Meppadi is a small, quiet and beautiful town in Wayanad. It is located in the Kozhikode-Ooty Highway and is 10 kms from Kalpetta. It has many natural tourist spots of Wayanad like Chembra Peak, Pookot Lake, Soochipara (also known as Sentinel) Waterfalls, Kanthanpara Waterfalls etc. There are numerous tea and coffee plantations that spread across 16 kms or more.
Chembra Peak is the highest hill of Wayanad. It is the perfect choice for trekking in Wayanad and gives you a great outdoor experience. It has a heart-shaped lake along the way and has gooseberry trees (Nelli or Amla) in the valleys. The fruit of the gooseberry trees (Nellikka) is quite popular throughout Kerala as a medicine, as an ingredient in cooking and for making pickles. The Lake is attractive to see and is a perennial source of water for the thirsty animals. Deers and other animals come during the mornings and evenings to drink water. There is a peculiar type of grass in the peak which gets dried up in the summer, during April-May. It catches fire due to the heat of the sun and it burns. Hectares of grass get burned. The ashes after burning are eaten by the deers of the forest nearby. Precautions are now taken not to let the fire spread across the forests and destroy the precious flora and fauna.
Plantations in Meppadi
A drive through the plantations can give you a wonderful experience. The beauty of the cliffs is more than words can describe. If you remember drawing a sun in between two mountains in your childhood days, you can actually experience it here. Sunrise and Sunset can be seen in its true splendour like coming real out of a picture. The Moon also can be seen in various shades here. Meppadi falls in the Nilgiri Biosphere area and thus have a pleasant climate throughout the year. This is the true climate of Wayanad which is inviting for any tourist.
The tea plantations provide an awesome view on both sides of the road when you drive from Meppadi Town to Vaduvanchal. There are a number of employees working for different tea plantations. You can see the beautiful sight of woman employees plucking tea leaves which you might have seen in photographs. There are field workers and factory workers working in the plantations. Women employees do the plucking of tea leaves while male employees do the weeding and other works. The Plantation companies provide accommodation facilities for all laborers who depend on their job for living.
Paadi-A unique home
The quarters provided for them are locally known as “Paadi” that consists of 3 rooms for a family. There are about six to eight rooms in a single building. The labourers live as a community in harmony. “Paadi” fosters community living. The rooms include a Kitchen, a dining room and a bedroom.
Life in the Plantations
The Labourers are given land in the valleys and they cultivate vegetables, spices like ginger and pepper, plantain etc. Plantain is widely cultivated there. As they earn income through their personal cultivation and estate work, they maintain a good standard of living when compared to the other places in Wayanad. Around two decades ago, Meppadi was one among the places with the highest standard of living.
When you visit Meppadi, you can get farm fresh products-coffee beans, spices like ginger, pepper, cardamom, turmeric, yam, tapioca etc. fresh from the farm. You can get them at a cheaper rate than from the market and in the purest form.
The workers create small huts, a few meters high (similar to tree huts) at their farms, to protect their cultivations from the encroachment of wild animals. It consists of four wooden pillars where a guard will stay during the night. There is a twine for an area of two to three acres with a special alarm system. There is a wooden box and a wooden bell inside. When an animal crosses the twine, the alarm will go off and the Guard will wake up. That is how the alarm works.
There is a second type of alarm where there is no human guard necessary. There is an iron wire tied around the surroundings. There is a stone connected to the wire. There is fire crackers placed between two stones. When an animal crosses and touches the wire, the stone above will fall onto the cracker and it will go off creating a big noise that is loud enough to scare the animal away. This alarm is used during the early stages of cultivation such as during sowing of seeds.
Meeting with the wild
Wayanad is famous for its forests and the human inhabitants famously known as tribals. The tribals of Wayanad have been and still is a great subject of research and interest. Meppadi is surrounded by forest areas. The tribal groups called Paniyar are found in the forests of Meppadi . There is a wrong belief that they might attack you or rob you. But actually, they are much better-behaved than the city folks. I had a personal experience of their manners when a tribal came to my home and asked for water. When I gave permission he drew water from the well and drank it. Isn’t it different from how we usually drink water?
The Paniyars and Cholanayikars are good and honest but they don’t mingle with people outside the forest. Cholanayikars are very fair and is believed to be the descendants of the Aryan Race. Their lifestyle is quite interesting for a visitor. Making bamboo rice, procuring natural honey and catching fish are unique sights of Wayanad. Their homes are also different from the normal homes of villagers. We will arrange trips to visit the tribals, if you wish to see them.
The Forests are not so deep with dangerous animals like tiger, lion etc. Walking through the jungle is a must for adventure lovers. The jungle trails will be an unforgettable chapter in your tourist diary. Observe the wildlife of the forest like wild goats, boars (pigs) and red jungle fowl or wild chicken, monkeys etc. Botanists and plant lovers have umpteen plants, flowers, trees to see. There are birds whose sounds give you a feeling that you are in another world. Don’t you feel like taking your travel bags and rushing to this wonderland called Wayanad???
Gold Mining in Wayanad: Meppadi & Chembra Peak
1. Historical Gold Exploration in Wayanad
Wayanad has long been known for its gold-bearing quartz reefs, which strike across the region’s ancient gneiss rock formations. The presence of gold in Wayanad was documented as early as the late 18th century. In 1793, the Governor of Bombay sought detailed reports on gold deposits in the Wayanad and Nilambur regions. A similar inquiry was made by the Madras Government in 1828, highlighting the strategic interest in Wayanad’s mineral wealth. By 1881, official reports confirmed that gold collection had been taking place for at least 40–50 years before that, with gold primarily being extracted through traditional methods such as panning and washing soil from riverbeds and hillsides.
2. European Companies and Mining Operations
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, several British and European companies attempted commercial gold mining in Wayanad, including in Meppadi and Chembra Peak. Among the notable companies involved were Peirce, Leslie & Co. of Calicut and the Indian Glenrock (Wynaad) Company, which also engaged in mica and iron mining in the region. The primary method of extraction involved washing soil and stream sediments in shallow wooden trays known as murriya, a practice used by local workers to separate gold particles from sediment. However, despite extensive efforts, large-scale mining operations were not very successful due to the scattered nature of gold deposits and the challenges of extraction.
3. The Decline of Gold Mining and Its Legacy
By the early 20th century, gold mining in Wayanad had largely declined due to economic and technical difficulties. The gold deposits, while present, were not concentrated enough to support large-scale commercial mining. However, remnants of this history still exist in the form of abandoned mining sites, old tunnels, and European mining company records. Today, areas like Meppadi and Chembra Peak, once explored for gold, are now renowned for their tea plantations, trekking trails, and biodiversity. Yet, the region’s forgotten past as a gold mining hub remains an intriguing part of its history.
Gold Mining in Wayanad: A Forgotten Legacy
1. Early Gold Exploration and Traditional Mining
Gold deposits in Wayanad have been known for centuries. By 1793, British authorities had already taken an interest in the region’s gold resources, requesting reports on its potential. By 1828, the Madras Government sought further details, and in 1881, official reports confirmed that gold had been collected in Wayanad and the Nilambur Valley for at least 40–50 years prior. Traditional methods involved panning for gold in streambeds, hillsides, and paddy fields. Workers used wooden trays called murriya to separate gold particles from the soil, a technique passed down through generations.
2. European Involvement and Large-Scale Mining Attempts
In 1831, Swiss watchmaker H.L. Huguenin, with the help of Lieutenant Woodley Nicolson and a team of pioneers, attempted a more scientific approach to gold exploration. They discovered deep mining shafts (10–50 feet deep) in Nilambur, operated by 500–600 Mappilla workers under the Nilambur Tirumulpad, the local ruler. However, challenges such as diseases like malaria, opposition from locals, and government disinterest led to the abandonment of these efforts by 1833. The idea of gold mining in Wayanad remained dormant for the next thirty years.
3. Revival in the 1860s and the Alpha Gold Mining Company
By the 1860s, as Wayanad was being developed for coffee plantations, planters discovered remnants of ancient gold mining operations. These included old stone walls for sluicing, channels for washing soil, rubble heaps, quartz crushing pits, and tunnels as deep as 70 feet. The region of Shuliyamala, near Devala, was particularly rich in such remains. Inspired by gold rushes in Australia, British planters began prospecting in the area.
In 1874, the Alpha Gold Mining Company was established with a capital of six lakh rupees. One of its primary sites was the Skull Reef, named after the discovery of an ancient miner’s skeleton in an old tunnel. Despite promising signs, gold mining in Wayanad failed to take off on a large scale, primarily due to low yields and economic challenges. Over time, the industry faded, leaving only historical traces of a once-thriving activity.
