Coimbatore to Wayanad via Ooty

🏁 Route: Coimbatore — Mettupalayam — Kotagiri — Ooty — Gudalur — Kalpetta (Wayanad)

🛵 Total Distance: 195 km

⌚ Total Time: ~7 hrs

📅 Date of Ride: Feb 1 & 2–2020

🌄 Best Time to visit Wayanad: June — December (Monsoon Season)

We group of 5 friends (Kishore, Hari, Tony, Suhas, Sabari) planned for a weekend getaway. Finally, we choose Wayanad as our destination. We planned for a bike ride from Coimbatore to Wayanad on February 1st.

🎥 Check out my vlog here 👇

Basically there are 3 routes to reach Wayanad from Coimbatore.

📌 Route 1:

Coimbatore — Palakkad — Thamaraserry — Wayanad

Total Distance: 237 km

Travel Time: ~7 hrs

This route is basically a boring highway ride. Almost 80% of the ride is through the National and State Highways of Kerala. If you’re a highway person you can choose this route to reach Wayanad. Ride through this route will be through the Kozhikode — Malappuram — Palakkad Highway.

📌 Route 2:

Coimbatore — Kotagiri — Ooty — Gudalur — Wayanad

Total Distance: 205 km

Travel Time: ~6.30 hrs

This is the shortest and beautiful route among the other routes to Wayanad. This ride is mostly through the Mesmerizing Ghat sections and Greenish Tea plantations. After crossing Mettupalayam, you can choose between two routes. One is through Coonoor and the other is through Kotagiri. The route through Coonoor is 10kms lesser than the route through Kotagiri. But the Coonoor route is mostly used by Commercial Vehicles and Buses. But the Kotagiri route will be of less traffic and most importantly with the amazing views.

📌 Route 3:

Coimbatore — Sathyamangalam — Gundlupete — Wayanad

Total Distance: 234 km

Total Time: ~6.30 hrs

This route extends through 3 states. Tamil Nadu(Coimbatore) — Karnataka(Gundlupette) — Kerala(Wayanad). This route is a combination of the ride through Highways and Ghat section roads. You can cover the Sathyamangalam/Thalamalai Reserve Forest and Bandipur Tiger Reserve by choosing this route.

We choose to ride through the Ooty, Gudalur route as we love to ride through the Ghat section roads also to avoid the traffic. The ride to Ooty through Kotagiri on Bike can’t be explained with words. The roads after crossing Ooty were almost empty with very fewer vehicles. The roads from Ooty to Gudalur and Gudalur to Wayanad was not that great. There were lots of bumps along the way. Drive at an average speed so that you can have a safe ride and enjoy the scenic Ghat section roads.

Though we traveled in February we witnessed a climate like December in Ooty. Once we entered Kerala the heatwaves started. The day time in Wayanad was disappointingly hot but the Evening and morning time was pleasant. The Best time to ride through this route is from June to December. During the monsoon season, you can witness the original beauty of this route. The roads will be covered with mist and greenish trees.

There are lots of stay options available in Wayanad. You can stay in Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta, Meppadi, Vythiri. We booked the rooms through GOIBIBO and stayed in Kalpetta. If you’re planning to book rooms for your stay book at least a week or 10 days before your travel. So that you can save some money. If you try to book a room before 2 or 3 days the prices will be increased in the online booking platforms.

Popular Places to Visit

• Chembara Peak
• Edakkal Caves
• Lakkidi View Point
• Soochipara Falls
• Kuruvadweep or Kuruva Island
• Banasura Hill
• Banasurasagar Dam
• Meenmutty Falls
• Pookot Lake
• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

PS: From mid-January to April most of the tourist places in Wayanad remain closed to avoid the Forest Fire.