Resort stays

The railing at the top of the nine hairpins — the crest of the Thamarassery churam, where the Kozhikode plain drops away below and the cloud pours over the pass. Come early: the view is a morning creature, and by afternoon in season the mist can sit on the bends for the day. Watch the monkeys on the parapet.

A perennial forest lake at about 770 metres, 2.4 km from Vythiri, said to mirror the map of India in outline and home to a small cyprinid fish recorded in no other water. Boating, a freshwater aquarium and a shore path make it the easiest family half-day on this side of the district.

A ficus by the roadside at Lakkidi with a heavy chain run into its branches — the tree of the Karinthandan legend, the tribal guide the ghat road never credited, whose statue now stands beside it. A ten-minute stop that carries more of Wayanad’s history than most full attractions.

The tribal heritage village on a hillock at Pookode, opened in 2022 after a decade’s building — ten huts in the styles of Wayanad’s communities, a craft workshop and a market, run by residents who live there. Private cars stop at the veterinary-college gate; the site’s shared jeep does the last climb.

Thrikkaipetta, 21 km out via Kalpetta, where the URAVU study centre has built livelihoods on bamboo since 1996 — a working craft campus of nurseries, training and a workshop floor, not a show village. Go on a working morning and buy at the outlet; the sales are the model.