Overview
- Main Attractions: Tea Museum, Eravikulam National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Top Station
- Best Time to Visit: March to May
- Local Specialty: Tea & spices
- Travelled By: Bus, private car
- Cost: $$
- Duration of Stay: 4 days
- Location: Kerala, India
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Summary
Munnar clearly had one advantage – it is so different to any other place in India and certainly very unique in its landscape. The tea plantations covered with mist provides an aura of mystery and charm. Attractions not to be missed include the Tea Museum, Top Station and the wildlife rich Eravikulam National Park and Chinnar Wildlife Park.
Munnar: Our Experience
12th December 2013 (Day 1)
Munnar is located in the mountains of the Western Ghats so we had to take a bus from Kochi which took us five hours to get to Munnar. The ride however was fantastic as the views of the mountains and valleys dotted with tea plantations were panoramic. Added to the scenery were clouds of mist that hung low in the air giving an aura of mystery and charm.
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Having arrived at 7:00 pm in the evening, we checked into our hotel at Emmel Dwellings, and then went for dinner to Eastend Munnar, an Indian restaurant located in the smart Hotel Eastend. We love Kerala food and Eastend specialises in Keralan cuisine so we were keen to try some of their dishes.
When we entered, we found a lot of people having the dinner buffet which is actually good value for Rs 300 per head, given that you can eat as much as you want from an array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The cuisine is predominantly North Indian and since we wanted to try the Keralan dishes we passed on the dinner buffet.
13th December 2013 (Day 2)
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In the morning we had vadas for breakfast before catching the 9:00 am bus from the bazaar to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary located 25 kms away. The bus journey took us two hours but we got to see some spectacular scenery along the way. Most of the views were of scenic tea plantations but we also got to see the beautiful Thoovanam Waterfalls which is located close to the sanctuary.
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Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is a great place to see wildlife in the grasslands of the Western Ghats. The animal that most people are interested in sighting at this sanctuary is the elephant as herds of wild elephants inhabit these areas of Kerala. You can also spot gaur, wild bison, sambar, macaques and the occasional leopard and tiger.
The sanctuary is also popular for its unique floral, ecological, geomorphologic and cultural significance. Due to its rich wildlife and mixed deciduous forests, it is a great spot for trekking. We took a 3-hr trek with a forest guide through the sanctuary and were lucky enough to see a large herd of elephants as well as a wild bison, gaurs as well as several macaques in front of the sanctuary on the main road.
We were scheduled to catch the 2:30 pm bus unfortunately the bus came past at 2:00 pm (!!!) and we missed it. So while we waited around till the next bus at 4:00 pm, we had lunch (a simple vegetarian Kerala thali) at the cafeteria in the sanctuary and were entertained by the macaque monkeys who vandalised every car, jeep or truck that had to stop at the check point in front of the sanctuary. It was funny to see their failed attempts at stealing food and their success at finally pinching a few onions from the back of a truck.
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We arrived back into town around 6:30 pm so after a nice hot shower, we took an auto rickshaw to Royal Retreat Munnar located about 2 kms out of town in the Kannan Devan Hills. Located in the Hotel of the same name, this restaurant is more up market and targets the Western tourists. However, we were there for the wonderful Keralan dishes they serve up and we weren’t disappointed with our dinner. It was delicious and we loved everything about this restaurant.
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We wanted to hire a private car/jeep for sightseeing the following day so we spoke to a few drivers at the jeep stand in front of the bazaar in town. We thought their prices were a bit steep so we inquired at our hotel front desk. They were happy to take us the next morning to the places we wanted to visit around Munnar for a price that suited us, so we were set and ready for a fun day of sightseeing in Munnar.
14th December 2013 (Day 3)
At 8:00 am we were ready to head off on our sightseeing trip around Munnar. We were heading in a few different directions for the day – to Top Station in the direction of Mattupetty, to Marayoor in the direction of Coimbatore and to Attukad Waterfalls in the direction of Kochi.
In the morning we took the route to Top Station. This is one of the most popular routes as it has a lot of attractions on the way to Top Station – Tea Garden, Jungle Honey Bee Hive, Mattupetty Dam, Film Shooting Point, Elephant Arrival Spot, Echo Point, Gundale Lake and Top Station. Although there are many attractions on this route, we only stopped at a selected few mentioned below.
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Our first stop was at Mattupetty Dam Munnar which is a great spot for boating on the Mattupetty Lake and picnics in the grasslands nearby. The Indo-Swiss Livestock Project is another popular attraction nearby. The views from here are nice.
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On the way we saw a lot of trucks carrying logs of wood. There is a strong logging industry in Munnar as forests get chopped down to build more tea plantations. This is the reality everywhere in the world where old forests are being removed to make way for industry. It’s a sad but inevitable reality due to our increasing population.
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We drove on to our next attraction – Echo Point Munnar – which gets its name from the natural echo phenomenon that occurs here. You can choose to scream and hear your voice resonate far and wide or you can choose a silent, contemplative hike up the mountains and enjoy the panoramic views of the luscious green hills and valleys around. We just enjoyed the picturesque views.
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Finally we made it to one of the most popular attractions in Munnar – Top Station Munnar. Sitting at an altitude of 1,700m, Top Station has some of the highest tea estates in India. Located on the border of Tamil Nadu, it is an idyllic spot with panoramic views over the Tamil Nadu plains and the edge of the majestic Western Ghats.
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Top Station was the last attraction on this route so we made our way back to the centre of town by early afternoon. As we drove back, we saw a lot of workers in the tea plantations as they had moved closer to the road. Several were taking their lunch break and were walking at the side of the road. Others were working furiously picking tea as the sun poked it’s face out of the clouds.
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We also passed a man selling honey at the road side. Not only did he have bottles of home made honey, he also had bee’s wax for sale from the back of his little scooter. It was great to see these little enterprises set up everywhere in India.
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In the afternoon, we drove to the Tea Museum Munnar located only 2 kms from the centre of town. This is a great place to learn all about the history of the industry and the tea making process in Munnar. This is about as close as you’ll get to a working tea factory around Munnar. It has a heap of artifacts, curios and photographs to help conjure something of the the lives of the men who opened up the High Ranges to tea.
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Following the Tea Museum, we drove in the direction of Coimbatore to Marayoor which is famous for its sandalwood forests and the nearby caves of Muniyara. This enchanting tourist destination offers diversity in every respect. First we got to see the natural sandalwood forests which is the only place in Kerala that has a natural growth of sandalwood trees. We also saw some pre-historic rock paintings which were amazing. What we liked the best were the Dolmenoid cists (stone burial chambers) we got to see in the nearby town of Muniyara.
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Finally, we drove in the direction of Kochi to see what we consider to be the best waterfalls in Munnar – Attukal Waterfalls Munnar. Surrounded by verdant rolling hills, this area is really picturesque with the waterfalls rolling down the hills. It also makes for a great spot for trekking and nature hikes.
We arrived back at our hotel in the evening after seeing some lovely attractions in Munnar.
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After a long day we were tired and hungry so we made our way to the bazaar area of town to find a nice restaurant for dinner. We came across one of the Munnar restaurants – Surya Soma Restaurant – which was filled with Indian tourists. It looked inviting so we had a lovely dinner made up of traditional Keralan dishes.
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After dinner, we stopped at some of the local shops that sell tea products, spices, nuts and other home grown varieties. I was surprised to see so many tea flavours as I thought that Indians only drink black tea. I wonder what apple tea and orange tea would taste like. They also had a nice selection of nuts and spices. Unfortunately, the Australian government is very strict and don’t allow residents to bring spices into the country. So, all we could do was look but we couldn’t buy any spices as much as I longed to. We had already bought our tea supply from the Tea Museum shop.
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15th December 2013 (Day 4)
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This was our last day in Munnar so we had a relaxing morning. First, we went to the main bazaar area to have some breakfast. There were a few eateries just starting up for day so we picked one that had breakfast ready to be served. We chose to have a plate of Appam with Chick Peas.
Appam is a type of South Indian pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It is a popular breakfast option and goes really well with any curry. This morning we had it with chick peas which had a strong curry flavour. For the cold climate of Munnar in December this was a perfect breakfast option.
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After a hearty breakfast, we took a bus from the main bus stand in the bazaar to Eravikulam National Park located 16 kms from Munnar. Situated at the base of Anaimudi Mountain, the views as we walked up the trail inside the national park was stupendous. The stark beauty of the rolling grasslands and sholas (forests) are panoramic. However, the main reason that tourists flock to this national park is to see the endangered Nilgiri tahr. The conservation program undertaken by the park has resulted in it now supporting the largest population of the species in the world.
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After visiting Eravikulam National Park, we waited for a bus back to Munnar town. As we waited, we spotted a shop selling cashew nuts at the side of the road. These cashew nuts were roasted with spices and curry leaves and tasted amazing. So we bought a packet to munch on while we waited for the bus.
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Back in town we checked out of our hotel and made our way to the main bazaar area to have some lunch. We had plans to get on the 2:00 pm bus heading to Alleppey so we stopped at one of the Munnar restaurants – Surya Soma Restaurant – to have some lunch. After a good lunch consisting of a Keralan style biryani and fried chicken, we waited at the bus stand for our bus to Alleppey.
As we waited we looked back on our last three days in Munnar and discussed the highlights. Munnar clearly had one advantage – it is so different to any other place in India and certainly very unique in its landscape. The tea plantations covered with mist provides an aura of mystery and charm. Of all the attractions we visited, we really enjoyed seeing the wildlife at Eravikulam National Park and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary; the Tea Museum provided a great insight into the history of tea; Top Station was one of the best viewing platforms to witness the beauty of Munnar. For the most part, it was easy travelling around Munnar as the public transport facility was regular and efficient, and was supported by a large private car/jeep service. Not to mentioned the fantastic array of Keralan food that we dined on at the restaurants in Munnar. All this at a reasonable price, what more could a traveller ask for!
