Travel Note: Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary

So we went on a quick trip somewhere, and as you know by now, my lazy ass does not want to move anywhere, but forest stays are what make it move. So we shortlisted ***Muthanga Forest this time. Yes, the Muthanga that is known for the [Muthanga Adivasi Struggle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthanga_incident)***, rather than the forest itself.

As usual, figured out a government stay in Muthanga, called Cerambi. This is an old cottage, now renovated to accommodate guests. There are 2 floors; irrespective of the number, you will be allotted one in complete, and you can choose to run up and down or stay on one floor and leave the other closed.

Interestingly, the word Cerambi (or Srambi) appears to refer to a verandah or front porch. My PhD-level Google research suggests a possible connection to the Malay word serambi, which has a similar meaning. In Muthanga, the name is used for the old wooden verandah forest cabins built during the British period, and looking at the cottage, the name makes perfect sense.

The Google search is getting interesting. It seems that Srambyekkal, Srambiappadi, and Srambiamukk were names of some Muslim prayer places made of timber.

Back to Muthanga.

We reached around 3 PM, and after 2 hours of chilling, we went for the Jeep safari. This is the best part here that I liked. For the guests, the safari would be completely private and mostly only your jeep would be there during the safari, as there is no other cottage for the guests.

The safari was quite a peaceful one. We expect no animal spotting during a safari. We are in that mature space, you know! But, still saying no expectation as such would be a lie. Anyway, as usual, no flabbergasting moment for us.

But it wasn’t a disappointment. The ride was pleasant. Spotted jungle fowl, Malabar whistling thrush, orange-headed thrush, spotted deer, and one elephant on the way back.

The invasion of **senna** that we have read about is very clear, and a good space is occupied by eucalyptus plantations as well. Manimaruthu is another common tree that I remember. To summarise, real old trees are comparatively fewer.

On the way back, ***Seetha Devi temple ***was something unique (we did not visit, just noticed it from the Jeep). Have heard little about Seetha Devi temples. There was a pond nearby, and it is known for crocodiles as well, it seems. Legend has it that Lakshman abandoned Sita at this spot, and the pond was made of her tears. A Lava-Kusha temple was also spotted. Again, on a PhD-level research using Google, it is concluded that Sreerama temples and Wayanad are well connected and apparently Wayanad is one of the key places in Ramayana.

One of the major drawbacks of staying here is the lack of food service. Luckily, that night the manager offered us ***Kanji***, but for breakfast, the only depending on nearby restaurants was the option.

The other time was spent just walking around and having coffee from the coffee shop.

Sorroundings

Forgot to mention the [Kunki/Kumki](http://So we went for a quick trip somewhere, and as you know by now, my lazy ass did not want to move anywhere, but forest stays are something that make it move. So we shortlisted Muthanga Forest this time. Yes, the Muthanga is known for the Muthanga Adivasi Strikes than the forest itself. As usual, figured out a government stay in Muhanga, called Cerambi. This is an old cottage, now renovated to accommodate guests. There are 2 floors, irrespective of the number, you will be allotted it in complete and you can choose to run up and down or stay at one floor and leave the other closed. Interestingly, the word Cerambi (or Srambi) appears to refer to a verandah or front porch. My PhD-level Google research suggests a possible connection to the Malay word serambi, which has a similar meaning. In Muthanga, the name is used for the old wooden-verandah forest cabins built during the British period, and looking at the cottage, the name makes perfect sense. The Google search is getting interesting. It seems that Srambyekkal, Srambiappadi and Srambiamukk were names of some of the prayer places of Muslims made using timber. Back to Muthanga. We reached around 3 PM and after 2 hours of chilling; we went for the Jeep safari. This is the best part here that I liked. For the guests, the safari would be completely private and mostly only your jeep would be there during the safari as there is no other cottage for the guests. The safari was quite a peaceful one. We expect no animal spotting during a safari. We are in that mature space; you know! But, still saying no expectation as such would be a lie. Anyway, as usual, no flabbergasting moment for us. But it wasn’t a disappointment. The ride was pleasant. Spotted jungle fowl, Malabar whistling thrush, orange-headed thrush, spotted deer, and one elephant on the way back. The invasion of senna that we have read about is very clear, and a good space is occupied by eucalyptus plantations and looks like mostly deciduous. Manimaruthu is another common tree that I remember. On the way back, Seetha Devi temple was something unique. Have heard little about Seetha Devi temples. There was a pond nearby, and it is known for crocodiles as well, it seems. Legend has it that Lakshman abandoned Sita at this spot, and the pond was made of her tears. A Lava-Kusha temple was also spotted. Again, on a PhD-level research using Google, it is concluded that Sreerama temples and Wayanad are well connected and apparently Wayanad is one of the key places in Ramayana. One of the major drawbacks f the stay here is the lack of food service. Luckily, that night the manager offered us Kanji, but for breakfast, only depending on nearby restaurants was the option. The other time was spent just walking around and having coffee from the coffee shop. Missed to mention the Kunki/Kumki elephants. I remember a talk by an IFS officer on how these elephants are trained to move the elephants back to the forest. There are around 6 kungis here and taken to different parts of Kerala as per requirement. Since many of the places are pretty far, we (I would be the right word) made a quick visit to the Jain temple in Sulthan Batheri. I expected this place to be somewhere interior, but alas. A century-old temple, right roadside. And I felt like disturbing their PDA activities. I took a quick walk around, saving the image to my hippocampus, part of my brain. Yes, I have been reading a neurology book, and I learnt about a few areas of the brain. Important note. Research yourself to make sure what I conveyed is right. Apart from that, it was the neatness of the town that surprised us. So the award for the cleanest town wasn’t for namesake after all. Good. So that’s it from this quick travel. The next one is to Parambikulam. Until then. Good Bye.) elephants. I remember a talk by an IFS officer on how these elephants are trained to move the elephants that come out of the jungle back to the forest. There are around 6 kunkees here and is taken to different parts of Kerala as per requirement.

Since many of the places are pretty far, we (I would be the right word) made a quick visit to the ***Jain temple in Sulthan Batheri.*** I expected this place to be somewhere interior, but alas. A century-old temple, right roadside. And I felt like disturbing their PDA activities. I took a quick walk around, saving the image to my hippocampus, part of my brain.

Yes, I have been reading a neurology book, and I learned about a few areas of the brain. Important note. Research yourself to make sure what I conveyed is right.

Apart from that, it was the neatness of the town that surprised us. So the award for the cleanest town wasn’t for namesake after all. Good.

So that’s it from this quick travel. The next one is to Parambikulam. Until then. Goodbye.