Our mission for the weekend was: Finding a place where Google maps can’t find us. We saw Wild Planet Luxury Resort, Devala.
Looking for a weekend where you can relax, stay away from social media and still have fun? Wild Planet Resort in Devala is the right place! Seeing pictures from Wild Planet, we knew exactly what to expect, and we were excited!
We searched for the resort to map to the place at 5 am on a Saturday. After a couple of minutes found a route to ‘Wild Planet Resort Entrance’ and mapped it there. It was 260 Kms from Bangalore and a perfect cosy drive on the Mysore road.
We reached the Devala town after crossing Bandipur and Mudumalai. We spotted a lot of animals when we were crossing the forest. We were most excited about the tusker on the road! How exciting, no? Devala is a small village in between Mudumalai and Wayanad. Wild Planet Resort is roughly 8 km and 45 minutes drive from Devala town. Be warned that this drive isn’t smooth.
The fantastic staff from Wild Planet picked us up after 5 km from Devala. The remaining 3 km is just pure forest and no road/way whatsoever. Only their impressive modified Isuzu vehicles can pass through. On the way, you can see the resort on top of a mountain — nothing else but a couple of rooms and a reception on top.
We were welcomed with fresh towels and fresh juice. The resort entrance is grand and has a beautiful Indonesian Buddha statue in a Kerela inspired courtyard. A staycation in a resort is not just about the luxurious rooms and the facilities in the resort. It’s how close you are to nature. In Wild Planet resort, we found a peaceful haven; we felt so close to nature and pampered. This made all the difference. 🙂
What We Loved
The Room
Our room was a Hill Top Cottage. It had a million dollar view of the mountains and the tea plantations below. They are going off plastics in the resort, and it made both of us love and respect the place more. The water in the rooms was served in spic and span glass bottles as compared to a plastic, which is a general practice. The shampoo, the moisturizers etc. were kept in little melamine jars! Our room was tastefully done and had elements from nature!
Here’s another cool thing about our room 101, half of it was in Kerela, and the other half was in Tamil Nadu. We’d get out of the bed, and we would get a message from Vodaphone welcoming us to TN, and when we step out to the balcony, we will get a message from Vodaphone Kerala. We were super fascinated by this! 😀
The View
Woke up at 6 am to an unknown bird’s call. Opened the window to see the view. It was magic. The sun was rising behind the mountains and was covered with fog. The view of the tea valley magically appearing between the clouds. We were later on told that there were two elephants on the mountain behind all the clouds. They were seen at the wee hours of the morning from our balcony. The very thought that we could have seen elephants from our room was super exciting!
The Service
Mr Praveen, our relationship manager, was so helpful. Since there was no internet/range, he gladly offered us his phone to make our essential calls. The other staff in the resort took us around showed us how beautiful devala is. Everyone had a smile, and it made a lot of difference. Make sure you have a word with Mr Aashiq, the resort manager. He is one of the most interesting people you’d meet. He even almost convinced us to stay for another half a day for their Onam special lunch. If only we didn’t have to go to work the next day! Sigh
Variety In Food
There was Chinese. There was North Indian. There was South Indian. There was Kerala food. There was continental. Every meal had such variety, and we were spoilt for choice. The dining room was almost always covered in dense clouds. Drinking hot Chinese soup in between clouds calls for a special mention! 😀
What We Did
We were lazing by the pool, chilling on our little balcony, spotting wild birds, walking in between the tea estate in a drizzle in the evenings, enjoying hot tea and pazhampori in the evenings by a cosy bonfire. We went for a nature walk and saw bear marks and a lot of fun things!
How to get there?
Wild Planet is accessible from Chennai, Calicut, Bangalore. It was 280 KMS by road and passed through 2 nature reserve! It’s a slow and beautiful drive. Be warned the roads in the last 8 km to the resort is non-existent. It adds to the charm! 🙂
So, will Wild Planet Luxury Resort be your Next Check-In?
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