Munnar

Cruising in a 5-seater speedboat or a 20-seater launcher in the vast reservoir of Mattupetty dam in picturesque scenery here is undoubtedly an exhilarating experience. Kundala lake and Tea plantations in its environs enhance its attractions.

A kilometer outside the town on the main road stands a colonial era Church with a façade no less impressive than a fortress. An adjoining cemetery has the tombstone of an English plantation manager’s wife. It is said when she came first to Munnar after her marriage she was so captivated by her charm that she requested her husband to bury her in Munnar after her death. Unfortunately she was knocked down to death by Cholera only after a week she gave this statement.

To have some elementary but interesting information about Tea and its evolutionary history in Munnar make a visit to the Tata Tea Museum that houses some artifacts and relics from the bygone era. At the adjacent tea processing unit see and learn how CTC (crush-tear-curl) tea is prepared. Do not forget the important tips, to prepare healthy tea, given by the guide who explains you the whole process there.

Both these destinations are ideal places for long soothing mountain walks that can calm your senses with some of the finest views of the valley – tea, coffee and cardamom plantations forming a lush green carpet for the rolling hills all around. The Sita Devi Lake with its mineral waters and picturesque surroundings at Devikulam makes for a good picnic spot. The lake is also ideal for trout fishing.

Munnar is literally punctuated with numerous waterfalls. Many of them are a visual delight, becoming especially roaring and untamed during the monsoons. Few of them would even fall in your way to this hill town making the journey uphill or downhill very-very scenic.

Athukad: 8 km from Munnar (near Pallivasal), just off the Kochi road is Munnar’s major lure. Two other on the same route are Cheeyapara falls plummeting from a height of 500 ft, right next to the highway. Valara falls, only a kilometer away from here, and Powerhouse waterfalls (18 km from Munnar on the road to Thekkady) are also quite enchanting.

Another pearl in the necklace of Munnar is the breathtaking view from Nyamakad gap, on Munnar-Coimbatore Road, where you see Talayar valley on one side and Munnar valley on the other. Chances of spotting colourfully dressed tea-pickers intent on their work and a gaur or elephant foraging in the nearby jungle make the drive upto Nyamakad worth an effort. Gravel Bank in its remote corner is a prime fishing site in Munnar.

This is a sanctuary set up for the preservation of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, the main inhabitant of the park. Now the park has the largest known population of Tahr’s existing in the world. Besides one can also find Atlas Moth (largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area), Elephants, Sambhars, Gaurs, Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri, and Langurs. 132 species of birds has also been reported to exist here.

The highest peak of South India, Anaimudi is the pride possession of Eravikulam. Intially the visitors are supposed to board a government bus to navigate some distance in the park. A distance of about 1-1.5 km further has to be covered on foot – an easy but rewarding trek. Eravikulam is also famous for Kurunji, the blue flowers that blanket the whole region when they blossom after every 12 years. Next expected to bloom here in 2018.