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Published: February 15th 2012
One thing that constantly fascinates me when driving through India is how quickly the landscape changes and specifically how quickly it changes as soon as you enter a new state. The change of scenery going into Kerala was probably the most dramatic of the trip so far, going from dry rocky plains to lush green tropical jungle in what seemed like the blink of an eye. I find the tropics endlessly alluring, the heat, bright colours, pace of life and fantastic range of flora and fauna make for an exotic cocktail of which I never tire. The drive to our home stay (more like a posh B&B as opposed to a mud hut) through Kerala state and specifically the Wayanad hill district was a very pleasant one. Our home stay was on a working coffee plantation built on a steep hill overlooking the verdant green valley below. Sitting at 700m (2,100ft) altitude the temperature was pleasant and less stifling than that of the coastal plains. Our cabin was built on stilts on the edge of a hill and had exceptionally good views over the valley below. The cabin and ensuite bathroom could easily have been that of nice 4* or even
5* hotel, I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality. Shortly after arrival our host Raju, the plantation/home stay owner, bought us Coffee made from his own home grown coffee, it was pleasingly mild and not in the slightest bit bitter. Raju told us a little about his history and the farm, it was particularly interesting to learn that 90% of the trees we could see in front of us bore fruit/spices or had some other practical use. It was certainly the most attractive working garden I have ever seen. On the balcony, Peter and myself drank our coffee quickly so that we could move on to a much needed Kingfisher beer. Sitting on the balcony drinking a cold, crisp beer after a long, hot drive felt divine, so good infact that we decided to repeat the process with another beer.
The food throughout the homestay was spectacular and it was great to finally try some South Indian cuisine. South Indian cuisine is much lighter than the rich, thick dishes of the North, the cuisine of the South is all about fresh, vibrant, light flavours, abundant usage of fresh fruit/veg and rice, rice
Second set of falls and pool
This is where me and Peter took our first unscheduled dip of the dayrice (rice is not commonly eaten in the North). I had read that Keralan cuisine was amongst the best in India, if the food at the home stay was anything to go by, then I could well imagine this to be true. A recipe for one particularly tasty banana based breakfast dish which could also double as a desert was the following. Boil banana till al dente, chop into slices and fry in butter. Add in some desiccated coconut, sugar and cardamom and cook until the coconut mixture is crispy and the bananas lightly caramelised. Yummy.
The following day we visited some waterfalls, they did have a name but I’m afraid I can’t remember it, perhaps we can use a generic India name to make things easy, let’s call them Singh falls. The walk to the first set of falls was only a 2km walk from the car park, however 1km of the journey was down a very steep path (at times a rope was required to traverse some of the steeper parts), so the total walk took around an hour. The scenery on the way down was however well worth the struggle.
As we descended down the side of a steep canyon we were offered fantastic views of the valley floor below and the steep jungle clad cliffs which surrounded it. The first set of falls were impressive but not amongst the best I have seen (though I have been spoilt in the past with fantastic views). We continued sideways and uphill across the canyon, the rocks at this point became increasingly difficult to traverse which in combination with rising heat of the late morning sun made the walk a little more challenging. Despite being hot, sweaty and at times difficult, I was loving the walk and the challenge of sustained physical activity. When you often spend 10-12 hours a day driving with zero chance to exercise, the opportunity to work yourself into a very unattractive sweaty mess seems like a divine gift not to be squandered. The second set of falls were much more impressive, at the base was a very pretty and tempting looking pool which some excited Indians were swimming in. Tempting as it was, we were not supposed to be swimming in any falls until we reached the third set of falls in the afternoon and anyway I
wasn’t wearing my swimming shorts. However, a combination of goading from the locals, a desire to cool off and also a childish urge to slide down the slippery rock on my bottom proved too much and after handing my valuables to someone much more sensible I excitedly took the plunge. I was wearing my shorts and pants at the time but had little concern about getting them wet and how I would dry off afterwards, I was loving the day and loving swimming around in the beautiful waterfall lagoon. My enjoyment was obviously infectious as my ‘always ready to give it a go’ room buddy Peter soon jumped in the water and joined in the fun. While the walk to and from the falls was hot, sticky and at times a challenge, I really enjoyed doing some much needed exercise and scrambling over rocks like I was 10 years old at Lusty Glaze beach again.
In the afternoon we visited a third set of falls, these were our official designated swimming and picnic area. Getting to the falls required us to walk 2km down a steep but mostly tarmaced road, it was easy
on the way down but I knew it would be tough on the return journey with the fierce heat and some serious post swimming/eating fatigue. The falls were fairly modest in stature but did have some fairly pleasant looking swim friendly pools at the base, I say fairly pleasant looking as the water colour was slightly brown, always a worrying sight in India. Fortunately the water didn’t smell and as none of us have dysentery yet I’m guessing it was ok. The falls contained 3 different sets of swimmable pools, with each level of pool becoming slightly more challenging and adventurous! Level 1 at the base was shallow and sedate, this was the paddling pool. Level 2 in the middle was deep and had reasonably fast flowing water, this was the adult pool for those wanting a little slice of danger but nothing too crazy. Level 3 was a different beast all together, positioned at the bottom of the main falls entering it required a slippery traverse over rocks before you could even enter it’s torrent of raging water (NB I may be exaggerating a little here for dramatic effect). Level 3 was deep, dangerous and the water was fast
flowing, this was a place for waterfall experts only. Naturally then, this is where I went. Throughout the day Peter and myself had reverted to the mental age of a 10 year old child and had been goading each other on to do increasingly childish but fun things. I discovered that you could slide from level 3 to level 2 riding down the falls, Peter one upped me and went down the slide head first on his first go! I was well impressed. We all frolicked around in the falls for hours and had a great time, the whole experience made me think about the importance of play and how even as an adult it is essential to do fun ‘childish’ things, give it a go, I’m sure you will agree.
Where ever we stop in India (even in the middle of the desert miles away from civilisation) we get an audience of interested locals who often want to take our picture, well want a picture with the fair skinned blond girls in our group, not with a short, brunette Cornish boy sadly. Within minutes of arriving at the falls we had several
groups of interested young Indian looking at us (again not me L ) inquisitively and excitedly, it didn’t take long before they started to brazenly take photographs, once again though I don’t think it was photos of me they were interested in sadly. A few members of our group turned the tables and took photos of some of the local boys, especially one boy (the only one in his pants) who was shall we say a little excited by the whole situation and not afraid to show it.
After a long day full of fun and some much needed exercise I slept well, ready for the drive from the mountains to the coast. Next stop Cochin......
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joan archer
non-member comment
sounds fantastic
your adventures sound fantastic and a lot of fun. Be careful on the waterfalls though, we don't want any accidents!!!!! By the way, did you charge the Indians for taking photographs of you as is their practice!