I visited Munnar in the mid of august! Some days off and we had not decided where to go! My friend’s colleague suggested Munnar as a suitable place for a sweet holiday away from the daily rush and the irritating Mondays as we say in Software industry :-)
Now, we are a kind who doesnt use Planning and homework before doing something.. I mean some of our earlier trips were like.. "OK..we are halfway through, now would anyone tell me where the hell are we going?" :=) But, this time we thought of making a proper schedule of the whole thing and cover as many destinations in kerala as possible in a stretch of 4 days! However, we only managed to finalize a proper map of Munnar and its surrounding areas and a vague idea of the places we are going to visit!
So, on a dark friday evening, we set off to see "Kerala" the god’s own country! We had booked a Qualis for a very cheap rate so our balance for the trip was quite healthy! We reached Munnar around 8 in the morning! A very soothing wind blowing on our face! And it was quite chilling..even in august! May be it was because we were coming from a warmer place, but still one can make it that a jacket is quite essential to beat the chills! We had some breakfast in a small hotel and bought a lot of home made chocolates..which was available in plenty and some banana chips(of course..kerala banana chips..get the point? :)). Anyways, so we booked a so called rented house, a part of it actually as it had one part being rented to another party. We got the house for a modest 2000 bucks for 1 night (after a little bargain ofcourse) and we were 7 of us.
After getting ourselves a nice shower, we set off to explore the serenity and beauty of Munnar! Now, to sum up the attractions of Munnar, these are the attractions available on a steep & curvy road on the hills of munnar!
1) Mattupetty dam - This was very attractive and amusing.Very nice view and a slight drizzle on our heads made it all the more spectacular! Boating was available at a reasonable rate and is very enjoyable! Normal paddle boat, rowing boat and a Chikara(for the couples :-)) is available for a serene boating experience! This was fun and we very much enjoyed it...
2) Devikulam - A small town known for its tea plantations and awesome sceneries!
There is a sita devl lake, good for picnic and some fishing! This is on the way to top station, single road so there is not much problem to find out the locations! Do keep a road map with you, available at the main munnar town for easy understanding of the locality and places to visit!
3) Echo point - It is a viewpoint, which gives you an essence of the exotic terrains of the place! It gives you a breathtaking view of the amazing hills of munnar! A little far away but very enjoyable!
4) Top station - Highest point ..Beautiful view ..nice place...superb atmosphere!
A calm and sweet experience..very overwhelming location with spectacular view of the plains of tamil nadu.
5) Malankara reservoir - Its a sort of a bridge, where you can enjoy a breathtaking view on the road. You can see it in one of my pictures. Small shops around the road have a varied collection of goods which would be ideal for some home shopping! We stayed a while here and enjoyed the view with some peanuts to go with it!
6) Mattupetty cattle farm - We did not find it much amusing as it said it had some cattle farms etc.. You could visit it but we chose not to.
7) Eravikulam national park - Its said to be a very beautiful place with some rare animal to be seen!Around 15 km from munnar, but as we had not much time, we chose to leave it too!
Probably on our next trip to munnar we would see the left places!
Some of the other attractions are Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, tata tea estate museum.
If you are going for a longer visit, check out Kodaikanal too!A new road is being constructed after which it will only be around 100KM from munnar. Kodaikanal is a famous hill station and is most likely not to dissapoint you! :=)
INFORMATION -
District - Idukki(kerala)
Languages - Malayalam, Tamil.
Height - 5000 - 8000 ft above sea level
Best time for visit - August - december (avoid june/jule due to monsoons)
Info - Known for the Nilgiri Tahr a rare species of mountain goat.
There are lots of beautiful spots on the way, so pay attention you might just miss some of the greatest views! We halted at lots of places on the way and took some great snaps of the overwhelming greens of Munnar! Lush green tea gardens, amusing hills and mountains makes you feel like you were here before!
Food is good if you carefully choose where to dine! My suggestion, dont go for a traditional rajasthani, gujrati or punjabi restaurent who boast to give you exotic food! Stick to some local food court, and try something you havent before! You would probably like it!
We tried some local fish items and they were excellent!
Try something new, after all, we travel to see and experience new things :-)
Being a kerala trip, we could spend only 2 days in munnar, but the breathtaking views of the thrilling ghats and mountains, could leave any one spellbound! This vacation would always remain in my heart as an exciting extravaganza!
We had a wonderful time in Munnar and I am sure you would feel the same way on your next visit to the serene skies of Munnar - for a pleasant stay at paradise!
Happy holidaying! Cheers!