Wayanad waterfalls – Kanthanpara

We rolled into Meppady by evening, travel weary but happy. There’s something about finding your way into a new place, especially when the place has hills, tea estates and verdant valleys instead of shops and buildings.

The cottage we had booked turned out to be every bit what we had hoped for. Perched precariously on the edge of a precipice, it offered a breathtaking view of the valley along with the Soochipara waterfalls on the slope opposite. Apparently, Soochipara means needlepoint or something like that and that is exactly how it looked from this distance.

Soochipara waterfalls

We sat on the porch, sipping coffee, taking in the sunset and the veil of mist getting ready to enshroud the valley. The Soochipara was gradually becoming hazier. It was as I strained to keep it in sight that I first became aware of the sound, a continuous murmur. Could I hear the waterfall at this distance, I wondered?

“No,” laughed Biju, the cottage keeper. “That’s the Kanthanpara waterfall, very close, would you like to see it?” Would we like to see it! ‘Very close’ was actually correct. What had at first seemed a dangerous precipice (oh, we city-dwellers) actually had a very narrow, very winding path that led to about halfway down the valley. As we peered over rocks and in between trees we could see the swirling waters of the Kanthanpara waterfall.

But that was only a bird’s eye view. To actually get to the waterfall, we had to take a 10 minute drive through hilly roads and hairpin bends.

Kanthanpara Waterfall

Look for information on Kanthanpara and all you’ll find is that it is 8 km from Meppady and 22 km from Kalpetta. And that it is ‘relatively smaller’ than some other waterfalls. What they don’t tell you is how beautiful it is.


Kanthanpara waterfalls

The water comes cascading down 99 feet with a mighty roar, rushes down with leaps and bounds, raising spray, to disappear into a valley of dense forest. The sight and sound are inspiring, to say the very least. There are two or three vantage points from where to get the best views of Kanthanpara. One is right at the top, where you can sit on rocks at the very edge of the waterfall and watch the water go by, hear the spray and actually feel the force of the water. There are others at midway and the foot of the waterfall from where you can shoot excellent pictures of the cascade. You can also walk up river for a distance.


Swirling waters at the Kanthanpara waterfall

The best thing about Kanthanpara is that it is not crowded. Maybe it was the time we got there (late evening) but I didn’t spot any avid bathing or swimming or the various aquatic gymnastics and water sports ubiquitous at most waterfall. Just the odd local fisherman, trying his luck before getting home. Also, there was a conspicuous absence of stalls selling everything from straw hats to sneakers.
The river disappearing into the forest

As darkness made its way into the valley, we reluctantly rose to leave. I could have spent an entire day there, but I knew that the rest of our trip was already planned and we had many such sights to take in. So it would just have to be another trip to Wayanad to visit the Kanthanpara waterfall again.

Nagarhole National Park

Among the Best Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

With a large elephant, bison and bird population, Nagarhole National Park is one of the best places to sight wildlife in India. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

We drove through Nagarhole en route to Wayanad.

This is the best ‘drive through the forest’ route you can get. Lower your window and the forest is at arm’s length (unlike Bandipur and Mudumalai).

There’s no entry fee, just the guard on duty telling you not to speed, get down from the vehicle, horn or play music.

The road is narrow and winding, making the drive all the more exciting, because you never know who (or what!) might be waiting just around the bend.

There are road humps every few metres to check your speed, but that’s alright. Who wants to drive like the blazes through a wildlife reserve and miss all the creatures?!

At about 14 km you reach Markal, the settlement of local tribals. You will see houses, a serene lake and some gigantic cages, with tuskers in them sometimes. These tribal folk are expert at ele-communications! :-)

Rogue elephants are sometimes brought here to be trained by these people. The secret, apparently, lies in a chunk of jaggery.

One heartening thing about the Nagarahole sanctuary, it is indeed well-maintained. It really appears untouched by civilization.

Which is why you can actually spot some of these beautiful creatures.

The deer are aplenty here. Don’t they look like they are posing for the camera? They actually stop grazing and look at you, ready to sprint at the slightest hint of danger.

But mostly they try to blend with the scenery. Can you spot this one, his antlers look like branches.

As for the big guy, we only saw a lot of tell-tale signs at first.

When we did see him, (he was a beauty with long tusks) he was feeding peacefully, his back to the road.

One click of the camera was enough to make him turn around, not at all thrilled. Any more clicks and I think he would have charged. That’s another jungle rule, elephants don’t like their pictures taken, at least not the wild ones.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve region is currently under consideration by the UNESCO to be selected as World Heritage Site.

Aspiring to Khardungla Pass

That's the dream, really...to one day conquer the Khardungla Pass, arguably the world's highest motorable road.
Arguable, because there may be other roads in Tibet at even higher elevations, motorable or otherwise. But for me, Khardungla Pass it is!
In the meantime, I just drive around alleys and backstreets in these sorry plains and plateaus with the occasional foray to the elevated places around, whenever time and work permit.


This is one such. Hope to travel lots and share lots of ideas, information and experiences eventually.