Exploring India,
Kerala,
Munnar,
Munnar Tourist Spots,
Tea Estate,
Travel
Kerala - Holiday in Tea Estates
7:47 AM
At 5 in the evening we were standing at the foothills of the tea estate and were asked to wait as there would be jeep coming to take us to the hotel. Within a few minutes the jeep was standing right in front and it started pouring at the same time. My apprehensions kept growing as we started to climb uphill through the tea plantation. It was a roller coaster ride on the rugged road. I could hear the thumping of my heart at every turn on the slope and to worsen my fears it started pouring. I closed my eyes and prayed it was a dream and not reality. Nonetheless, with much struggle we reached our destination.
I was completely baffled at the site of the hotel and their eluding welcome with their exquisite indigenous drink. I rushed to check out my tent room. Oh! it was a breathtaking view . All my earlier intimidation melted in thin air.
View outside the tent
View outside the tent
My tent in Munnar
With the whole day's journey from Kochi to Munnar halting at every waterfall in between left us overwhelmingly tired. Having done my dinner early I dozed off. At 5:30 in the morning next day, I got by the sweet call of mocking jay which kept reverberating around the entire valley for a long time. The view outside was inexplicable. I felt like standing above the ocean of cloud. I was tranced by nature and tried to capture every moment before the sunrise through my lens. But to my dismay I couldn't capture the sunrise as it got cloudy and started to rain. I went back to pack up for the Day One expedition.
At the time of Sunrise
At the time of Sunrise
We got a little late to start for Eravikulam National Park after a sumptuous breakfast of Kerala special cuisine unmindful of it being a holiday on account of 15th August. We realized it after reaching the ticket counter wherein a never ending queue left us hopeless of visiting any other sites after returning from the safari. But as wildlife lovers we could not forgo seeing the Nilgiri Tahr - an endangered wild goat only found in Munnar. Well after waiting for one and half hour in the queue it was finally our turn to experience the journey of a rolling hill plateau 2000m above the sea level.
Indeed it was a nerve wrecking roller coaster ride along the tea gardens. As we were ascending up the weather was getting better and better. It started raining while the bus rode through the clouds. The bus dropped us at a point which is roughly around 2 Kms from the top of the mountain. From the dropping point one has to walk about a mile to reach the peak. We enjoyed misty the trek and steep waterfall view in between. We could also spot few Nilgiri Tahr which is quite similar to a goat but bigger in size. They like to live in seclusion. We saw a female Tahr with her cubs over the waterfall. The male Tahr likes to graze alone and not in herds.
Indeed it was a nerve wrecking roller coaster ride along the tea gardens. As we were ascending up the weather was getting better and better. It started raining while the bus rode through the clouds. The bus dropped us at a point which is roughly around 2 Kms from the top of the mountain. From the dropping point one has to walk about a mile to reach the peak. We enjoyed misty the trek and steep waterfall view in between. We could also spot few Nilgiri Tahr which is quite similar to a goat but bigger in size. They like to live in seclusion. We saw a female Tahr with her cubs over the waterfall. The male Tahr likes to graze alone and not in herds.
The top view from the mountain was enchanting. There were lots of beautiful birds and butterflies around though we could only capture a few for memories. Naturally formed floriferous canopies in between the trek left us euphoric.
To sum up I would say it was worth the wait in the queue to come up to the mountains.
Places to see
- Natural waterfalls on the way to Munnar
- Kanan Devan Tea Museum
- Eravikulam National Park
- Echo Point
- Photo Point
- Kundala Valley Railway
- Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
- Lakkom Water Falls
- Blossom Park
- Attukad Waterfalls
- Kundala Lake
Accommodation
- Nature Zone
- KTDC Tea Country
- Devonshire Greens
- Silver Tips, Munnar
How to reach
- Rail - The nearest railway station from Munnar is at Aluva, which is at a distance of 110 kilometres from Munnar. The Ernakulam Railway Station is at a distance of 135 kilometres. From these points, you can either hire a cab or board the state transport or private buses wherever available.
- Air - Cochin is the nearest airport
- Road - 110 km drive away from Cochin
