Munnar

Munnar is a beautiful hill Station with Sprawling tea plantations, picture book towns, winding lanes, forests, lakes & waterfalls.The tea gardens fill most of the area and add a special beauty to the place.Its an ideal retreat to be " far away from the madding crowd" .

LOCATION : Munnar is located in the eastern part of the state of Kerala (South India),in the hills of the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level. It is 130 km east of Kochi & 175 Kms from Coimbatore & around 150 kms from Madurai.The nearest airports are either Kochi or Coimbatore.The nearest railway stations are Kochi / Kodai Road / Coimbatore.Its six hours by road from Madurai/ Coimbatore.

CLIMATE : The weather in Munnar is pleasant. Summers (April-June) are mild, while winters (November-February) are cool. It experiences heavy southwestern monsoon rains in June-August.

ACCOMODATION :

Budget Hotels : Krishna Lodge, Zena Cottages, Sree Narayana Tourist Home

High End : Sterling Days Inn Resorts , Club Mahindra (If you are a time share holiday member or know someone who is willing to gift it to you ! ), Cloud 9 .

FOOD :

Hotel Saravana Bhavan (No relation to the famous chain) : It is located in the main market right next to the church.If you love south Indian veg food , look no beyond this restaurant.It has excellent ,inexpensive south indian Idlis,Dosas and Thali (The Thali costs just Rs.20 & Idlis Rs.2.50 per piece).

Patel : This is a veg restaurant serving Marathi,Gujarathi,Jain food.Its also located in the market.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS :

-------------------------Madupatty Route----------------------- :

Madupatty Dam : Situated 11kms from Munnar. The Dam and the lake are beautiful and speed boating is also available.

Echo point : Situated 7kms further from Madupatty lake(18 kms from Munnar), this place has a small brook running.The voice echoes from across the brook.

Kundale Lake : Further 7 kms from Echo point is the Kundale lake.Kundale lake looks awesome and is surrounded by tall euclayptes trees and offers Pedal boats,row boats and the Kashmiri shikara house boats.

Topstation View point : Offers Spectacular views of the TN-Kerala Border and the surrounding forests.It is located 7 kms further from Kundale Lake (33kms from Munnar).

-----------------------------Cochin Route -----------------------:

Blossom Park : Great place to relax in the evenings.The park has lots varities of flowers and a small pond.It also has swings for the Children and seating chairs to relax.Park is open from 10am - 7pm.It is located 3 kms from Munnar on the Cochin route.

Rose Garden : A small nursery with a variety of roses.It is located 16 kms from Munnar.

Kallar Waterfalls : Water gushes at an incredible speed.It is located 18 kms from Munnar on the Cochin route.

-----------------------Coimbatore Route----------------------- :

Tata Tea Museum : Located at 1 km from the Market place.Entry fee is Rs.50 (Rs 30 during offseason).Contains photographs & memorabilia of the Kanan Devan Hills and tea estate.There is also a guided tour on the preparation of Tea.

Anaimudi View : Anaimudi is the highest peak in south India.The drive to coimbatore offers splendid views of the peak.

Eravikulam National Park (Rajamallai) : Is located 13 kms from Munnar.Take a detour from the main road and drive down for 4 kms to enter the sanctuary.The Eravikulam sanctuary contains the rare Nilgiri Tahr (Ibex).A nice 2 km walk will take you inside the sanctuary where you can catch a glimpse of the rare mountain goat (tahr).

Chinaar Wildlife Sanctuary : Is located at 63 kms from Munnar.
The drive to Coimbatore will take you through the Chinaar Wildlife
Sanctuary where if you are lucky you can encounter Deers/Elephants/Bisons on the road.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES : The first thing that struck me was the peacefulness of the place and the vast tea gardens. If you are a tea lover you will love the place since you can try all kinds of Tea(Like the Orthodox Tea,CTC Tea,Green Tea etc..). It was an ironical situation for me since I am a tea-hater who has hardly drunk more than five cups of tea in my lifetime ! The weather is unpredictable changing from rain to mist to sun in a matter of few minutes.Its a great place to unwind far from the chaos of city life.

TRAVEL TIPS : The best time to travel is from October - May.Please bring in Cameras & Binoculars and a woolen shawl/sweater.Enjoy the morning walks and treks.Soak in the pure air and in the beauty of mother nature.Kerala is definitely " God's own Country" .