Bangalore to Wayanad

Kerala

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Bangalore to Wayanad

How to reach Wayanad from Bangalore?

Well, it depends on at least two things: how you are planning to travel (by bus or by private vehicle) and your itinerary. Are you heading straight to Wayanad from Bangalore? Or your journey includes visit of other tourist places en route?

Let’s consider the cheaper and simpler option first, i.e. heading straight to Wayanad by bus. KSRTC (both Kerala & Karnataka corporations) operate bus schedules that connect Bangalore to Wayanad. Book your ticket to Kalpetta or Sulthan Bathery (both are towns in Wayanad.

Karnataka’s Rajahamsa service is far better than Kerala state’s backbreaking super-fast/ express services. It’s worth paying extra for the Rajahamsa ticket as it is a long journey. From Mysore, there are many bus services to Wayanad.

Let’s see the ‘drive all the way to Wayanad’ option. From Bangalore, there are many routes to reach Wayanad (typically 3 routes). Finally, it all boils down to selecting the right route to Wayanad. Where in Wayanad do you want to go?

Bangalore- Mysore - Wayanad Road map. Three routes explained in this page are shown in this road map.

A larger version can be see by clicking on the image.
Or you can download a pdf version of this road map too.

Let us remember once again that Wayanad is not a town or a city. It is the name of a large district with more than half a dozen towns. In all probability, you would be heading to one of its three major towns , Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta or Mananthavadi.

The three options are :
Route A : Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur- Nagarhole - Kutta - Mananthavadi (Wayanad) Route B: Bangalore - Mysore - HD Kote - Bavali - Mananthavadi ( Wayanad) Route C: Bangalore - Mysore - Gundulpet - Munthanga - Sulthan Battery ( Wayanad)

If you are traveling by car, the best strategy is to take one route to Wayanad and return by another route. For example, go by Route A and return by Route C. You’ll even see (a little later on this page) a Route D if your iteanary includes Ooty in Tamil Nadu too. The advantages of selecting different route for up and down journey are multifold.

First of all, you will be saving time and travel cost by avoiding too many up and down travels with in Wayanad. Arrange your itinerary smartly so that you can start at one end of Wayanad as you enter by one route and by the time you complete your tour of Wayanad, you are already near the exit route you've chosen. Well, it is not all that straightforward; nevertheless some forethought and planning can make your tour a lot more effective. Plus, you have the experience of seeing two different wildlife sanctuaries as you go in and out of Wayanad.

Luckily Route A and Route C are located at the two ends of Wayanad's 'tourist arc' . So you start at one end of the arc, sweep your way through and leave at the other end.

Generally, you’ll first have to head towards Mysore.

Now, do you want to give Mysore a miss? If so, take the bypass road that appears on your right after Srerangapatina town. This bypass road joins the Hunsur road. This is the road you need to take to reach KRS (Brindavan Gardens) and Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary located near Mysore. Before reaching Hunsur, take the right deviation to Nagarhole. This road goes all the way to Kerala, crossing the Western Ghats. Well, we were talking about Route A mentioned above.

Of course you can go right through Mysore city or even by the Ring Road (that is around the city) to continue by Route A.

About 10 kilometers before Mysore city, this Ring Road crosses Bangalore-Mysore state highway (SH 17). You can either take the Ring Road and skip Mysore city again or head straight to city. The Ring Road connects the roads that are radiating out of Mysore city.

State Highway 88 ( SH 88 ) : The road is in excellent condition. An early morning sight on the way to Hunsur from Mysore

In this route (i.e. Route A ), the road from Mysore city to Hunsur (State Highway 88) is as marvelous, even better than the Bangalore-Mysore highway (SH 17). You can drive faster as SH 88 is not having the traffic as compared to SH 17. It's 4 lanes all the way.

As you reach near Hunsur, the highway makes a Y fork. Take the left (rather straight fork, as the highway bends rightward). At the junction, there is a huge board indicating the direction to the wildlife sanctuary. You can see this board and the junction from far. You'll reach the crowded Hunsur bus station area. This crowd announces the end of super-fast driving pleasure. Look out for a narrow road on your left right after the bus station. You may even spot a tiny signboard showing direction to Nagarhole and Iruppu Falls. If in doubt, ask for direction to Nagarhole (Do not ask for Wayanad , as you may not get a quick or right answer from a layman by the road side).

Road to Nagarhole from Hunsur. The bad roads in the initial stretch apart, the road is in good shape. The Karnataka Tourism's signboard says Nagarhole 35km and Iruppu Falls 65 km.

Now you are into the road from Hunsur to Kutta, via Nagarhole forest (a.k.a Rajiv Gandhi National Park ). It may take a few more minutes to shift the gears in your mind as this road is narrow (just as wide as a bus) and pothole ridden. On top of it, you have to ask for help at a few confusing village squares so that you can ensure you are in the right direction to Nagarhole. It's worth the trouble. Plus, you may learn a bit of vernacular Kannada!

After about 15 kilometers from Hunsur, you regain the rhythm of driving. Surprisingly, the road starts getting better though it will be narrower. You will start enjoying the remoteness rather than the whiz, as you were till Hunsur.

Now comes the Karnataka Forest departments check post and that formidable green painted gate across the road. The gate won't lift open automatically as you tend to wish. You have to stop the car and go to the tiny shed next to the gate to register your entry. It's a simple procedure hardly takes 3 minutes if there is no queue. Details like vehicle number, your name, from, number of passengers, etc; has to be entered and finally you need to sign in the register. A small tip is expected!

The gate will open and you will reach the Nagarhole reserve forest. The road is in good condition with humps built across the road every few kilometers. One is expected to drive slow as wild animals may cross the road at any point across your road. Somewhere in the middle, you will cross Nagarhole proper and a few tribal hamlets. Also, you will be able to spot an elephant camp and safari elephants with mahouts.

Road inside Nagarhole forest. Though not vey wide, the road is maintained well.

Remember few things: Traffic is allowed to pass through Nagarhole forest only from 6 am to 6 pm. You've to pay no fees to cross the forest. Also, you should not park your vehicle anywhere in the forest. Do not stray into the forest, as it is against to rule and can be dangerous. Just drive carefully along the designated road and cross the forest. You will be just fine.

What if you spot wild animals on the road? It is not uncommon to see herds of elephants crossing the road. First of all, you should not provoke the animals nor feel panicky. Stay calm and keep the distance. Do not get out of your car nor honk. Wait till they just fade away into the bushes and give you way. While most of the animals are shy, they can be aggressive when they are provoked. Bisons and elephants are known to charge, if provoked. Keep in mind it is no zoo and no one will be around there to help, should a situation arise. It takes about an hour till you reach the other end (and yet another check post with same set of formalities!) of the forest. Now you are officially out of the Rajiv Gandhi National Park.

It is very common to spot wildlife as you drive through Nagarhole forest. Spotted Deer ( Indian Chital / Axis axis ) in Nagarhole forest.

A few turns later you reach the small town called Kutta. A reminder, you are still in Karnataka though the dialect is a bit mixed. Between Hunsur and Manathavadi, Kutta is the only place where you can get some comfort (such as water, food and toilets). Look for a steep left turn as you enter Kutta. This is the road that goes to Wayanad again through a forest, though it is not as isolated as Nagarhole forest range. If you want to take a break anyway, head into Kutta town without taking the left fork mentioned above. The town square is about half kilometer from the fork.

You enter Kerala soon after Kutta. A signboard in Mayalalam announces that you are entering Kerala. If you don't know how to read Malayalam, don't worry as there are always the potholes to confirm your doubt. Those few treacherous potholes at the border stretch apart. The roads in Kerala are in better conditions. The road, in the Kerala side of the forest, is wider than the one through Nagarhole. So is the traffic.

Sights like this announces that you are already in Wayanad !

In a few minutes drive, you will cross the entrance of Tholpetti Wildlife Sanctuary. You can spot a large number of tourist vehicles parked on either side of the road and the traffic on the main road literally wriggles through this crowd. This sanctuary is the first attraction in Wayanad as you enter the district by this route. Many kilometers ahead, still on the forest road towards Mananthavadi, you will reach a junction. Take the right fork to go towards Thirunelli Temple, Papanashini or to Pakshipathalam (trek to forest for bird watching). It’s about 15 kilometers from the junction.

Otherwise, you can head straight to Mananthavadi. Shortly the forest thins out and the environs appear to be more populated, you'll arrive at a small town called Kartikulam. At the T junction turn left towards Kuruva Island (3km good road + 3 kilometers bad road, some stretch through the forest, again!); turn right towards Mananthavadi town (10 kilometers). However terribly you’ve fared in those geography classes, you can easily tell now that you are in the lap of the evergreen misty Western Ghats.

So that's about the road adventure via Route A !

We'll see next Route C as Route B is a bit notorious for its road conditions, though appear shorter on a map. While Route A enters Wayanad right at its north, Route C approaches Wayanad through its southwestern border with Karnataka. This is a more busy route than Route A.

Again this time, ask for the road to Calicut or Sultan Bathery instead of way to ‘Wayanad’ to an unassuming passerby.

Mysore Ring Road ( in picture) mearges to NH 212 at the foothills of Chamundi .

For Route C, the travel plan till Mysore is more or less same. That is start from Bangalore and head toward Mysore by the SH17. See Bangalore to Mysore .

Either through Mysore city or by the ring road - if you are skipping the city – you should take the road towards Gundulpet, in other words National Highway 212. You can easily get to NH 212 from the city center (palace area). The right branch of the ring road (as it crosses SH 17 when you drive from Bangalore) merges into NH 212, just at the base of Chamundi Hill. See the Mysore City Map here that shows the ring road we are talking about.

As you zoom past the Mysore airport located near Nanjangud.

Right through Mysore city, you are now in NH212. Mysore city to Nanjangud is about 23 km. Traffic is usually moderate to high, the road is 2-lane and in reasonably good shape. The speed of 60kmph seem to be the norm.

Apart from the potholes you have be a bit careful with those failed Michael Schumachers on this road. Failed they are, but still capable of showcasing some marvelous piece of reckless driving on a busy road. Yes, we are talking about those bus drivers in perpetual hurry.

You wiggle past Nanjangud town. Signboards are pretty clear and reasonably frequent. You will not make a wrong turn and neither will you have to ask for directions. From now on to Gundlupet, traffic slightly thins down, road is good and generally one pickups the lost time, that is if you have lost some. Nanjangud to Gundlupet is about 35 km. In short, Mysore - Gundlupet distance you can cover in about 1 ½ hours, including a bit of city traffic delays. If we take a tally so far, Bangalore - Myosre - Gundlupet stretch takes 5 hours, including a lunch and tea break in between.

The kind of heavy traffic on NH 212 near Gundlupet.

Gundlupet is a small town with a few eateries facing the highway. As you drive through the town, the highway makes a right turn as its exits the town. The straight road at this junction goes towards Gopalaswamy Betta , Bandipur, Mudumalai, Theppekaddu, Masinagudi, Ooty etc. You should take the right turn that heads towards the Kerala border.

Gundlupet to Sultan Bathery distance is about 50km, mostly through the forest. In about 15 minutes from Gundlupet, you'll enter the forest. Then there's a check post. Traffic is reasonably high, though not very heavy. Apart from the many private cars, this is a busy route with the interstate bus services and truck traffic. At the check post, private cars zoom past without much of formalities (unlike in the case of Route A).

It takes anything up to an hour till you cross the forest. Watch out for wildlife crossing the road. Inside the forest, the rules are again the same - no parking, no picnic, no horn etc .

A small river and a short bridge across it mark the Karnataka-Kerala border in the middle of the forest. In a stroke, signboards give way to Malayalam. It seems Kerala is in a self imposed competition with other states who own the largest number of check posts. You zoom past the check posts as you come out of forest. There is Forest Department check post, commercial tax check post, RTO check post and even a police check post.

And finally Wayanad arrives in style. A tea shop as you are nearing Sultan Bathery.

Also, you will start getting the signs of road side teashops, in typical Kerala style. May be you can take the first bite of banana fried in coconut oil. And the Kerala style tea to wash it down. Tea in Kerala is measured (exactly arms stretch long! ) and delivered with a thud on the table.

Somewhere towards the end of the forest, you will see the entrance to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, as usual tourist vehicle makes a mess around the area. Take it as a cue for you to join the crowd or slip out and drive ahead to Sultan Bathery. Now you are well in the Wayanad heartland. Sultan Bathery to Kalpetta, the district capital, is 10 kilometers. From now onwards follow your tour itinerary for Wayanad.

So far we've been skipping the Route B but not without a reason. The climax first: the last 25 to 30km or so is a terror as far as the road condition is concerned. KSRTC services (of both Kerala & Karnataka) claim that they deliver passengers in one piece by this road, though they don't stand guaranty for broken bones. Nevertheless, the so-called 'road' passes through some scenic forest ranges as it enters Kerala.

So if you are bend upon either to enjoy this scenery or all out to do an endurance test , go ahead. Up to HD Kote , the road is good then the nightmare starts. From Mysore ask for directions to HD Kote road. At some point the ring road crosses the HD Kote road. So get to HD Kote road based on where you are in Mysore. The HD Kote road takes you to Hampapura , a village and then to Bavali after crossing Rajiv Gandhi National Park ( in other words , the forest).

Note : The info given here may not be updated and complete. Use this only for basic reference. While every care is taken, www.hampi.in do not guarantee the accuracy of information provided here. For more accurate and updated information, consult the official sources

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