Tholpetty, Kerala, India
A two day break in a wildlife reserve on the Kerala, Karnataka border. Stayed at the Pachyderm Palace, at the edge of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
We were so lucky to have stumbled upon this gem. I have to give credit to the Lonely Planet for this one. They described it as a hard-to get to part of the wildlife sactuary, which sees very few visitors. Perfect! After a 6 hour rough, expensive, taxi ride, we found that contrary to what typically happens when something makes it into the Lonely Planet, we were to be the only tourists there for 2 days!
We showed up after dark, completely unannounced, hoping to find a room for the night (in our defense, we had tried pre-booking, but the head office was closed for the weekend). There’s only one hotel/GH in the area, and we had a hard time even finding it. There was no sign on the guest house to advertise its presence (I guess most guests take advantage of the free shuttle from Cochin). The man working the entrance gate to the park had his son run over with us, to show us where the house was. The little kid then ran out back, in the rain, and a while later emerged with a smiling man, Venu. Venu would be our host for the next 34 hours. Despite showing up unannounced, giving him 0 time to prepare, he happily welcomed us in, prepared the beds, and started slaving away in his kitchen to whip up the first of our main 5+ dish meals. He didn’t own the house, but had a shack somewhere out back, where he lived and prepared the meals. And what spectacular meals they were (not quite what I was expecting for being in the middle of nowhere).
We fell asleep each night to the sounds of crickets, a dog, barking dear, and possibly a monkey or two (not a single honking horn!), and were awoken as early as 4:00 AM by the unexpected sound of prayers being broadcast across the jungle from some mosque. The first morning, we were greeted by Venu, with two cups of hot milk tea, before being taken on a jeep safari into the sanctuary. We were hoping to spot elephants, and maybe a tiger if we’re really lucky. But this excursion was limited to hundreds of spotted deer, and birds all around, plus some wild boar, buffalo and lemur monkeys. It wasn’t until our second excursion in the afternoon that we were treated to the sight of wild elephants grazing on a clump of giant bamboo. What a magical place. Our host also treated us to a personal guided tour through his village and the adjacent coffee plantations. It’s quite sad to think of him and his family members working these plantations for a mere $1-$2 /day. But he spun it in a positive light, explaining that now they have enough money to eat, and sometimes buy clothes (unlike in the past). Meanwhile, the landowners are living in massive mansions on the hills. Yet, here in Tholpetty, the people seemed happier, and smiled more, than anywhere we’d been yet in India.
Venu rose early (4:00 AM) with us to get us to the next town up the road, where a local “express” bus would be departing for Mangalore. I can’t say enough good things about our host. It’s places and people like this that really make you love India.
