Whatever was Outlook Traveller thinking of, sending a Mallu into the rainforests during the rains? Well, it was inspired thinking. It proved that Kerala still holds some surprises up her green sleeves that can get under the skin of even beauty-hardened denizens of God's Own Country.
Almost every inch of the mist-wrapped undulating hills of Wayanad have coffee, pepper and cardamom growing on them, hedged by lush rainforest that stuns the eye with its varied shades of green.
Wildlife truly roams free in Wayanad, whose forests share borders with Bandipur and Mudumalai. This vast stretch of protected earth is a haven of freedom for the fauna of Malabar and the Nilgiris. Add to that the relative lack of development of Wayanad district, and you get lots of pristine environment unblemished by the excesses of civilisation.
So if you're sick of civilised courtesies and sham creature comforts, head to the twin jewels of Vythiri and Lakkidi, tucked into the wild beauty of the forests of Wayanad, across the state border in Kerala.