Chirappul Banasura Trek - Kerala, India

A wonderful rainy trekking experience through shola forest and fabulous grasslands..!

Chirappullu is one of the popular hikes in Wayanad district, Kerala. The trail is located nearby the banasura hills, padinjarethara. It is to be done under the government forest department and the guided trek will cost about 2200 INR for a group of 5 people.

Starting from the pulinjal forest office, the trail is initially going through some off road areas before entering the shola forest region. There are some small waterfalls and crossings inside the forest. If you re lucky you will spot wild animals such as elephants, gaur / Indian bison. After about 3km, the terrain become grasslands and then you can see the beautiful banasura hills / peaks surrounded.

The next 2km is through the grasslands and multiple peaks before reaching the summit. We took about 3 hours to reach the summit which is at 5km. There is a small lake also at the top which we weren't expecting.

For us, going down was tricky because the ground was extremely slippery due to the rain. Strong wing and low clouds made it even more challenging and thrilling.

While coming back we deviated a bit to visit a nearby waterfall. It was really worth adding the extra kms and elevation gain.

The description is not complete without mentioning the leaches. The forest is full of them and hikers should be prepared. These leaches made us slow and feel irritated throughout the entire trail.

Overall it was a unique trekking experience trough the rain, wind, low could and of course the leaches.

Points to note:
- Trekking should be done under the forest department (+919497597161)
- Use waterproof hiking shoes or simply use hiking sandals (if doing in rainy season)
- Keep sanitizer / saltwater to remove the leaches
- The overall duration will be about 5-7 hours. So keep enough water, snacks etc.
- The forest office timing is 7.30AM to 10.00AM
- Water content in the falls, lakes are subjected to the rain / season

Location : Pulinjal, Padinjarethrara
Difficulty : Moderate
Highlight : Shola forest with wild animals and waterfalls, Banasura hills, Beautiful grasslands, lake at the summit.

Note the waypoints and read their description. Please reach out for any further info / clarifications