The Majestic Maze of Mananthavady

Mananthavady is the third biggest town in the Wayanad district. It is a transportation hub of Eastern Wayanad and buses to Kozhikode, Kannur, Thalassery and Mysore start from the KSRTC depot here. The town is built around an ancient Latin church. The church is on a beautiful hillock and the whole city traffic flows around the hill. Mananthavady is the gateway to the Wayanad, Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai sanctuaries. Mananthavady is accessible by bus from Mysore, Kozhikode, Kannur and Ooty. There is no rail link. The nearest airports are Kozhikode and Bangalore. The attractions in Mananthavady include the Bavaly Dargah on Mysore Road and the Chettappalam Village (3 km)with a Church, River, Bridge, Scenic paddy fields. The Kuruva Islands (Kuruvadweep) are 17 km eastwards that offer 950 acres of protected river delta system. There are many rivulets and tiny islands in this forest area. The Latin Church is on a hilltop in the exact middle of Mananthavady town. Unfortunately the ancient church is now 'renovated' into a concrete building. There is a museum dedicated to Pazhashi Raja near the bus station. It is open 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm and Mondays are holidays. The is a very famous temple at Thiruvelli, some 36 km insdie the deep forest. You can also visit Boys Town also called 'Nalpathirandu' at Thalappuzha (15 km). There is a herbal garden, nature care centre, sericulture unit, perma-culture centre etc., established by the Wayanad Social Service Society and Gene Park (the Indo-Danish project for promoting herbal gardening) here. You can also find a church and orphanage. The locals call this place '42' denoting the distance in miles to Kannur. If you are a forest bum, take the 6.10 a.m. bus to Kutta or the 6.15 a.m. bus to Thirunelly Temple. Both buses goes through dense forests. You can choose a window seat and enjoy the scenes. If you are interesting in maze walking, Mananthavady town has a very confusing maze like layout. It is only six sq. kilometre area but the little town is extremely confusing even to those who have visited the place several times. In the evening traffic it is very unpleasant to walk as sidewalks are extremely crowded and the maze doesn't give a clue. But early morning walk can show you that the town is built in the shape of an enormous digit ' 8 ' . The bigger circle of the digit eight encircles the Latin Church Hill and the smaller circle encircles the Government Offices Hill. You can also spend an evening at the Valliyoorkkavu temple which is dedicated to Mother Goddess and is worshipped in three principal forms of Vana Durga, Bhadrakali and Jala Durga. It is the most important place of worship for the tribal communities. The annual 15 day festival is in March/April and is the grandest of all festivals in the district. Slave trade used to take place here during the festival. It is still the largest congregation of all tribals of Wayanad.The Valliyoorkkavu Temple area is ideal for unpacking your picnic basket as the whole locality looks like a lush green lawn. There are two ancient temples, one orthodox church, foot bridge and river in this place in addition to an expanse of greenery. Good accommodation is easily available in Mananthavady. The cheapest accommodation in Wayanad is available at Mananthavady. You can stay at Deluxe Lodge inside the Coffee House compound in the middle of the town for only Rs.270. The rooms are very clean with attached bathrooms and television. There is also one Dew Drops Rest House on Mysore Road. The rooms are spacious and they charge Rs.400 per night for a double room. The government is managing a KTDC Hotel inside the Thirunelly forest. For the shoestring budget travellers, there is the St. Sebastians Dormitory, Kutta Road, Kattikkulam.