Earlier this year in India, I was contacted by the Indian edition of an international travel magazine to write for them. The first story I did was a cycling trip through Wayanad in northern Kerala.

Zen and the art of cross-country cycling

It is when you are hurtling downhill through picture-perfect tea gardens, that you begin to truly appreciate the genius of that distant ancestor who discovered the wheel. It is all the more heartening when you consider that throughout the subsequent evolution of transport, the bicycle came to be, and remains the most efficient vehicle ever invented. It certainly helps if the one you are riding is a sleek, 14-kg, 21-speed velocipede. Once you’re on the saddle, you are a self-propelled master of your destiny, least concerned about rising fuel prices.

My trusty steed

Cycling through Wayanad is one of the best, and least intrusive ways of getting to know this often ignored, but equally charming part of Kerala. We went on a three-day trip, cycling through forests, hills and tea and coffee estates across Wayanad, and came away suitably impressed. An added bonus were the down to earth yet delicious food, filled with the wholesome goodness of coconut in all its forms, and the people, who were genuinely warm and welcoming.

Having someone else take care of things so that all you have to do to have a great getaway is show up is the icing on the cake. Enter MuddyBoots, which specialises in organising bicycling and hiking expeditions in and around Wayanad. Backed up by excellent resources and in-depth knowledge of all the place has to offer, having them on board makes a world of a difference when you vacation in Wayanad.

With two wildlife sanctuaries, Tholpetty and Muthunga, sightings of animals like elephants, bison, chital, the Giant Malabar Squirrel, and others are fairly common. There are also routes that wind through undulating tea and coffee estates, but this kind of scenery can get a bit monotonous after a while. Thankfully, the routes also include rest stops near interesting wayside food stalls, like the one at Thettuvazhi (literally “wrong way”, as it is situated at a fork in the road) in the Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary, which is well-known in the area for its scrumptious unniappams (deep-fried rice and coconut cakes). People in Wayanad also pickle a surprising variety of vegetables and fruit, and you can sample amla or raw mango in brine, and pineapple in chilli and vinegar at ubiquitous corner shops.

It must also be noted, however, that Wayanad has a lot of ups and downs, so be prepared to exert yourself somewhat, although once you get a hang of the gears (and the cycling guides are always around to help you learn), the climbs become a whole lot easier to surpass. The good news is that each up has a down, and these can be serious fun—there are sections where you will go through many kilometres without having to pedal even once. The key is to learn how to keep your pedalling to a minimum, which once learnt, will keep you going far more than you would expect. And finally, if you feel you are about to collapse from sheer exhaustion, you can always flag down the backup vehicle which is a constant, reassuring presence.

At the end of a day’s cycling, you can repair to the comfortable and elegantly designed cottages at the Pranavam Retreat, tucked away in a lush coffee estate. Originally run as a home stay, Pranavam Retreat is now managed by MuddyBoots, but you can still enjoy the delectable traditional cuisine cooked up by Rema, engaging in delightful conversation with her and her husband, K. Ravindran.

After a couple of days of biking in Wayanad, be warned that you will find it hard to part from your two-wheeled steed. You will entertain thoughts of purchasing one for the daily commute, and will begin dreaming of that utopia where everyone chooses to travel by bicycle, or—who knows?—maybe even join a bicycling club back home. But even if all these hopes and dreams fizzle away on your return to the big, bad city, you can always come back to Wayanad and your two-wheeled friends.