The Jadavpur University Alumni Association Hyderabad is a vibrant group of past students from the university who currently reside in the city. Though JU is not my alma mater, I have been very closely associated with this group for a long time as my wife is an alumnus. Among the activities of the group are frequent outings to destinations in India and abroad almost on a semi-annual basis. For the long weekend in mid-August 2024, the plan was to visit Wayanad National Park in Kerala.
On 30th July 2024 Wayanad faced a slew of landslides killing a few hundred people. The group was naturally concerned that this tour may have to be shelved, but our resort Abad Brookside assured us that that the landslide had occurred far away, and life in the area we were travelling to was not disturbed. Yet, we had a lot of dropouts but around 37 people finally boarded the Kachiguda-Mysuru express on 14th August evening. From Mysuru, couple of buses took us to Lakkidi, the 150 km distance was covered in around six hours with frequent stops. The journey covered the scenic Bandipur and part of Wayanad forests, where one could see many wild animals like elephants, deers and wild boars on the side of the highway. The road was very smooth till Lakkidi, but from there the journey up to the hotel that is located at an altitude proved quite scary, as the road was narrow and rocky and dusk was setting in rapidly.
We reached around 7 pm. The resort is massive, with cottages spread across the campus. The reception and dining area was close to the main gate. We were offered a welcome drink, a hot concoction of herbal tea, black pepper and honey that soothes your throat. Our cottages were a bit of a walk, but the rooms were clean, spacious with all amenities. Apart from the usual stuff, we noticed packets of salt and were curious what they were for. There are three types of cottages here – brook facing, garden facing and villas.
Dinner at the restaurant was very good. They make quite a few Kerala style dishes that were of interest to me. Also they use the local fish that are absolutely fresh. Apart from fish and prawn, beef and chicken are also available, the beef curry that I ordered the next day was pure comfort food, and went famously with rice.
Next morning, we went around the campus. Abad Brookside Resort is named so as there is a small rivulet passing through the campus. Many cottages are lined up next to the brook, and ours was one of them. The campus was absolutely clean. There were ducks floating around, as well as hordes of monkeys ready to pounce on any food that they can locate. On the third day, a few of them had a field time pouncing on our chakna and drinking some of our vodka.
We went for a walk uphill outside the gate of the resort. It was green all over, and we found that the resort was located just next to a tea garden. We climbed up about half a kilometer and then realized why they gave salt packets in our rooms. Many of us were stung by leeches that were patrolling the roads, and we had to scurry back to the resort. Salt application gives some relief if you are attacked by a leech.
After a sumptuous breakfast of soft idlis, vadas and sausages we took off to the areas nearby. Abad Resorts is located at Lakkidi, a place known as the Cherrapunji of Kerala. The notable hamlets around are Vythiri, Kalpetta and Sultan Bathery. The greenery in the entire belt catches your attention. There is a lake named Pookote nearby and Banasura dam that we visited. On the way back we visited a shop for local saree and had a sumptuous lunch of Mutton Biryani and Fish Al Fahm at an Arab-inspired Keralite restaurant. One has to go gaga over the quality of fish we got throughout the trip, but the Al-Fahm definitely took the cake.
It was drizzling intermittently during the two days we stayed there, but we were not overly worried. The resort itself was so scenic that one could spend the entire time there. In fact, the next day most of us did not venture out at all. Some relaxed at the swimming pool, some played a game of cards and some sang on the karaoke that we brought along with us.
The highlights of the food on the second day was Meen Polichatthu, where fish in spices is wrapped inside a banana leaf and steamed. The other was Unniyappam, a dessert of coconut and rava balls served with honey. That said even the Kerala style Fish Fry was scrumptious.
The two days passed like a breeze. As we were boarding our buses to Bangalore on the wee hours of Sunday, we could not but feel a bit sad that perhaps we should have planned for a couple of days more here.
The Abad property was an extremely scenic place, with good support and service from a set of smiling staff. They have resorts all over Kerala, including Kumarakom, Munnar and Kochi.
Location:
Abad Brookside, Lakkidi
Lakkidi, Vythiri, Kunnathidavaka,
Wayanad, Kerala 673576
Phone 99465 82222
Web: https://www.abadhotels.com/brookside-lakkidi-resort-wayanad/
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