Your Wayanad itinerary is not complete without a plantation tour!
Tea Plantations in Wayanad
So how to strategize a plantation tour? There are two broad approaches.
If you are staying in one of those resorts or home-stays in Wayanad, it is most likely that they own a plantation or has some kind of arrangement with plantations in the vicinity.
The second option is to look for those conduct plantation tours. Your hotel/resort would be in a position to arrange one with a guide accompanying.
A typical tour could take 2-3 hours or even shorter if you prefer.
A tour involves a good deal of walk, sometimes a mini trek, as most of the plantations would be on hilly slops. Typically access to the plantations are though boulder strewn mud roads only jeeps can negotiate.
You'll see a great deal of tea plantations in Wayanad with fairly motorable road sneaking through its slopes.
Tea plants are bushy and pruned typically to your midriff level height, making the plucking easy. During the plucking, one will squeeze through the narrow gap between the plants.
In contrast coffee plants grew a bit taller than the tea, typically 10 to 12 feet. You would be walking under a shallow canopy in a coffee plantation!
Coffey is grown in independent plantations or as a mixed plantation with other spices, notably pepper vine. Pepper produced in wayanad region is known for its superior culinary flavor.
A visit to cardamom plantations in Wayanad is highly recommended as this is an exotic crop grown in limited regions like Wayanad.
In wayanad you would also see plenty of beetle nut plantations with those slender tall palm like trees packed in many acres plantations.
Also note while choosing your place of stay in Wayanad, there are many resorts and home-stays located inside plantations. Look out for those properties, you'll like the rustic plantation ambient!
Cardomom plantation in Wayanad
Arcanut Plantation in Wayanad