The drive to Kannur.... ..of forts ,beaches and lore

                 

       My quest for the unknown has always driven me to places away from the mundane urban life, where every mile rode has brought in expectations and possibilities of an entirely new experience. Kannur was one such place ,which was little heard of ,and drew me to some exciting new exploits.

Breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi,

          An early morning breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi,in a chill December morning ,and we were on our way to this northern district of Kerala,which was called the land of looms and lore. Kannur is known for its weaving industry,and hence the looms,and talking about the lore ,it had many to narrate.And it did recount to us the rich history of its land,slowly  unfolding the many stories which it had to tell,through its numerous forts,palaces and harbours.

The car had finally taken a turn at the Brindavan garden,and we had started on the  Bangalore Virajpet highway.We were glad that the hustle of the traffic on the Mysore road was finally over,and so was the concrete jungle as the road slowly changed to different shades of green.The greenery around was not an unfamiliar one ,as the lure of it had brought us to the fourth visit to the state

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The coffee berries put out to dry in the sun by the roadside

Wild flowers along the way

I don't know what the writing on the top of the gate meant ,I just loved the scene

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Few more flowers to fascinate me 

Some tender coconut water and pineapple slices are all we need on the way

    The roads were in perfect condition allowing us a smooth ride .We could not stop ogling at the palm lined roads with coffee plants and pepper climbers completing the picture.In such a pleasing situation a stop at the Rajiv Gandhi National Park seemed nothing but compulsory,to watch the forest department elephants ,or to take a very close look at the beautiful coffee berries.I had seen the coffee blossoms in other visits but this time I had luck for the berries.

  I must admit that I have a thing for those clay tiled houses  more so when they are double storied which dot the already splendid scenery.A look at those houses sparks off an imagination of the peaceful  and slow paced life they must have amidst nature.

Do not miss these pineapple,mango and carrot slices dipped in spiced water,they are an excellent thirst quencher,you will find them at every corner of Kannur,

      We were about to cross the Karnataka and Kerala border we came across  a small  nondescript concrete bridge across a narrow river,and paid least attention to it,only to learn later that it was the  Koottupuzha bridge,that  was built by the British in1928. I am not a history buff as such ,but when it comes in slices like this ,amidst nature I am awed .  Koottupuzha is the name of the village where it was built .So on my way back I did not miss an opportunity to click these pictures.

 The  Koottupuzha bridge

The coffee berries

The pepper climbers

           As I sat in the front seat of the zooming car,happily clicking away every random scene,no frame ,no composition worked .Only a  desire to grab the most of what was served before me in this bountiful platter,and take back home with me to remember.

  

 The temperature soared as we crossed the crowded market place of small town Irrity..In about 7 hours we were at Mathannur(The place in Kannur where we had booked our stay).The home stay was  The Amban Heritage,a cosy two storied villa,where we had booked our stay for three nights.We were glad to see our smiling hosts ready with  glasses of  cold butter milk for us after the long drive.

Where to eat and what to eat there

If you happen to go to Thallasery go for the Thallasery biriyani,(Kerala is a haven for non vegetarians)though you can get the same in restaurants in Kannur too.Very close to the Payyambalam Beach is the eating joint named Odhen's.We had our lunch there.It was quite a satisfying experience.This places is for seafood lovers.They have  seafood cooked so differently ,that we can vouch for.One should be careful not to reach there late because lunch gets over soon and they wind up by four in the afternoon.One should also be prepared to wait for a table for about fifteen minutes.

   

Places to visit in Kannur

• St Angelo's fortRead here
• TheThallasery fort
• The Chera beachRead here
• The Parashini Kadavu temple
• The Payyambalam beach
• The Muzhappilangad beach(drive in beach)
• The lighthouse and the walk way
• The Arrakal museum

       The Kannur district in north Kerala is about 310 kms. from Bangalore.It takes roughly 7 to 8 hours for a leisurly drive to the place(considering the Makkoottam Churan Ghat that comes on the way).
The route-Bangalore-Mysore-Virajpeta road-Makkoottam Churan Ghat-Koottupuzha bridge-Irrity-Kannur
  One can find many hotels and refreshments at Irrity,ATMs and hoispital facility is also available there.THere are not many eateries after one takes the deviation from the Mysore road to the Virajpeat road.
               The railway station at Kannur is also well connected to all parts of India.The nearest airports are at Calicut and Mangalore,while the new airport coming up at Kannur is expected to begin commercial operations in mid 2017.Kannur is on national highway 66 between Kozhikode and Mangalore.

The Chera Beach .....a gem hidden in Kannur

            We cursed the labyrinthine alleys between the well laid out houses as we made our way to the Chera Beach....the sign boards did not seem to show the correct direction,neither did the people when asked .We could finally make it to an open space where we could park our cars and trek down to the beach.Next ,it was the turn of a long path through the thorny bushes and shrubs.Annoyed with the difficult stony track ,we shared irritated glances at each other ,trying to recollect whose freaking idea it was to lose our restful morning sleep in exchange of this.

             .And then something happened...we heard the sound of the waves,the sea was close now .....one look at the beach and the clear blue waters from behind the palm trees ,and the place had its spell on us.

The trek down to the beach

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Wild flowers on the way

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One of the many birds sighted

    The Arabian Sea stretched out in front of us ,reflecting the morning sky in shades of blue.For the first few moments we could do nothing but gaze at the vastness in front of our eyes.Is this what we actually want when we are out on a relaxing holiday? But there was no time to think, for the reason that it was no longer our minds but now our hearts had taken over.Not  a sound from anywhere except for the sound of the waves crashing on the wet sands.A man sat quietly on the rocks which stood in the water.The rocks as if guarding some part of the vast ocean  in a small bay, to mellow down for us.

Time stood still that morning,and we gaped at gods creation in its untouched ,unspoiled ,pristine ,untainted form.

The water was azure or turquoise,I was not sure,for it changed every moment.with the morning rays ,and the soothing breeze,neither did I try to find out ,for all I knew was, it was divine.

            The only humans other than us was the group of fishermen who had just hauled  their boats up from the sea.We watched them as they pulled out their fishing nets from the boats,and collected their morning catch.We watched them with interest ,in turn they looked at us in surprise trying to figure out what we could find so intriguing in their routine work.

Collecting shells brought by the waves during the long night that had passed,and watching birds fly to the beach,and trying to find out their names  kept us absorbed there.The crabs crawled between the rocks in the little water that the waves had brought in,fascinated the kids to no end.The waves crashed timelessly on the rocks and withdrew leaving behind a white foam before it completely disappeared from our eyes

Another bird on the beach

The Chera Beach Resort can be seen at the distance

     The Chera beach got its name from the first dynasty of rulers who ruled Kerala,the Chera dynasty.The only accommodation for stay in the beach is The Chera Beach Resort.The location of the resort and the view from its lawn in front of the resort is just amazing.A lot of it was captured through my lens,while much more was surely retained in our minds.We even bought some mackerels from there to our home stay Amban Heritage ,where our hosts readily cooked them for us.

Mackerels,an all time favorite

So all good things come to an end and so did our visit ,but we had many more places to visit in Kannur.So we bid goodbye to this little paradise expecting many more things to come from our three days visit to the place.

  The Chera Beach is situated at Mullapilangad,8 kilometers fom Kannur The railway station at Kannur is also well connected to all parts of India.The nearest airports are at Calicut and Mangalore,while the new airport coming up at Kannur is expected to begin commercial operations in mid 2017.Kannur is on national highway 66 between Kozhikode and Mangalore.

Horsley Hills

    After the umpteenth disappointment of being to overcrowded places,Horsley hills came with a breath of fresh air for us.The green canopy which started almost from Chintamani stayed on all through our visit to this off beat hill station in Andhra Pradesh.The climb to the hill was green ushering us to the top ,and the blossoms followed us everywhere .  That was exactly what we were longing for , a place away from the maddening crowd ,in the lap of nature,to quench our parched urban souls.

An early morning  four hours(with frequent breaks for breakfast and photography)drive from Bangalore, via Hoskote,taking the Chintamani bypass,via the small town named Madanapalli and we were at this small and quiet place as if designed only for us.Andhra Pradesh tourism provides  the main staying option here .The Haritha resorts of Andhra Pradesh tourism is spread all over the hill,with only a few other stay options .

 

the APTDC  reception

the play area inside the  APTDC property

the pool inside the resort

a walk to the cottages of  APTDC

   The  APTDC restaurant is probably the only place where food is available.,but the quality is very good.Lunch and dinner is a vegetarian buffet ,but one can get non-vegetarian food on order.

The restaurant from its well landscaped garden

....and again ,from the steps of the restaurant,while gorging on ice creams at the steps of the restaurant

Though our preference was to stay in one of those cottages above ,we could not get a booking there,so we stayed at the building below

                       The Haritha resorts have many stay options of suites ,cottages and even the Governor's bungalow which is now rented out by the tourism board.The rooms are all very well maintained and each location is  splendid.The Wind Whistle ,the Castle Wind ,the Whispering Wind being few  of the beautiful accommodations.

The conference hall

A lazy walk to the sunrise point early morning

Walking to the sunrise point is something one should not miss,as the roads are in excellent condition and would motivate even a late riser to take up this exercise,the green surroundings with the chirping birds and  flowers of every hue is an additional bonus .

Morning tea at  a shack after sunrise

     The environment park is a small walk from the resort,with few deer ,few species of birds like the peacocks and emu and  reptiles,

A small little temple by the road,surrounded by gulmohar blossoms 

     Breakfast at the Haritha restaurant was wholesome ,it was a  hot south Indian buffet I shall always remember .A walk down through the forest department area after a very heavy breakfast was what we were doing ,when we came across this forest department cottage and many more such beauties ,which almost inspired us to extend our stay.
     Right behind the forest department cottages was this very old eucalyptus tree,planted by  the collector W.H. Horsley himself ,the tree is named Kalyani locally.

The bungalow above was the collector W.H.. Horsley's bungalow,now used by the forest department as a guest house.

      Horsley hill is the perfect get away when our tight scheduled lives start getting dull.As you are not flooded with a list of points to see ,here ,as soon as you step out of your car ,you are for once left with the option of looking around you and enjoy the verdant nature around you.Untouched,unexploited and rejuvenating,Horsley hills can inspire us to make wildness a way of life.

     Almost 160 kms from Bangalore,275 kms from Chennai,and very close to Tirupati,Horsely hills has a wide range of activities to offer.You can trek down to the Nature Centre ,relax at the Sapthagiri spa with a body massage,watch the crocodiles bask in the morning sun,indulge in photographing birds  and flowers in magnificent colours ,or simply dare to say that you do not wish to do anything for a day or two.

Things to remember
The nearest railway station is at Madanapalli at the base of the hill,Madanapalli has many shops to cater to our needs .Food can be packed from this place while driving uphill as there are many options here.On our way back from Horsley hills we had lunch at Swad restaurant at Madanapalli,Food was excellent there ,and I would highly recommend the place.

One should not forget to carry light woollens there,as the weather can get chill.Proper footwear should be carried because the trip involves a lot of walking.