…and one elephant. But let’s start at the beginning.

The slogan of Kerala (the state of India we’re currently in) is “God’s Own Country”. While we found Kochi to be nice and all, we could not quite confirm it to be God’s own country. Good thing we went to Wayanad next.

Me hanging in the train. Before 8 Indians boarded our compartment.

Thanks to the generous offer of our Dubai-host to visit his hometown some 300 km northeast of Cochin, we managed to sneak a peak of what the inventor of that slogan must have seen in Kerala. And it’s quite….astonishing.

While it’s not completely untouched – there are some villages and towns spread out over the area – it’s the closest thing to untouched nature we’ve come across so far: We’ve seen more shades of green we thought to be possible.

Green. Very much so.

We’ve literally come across more types of bushes, grasses and trees in a day in Wayanad than in weeks of our previous trips combined. Add some crystal clear fountains and streams to that, and you’ve got yourself quite the picturesque image.

Organic car (errr, Tuk Tuk) wash…

Even more impressive than the mere collection of plants is what the locals make of it, though: From what we were told, the Wayanad region is pretty much self-contained. Be it chicken, rice, pepper, cardamom, tea, coffee or cinnamon, it all grows right here. Not to mention a large amount of veggies we could not even identify, but tasted pretty awesome nevertheless. Oh, and it’s all prepared with locally harvested coconut oil. Seems like they’re somehow trendsetters for the Western healthy kitchen (especially for frying stuff, coconut oil rocks, in case you didn’t know).

Oh, the food. We were offered so much it seemed impossible to eat, but it was so tasted we somehow managed to do so. Eating out now and then was ok, but the food we were served at the house of our friends parents (where we were allowed to stay the entire time) beat everything we’d had so far in India. I’m pretty sure this will be the standard for Indian food from now on.

Our friend from Dubai was so kind as to organize not only our accommodation and food, but to get some of his friends to show us around, too. Thanks to their knowledge of the area, we’ve come across astonishing beauty in every form. From local tribal people who live away from civilization and still hunt with bow and arrow…

…to all sorts of wild animals…

…we discovered a part of India that’s off the beaten path. We loved it, and we won’t forget it. Thanks to everyone who made that trip possible!

PS: As of early 2014, alcohol has been prohibited by the local Kerala government. Maybe this is why chewing that funky combination of leaves, lime and some red root has become so popular. Made me see funny stuff, that’s for sure.