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Hidden paradise for adventure tourism

Wayanad has great potential for adventure tourism like rafting, mountaineering and rock climbing_bw copy The waterfalls, mist covered valleys, spice plantations and wildlife sanctuaries of Wayanad district in Kerala attract nearly half a million visitors every year. Now tour operators want to promote the area in the Indian Southern State as a hub for adventure tourism like rock climbing and rafting.
“This year we want to promote the theme ‘Adventurous Wayanad’ as the district has great potential for adventure tourism like rafting, mountaineering and rock climbing,” says K. Raveendran, spokesman for the Malabar Tourism Organization (MTO), an initiative by tourism entrepreneurs in north Kerala.
Located 60 km east of Kozhikode at an altitude ranging between 700 metres and 2,100 metres above sea level on the Western Ghats, Wayanad attracts mainly domestic tourists.
The number of foreign tourists is not available but the tourism department says it would be about three per cent of the total number of tourists.
The MTO, he said, intends to organize rock and mountain climbing programs in the district with the help of the General Thimmaiah National Academy of Adventure in Bangalore.
The focus would be on IT professionals in nearby Bangalore looking for a quick week-end getaway.
M.S. Dinesh, assistant tourism information officer of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), said the tourism department has been organizing occasional rock climbing events in the district, mainly at the request of tour operators.

Raveendran said organized rafting in the Kabini river in June to August this year was a great success.
The organizers used rafts built locally with bamboos for the event.
“We are getting a good number of enquiries regarding adventure events. Almost all of these are coming from people outside Kerala,” Looka Francis, a DTPC official, told IANS.
rafting_bw copy Francis said the rafts, about three metres long and 1.25 metres wide, were made by fastening rubber dinghies with bamboo rafts.
“The section of the Kabini river where we organized rafting was rocky and wooded. The bamboo raft took most of the impact and ensured protection to the dinghies. The rafting covered 6 to 12 km,” he said.
DTPC secretary K.V. Biju said tourism in Wayanad faced constraints in organizing trekking as most of the suitable spots were inside the forests.
“Sometimes it is difficult to get permission from the forest department for trekking,” he said.
Forest department officials allow tourists inside the forest only at a few places.