meal was preceded by a walk on a hanging bridge which would promptly start swaying from side to side as soon as we set foot on it. My husband provided a lot of entertainment when each time he would try to modify his walk to minimize the swaying. I’m not sure about any decrease in the degree of swaying but his walk was hilarious !

Another aspect about this holiday which I loved was the amount of time we spent together as a family. Since there were not many distractions for us we played games like basketball, badminton, caroms and table tennis at the resort. I had never touched a carom board since my kiddy days and my children were quite thrilled that they beat me often!! Who said there is no pleasure in loosing?? Needless to say, we didn’t stir out of the resort for the whole of our stay!! Though for those who want some more action, there are quite a number of attractions around Vythiri. There’s the Soojipara Falls (38kms away) which is a three tiered waterfall where you can do some rock climbing. The Banasura Sagar Dam (30kms away) is the second largest earth dam in Asia and its ideal for trekking and speed boating. The Pookote lake (4kms away) is a natural freshwater lake with a stunning view. With Vythiri as the base you can visit the Kuruva islands (60kms), Muthanga Sanctuary (55 kms) and many more scenic places. The kids were not too happy initially when they realized that there was no television and there was the threat of mutiny in the ranks! However a peaceful night’s sleep and being woken by the Whistling Thrush (no idea what its scientific name is) really got them in the mood. Our 3 days at Vythiri were spent in exploring the resort, eating gargantuan meals, playing outdoor games, swimming in the pool with a very interesting audience of monkeys looking on (the real ones for a change!!)and trying to spot as many different birds and trees that we could. Well, all good things must come to an end, or so they say.  The kids were so unhappy to leave the place that we have promised to bring them back. I was happy that my daughters could know first hand about our ecology and how insignificant we are when compared to the majesty of Nature. So we left with heavy hearts and promises to come back, but totally rejuvenated for the grind that life is……:)