Wayanad, the green paradise is nestled among the mountains of the Western Ghats, forming the border world of the greener part of Kerala. Clean and pristine, enchanting and hypnotizing, this land is filled with history and culture. Located at a distance of 76 km. from the sea shores of Kozhikode, this verdant hill station is full of plantations, forests and wildlife. Wayanad hills are contiguous to Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu and Bandhipur in Karnataka, thus forming a vast land mass for the wild life to move about in their most natural abode.
Regarding geographical location, Wayanad district stands on the southern top of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is the majestic Western Ghats with lofty ridges and rugged terrain interspersed with dense forest, tangled jungles and deep valleys. The place also enjoys a strategic location as the leading tourist centres of South India like Ooty, Mysore, Bangalore, Coorg and Kannur are situated around this region.
Covering an area of 2132 km ², with a density of population at 369 people/km² within a population of 780,619 people (2001 census), Wayanad consists of 3 taluks - Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery and Vythiri. The district headquarters is located at Kalpetta municipality with a population of 29,602 as per 2001 census.
Wayanad enjoys a salubrious climate throughout the year. The mean average rain fall in this district is 2322 m.m. Lakkidi, Vythiri and Meppadi are the high rainfall areas in Wayanad. Annual rain fall in these high rain fall areas ranges from 3,000 to 4,000m.m. High velocity winds are common during the south west monsoon and dry winds blow in March-April. High altitude regions experience severe cold. At Ambalavayal in Wayanad, the mean maximum and minimum temperature for the last five years were 29oC and 18oC respectively. This place experiences a high relative humidity which goes even up to 95 percent during the south west monsoon period. Generally, the year is classifed into four seasons, namely, cold weather (December-February), hot weather (March-May), south west monsoon (June-September) and north east monsoon(October-November). The dale Lakkidi, nestled among the hills of Vythiri taluk, has the highest average rainfall in Kerala.
The misty environs of Wayanad offer a wide range of trekking opportunities, plantation visits and wildlife tours.
