Wayanad is a popular tourist destination located in the Ghat section of Kerala, in the heart of the rainforest.
Over the past several years, the place has emerged as a popular tourist destination for tourists, domestic as well as international alike. With each passing year, the number of tourists flocking to this part of Kerala increases, making the destination ever more popular as time passes by.
When it comes to reaching Wayanad, it is certainly going to be a bit tricky to reach depending on where the destination is.
Being one of the less populous Districts of the state of Kerala, the amount of connectivity that this destination has will vary from place to place.
In general, the best connectivity means to reach this tourist destination is more often than not from the larger cities and towns. These are the places where transport facilities are best developed and more frequently available.
Contrast to this, it can be a bit difficult for one to reach Wayanad from smaller towns or rural areas, unless those places happen to be immediately adjacent to the state.
Coming to the levels of connectivity, given below are some guidelines and instructions on how to reach this secluded tropical paradise, from a select few places:
Place to Visit in Wayanad
1. Bangalore
Bangalore is a major city of south India and the capital of Karnataka.
The trip from Bangalore to Wayanad is fairly simple and navigable for the most part, with very little room for one to get lost. If one chooses to reach Wayanad using road transport, there isn’t much chance for an error due to the fact that the path is fairly linear.
To begin with, one will have to start at the south of Bangalore, where National Highway 275 begins. The highway can be reached from almost all parts of the city using one of the ring roads or the newly built BMIC/NICE corridor.
Upon reaching the beginning of the national highway, all that one needs to do is keep going straight past the numerous villages, towns and cities that come along the way until one reaches the city of Mysore. One will have to cross a few major towns such as Mandya and Srirangapatna, which lie along the way before one reaches Mysore.
After reaching the city of Mysore, one has to again go to the southern part of the city until they reach National Highway 766. This highway will connect one to Gundlupete, where it makes a sharp turn and heads to Wayanad. Once at Gundlupete, the trip is just a few hours away from reaching the district of Wayanad after one crosses the state border.
2. Mysore
Mysore is a city in Karnataka and the administrative headquarters of the district of Mysore. In addition to this, the city is also a major hub of economic activity in the state.
Reaching Wayanad is fairly easy from Mysore. The city is just a short drive away from Wayanad and will take at most about 2-3 hours with the right traffic conditions to reach the place from Mysore.
The journey from Mysore to the district of Wayanad begins at the southern part of the city, where National Highway 766 begins. Going down this long highway is fairly linear with very little to no major turns until one reaches Gundlupete, which lies after one passes the town of Nanjangud.
After reaching Gundlupete, there is a sharp turn that the highway makes towards the west, which heads directly towards Wayanad. There is a short drive until one will reach the state border checkpoint.
A short drive is all that it takes from the check post to reach the heart of Wayanad.
3. Calicut
Calicut is one of the most important of all coastal cities in Kerala. Also known as Kozhikode by many, this city is an important hub of economic activity and also the capital of Kozhikode district.
The way to reach Wayanad from Calicut is via National Highway 766 which begins in the northeastern part of the city. After one crosses the urban areas, the main highway starts from which the route to Wayanad is fairly straight with little to no major deviation in any way.
Upon starting the trip, the road will take one to the major town of Thazhmalachery, which is a major landmark in the region. Starting around this region are the main hilly areas in this part of Kerala, where navigation will prove to be difficult as the road will no longer remain linear and straight but rather becomes one that has lots of twists and turns at a lot of different locations.
After reaching Thazhmalachery, it is but a short drive before one reaches Wayanad.
The trip from Kozhikode should take at most a couple of hours and will for the most part be easily navigable for most people.
4. Ernakulam
Ernakulam is a district in Kerala and also a part of the city of Kochi which lies on the mainland. The city is an important hub for various commercial and industrial activities. In addition to it, the place acts as a transit hub for the port area of Kochi where shipping companies operate.
Going from Ernakulam to Wayanad is very easy as the road is largely straight with little to no major turns. To begin the trip, one will have to start at the northern part of Ernakulam where National Highway 66 is situated. The highway goes just along the coastal stretch of Kerala, from the city of Ernakulam to Kozhikode.
After reaching Kozhikode, one will have to head northeast towards a different highway, National Highway 766, which will take one straight to Wayanad. The trip here will last for a couple of hours and should first reach a major town called Thazhmalachery. Until this town, the highway is fairly linear and straight for the most part. Nearby to this town, the highway begins to have a lot of twists and turns due to the place being a hilly area.
The trip from Thazhmalachery should take no more than an hour or so under the right traffic conditions to reach Wayanad.
Last but not the least, one should note here that individual means of transport like buses, trains and anything else that doesn’t happen to be a ‘private’ means of transport, can and will change in terms of the kind of service that is available.
The timings, routes as well as frequency of these services can change without notice, making it important that everything should be verified thoroughly, before making any plans.
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