- State: Kerala
- Location: About 123 Km north-east of Kozhikode
- Distance: 328 km South West of Bangalore
- Journey Time: 7 hrs by road, By rail 11 hrs + road 3 1/2 hrs, By air 1 1/4 hrs + road 3 1/2 hrs
- Route: SH17 to Mysore via Maddur and Mandya; NH12 to Meenaagadi via Nanjangud, Gundlupet and Sulthan Bathery; SH to Mananthavady via Kanniyambetta and Porunnannur;district road to Fringe Estate via Talapoya
Fringe Ford Estate | Weekend Getaway Break from Bangalore
Located in Wayanad is Kerala's 14th and least-known district, Fringe Ford Estate promises a unique and memorable vacation. A a hundred-year-old estate house, currently run by Mamooty, a popular actor from Malayalam film industry, the place offers serenity and calmness. The fact that there is no cell phone towers, no generators, no newspapers that is a complete cut off from the outer world makes it even more popular offering a refreshing break from the busyness of day to day life.
Spread across an area of almost 1000 acres on all sides on all sides and raked with 27 natural streams, the estate shares borders with two wildlife sanctuaries, presenting extremely rich flora and fauna. This low-slung bungalow offers comfortable rooms for accommodation of its guests. You have three rooms in the main house and another five rooms are coming up a higher level. Not just the surroundings and activities, but even the rooms present a tough of nature with heavy wooden furniture, luxurious bathrooms and with wall sized windows.
The Fringe Ford Estate has is one of the few pieces of Malabar rain forest in the entire world. The place has exotic and rare species constituting the flora and fauna.
The Fringe estate has:
Flora: Few of species that can be easily found in and around the estate are Rose wood, Anjali, erthrina, Caussia, Teak, Jack fruit, herbs and medicinal plants, wild orchids and ferns.
Plantation Crops: Some of the plants for plantation are cardamom, coffee, pepper, vanilla, lemon grass, cocoa, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, areca nut, medicinal plants and herbs.
Fauna: Some of animal species taht you can spot here are Indian Wild Dog, Elephants, Gaur, Sambar, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Giant Malabar squirrel, Nilgiri Langoor, Lion Tail Macaque, Cobras, Pythons, Malabar hornbill, Malabar grey hornbill, Imperial pigeon, Sun birds, Parakeets, Lorikeets, Drongos, Wood peckers, Thrushes, Jungle fowl, Tree pies and Bats.
Trekking: The places offers not just comfortable accommodation, mouth watering food bout also adventurous sport option which brings to nearer to the nature. Trekking is one of the popular activity amongst guests staying here. you have three different kinds of trekking here depending on the level of difficulty from easy to medium to hard. If interested in a relaxed walk, you can take the route via coffee and cardamom plantations to the dense forest with clear and refreshing water running across. If looking for more of adventure, one can continue on the same path and cross the stream and experience the sheer beauty of the nature and its varied creations. not just these, you also have more difficult and exciting route for trekking which also offer you with views that are worth remembering.
Reaching Fringe Ford Estate:
By Air:The nearest airport is Calicut which is 135 km from the Fringe Ford Estate. From Calicut , one can has to travel by road: Kalpetta – Mananthvadi – Talapoya - Fringe Ford which will take an approximate of 3hrs of time.
By Rail:The nearest rail station is Mysore which is 130 km from the Fringe Ford Estate. The route one can take from Mysore is through: Gundelpet – Sultan Bathery – Meenangadi – Mananthvadi – Talapoya - Fringe Ford. Drive time is around 3hrs. Another station that is close by is Calicut .
By Road:If travelling by road, one can choose between three routes to reach Fringe Ford Estate. These are:
Calicut: The road connects through – Kalpetta – Mananthvadi – Talapoya- Fringe Ford. It is an estimate 3 hrs drive.
Mysore: The route from Mysore is through Gundaelpet – Sultan Bathery – Meenangadi – Mananthvadi – Talapoya to Fringe Ford. This also take an approx. of 3 hrs to reach the destination.
Ooty: The road from Ooty is through Gundalpet – Sultan Bathery – Meenangadi – Mananthvadi – Talapoya - Fringe Ford. This take 4 hrs of time to reach the estate.
