Posted by Shivam Singh
On 12th Aug-2020
Visited in Aug-2016
“Kashmir of South India” is what people call this city of Munnar, located in the Western Ghats mountain range, at a distance of 125 Kms from Kochi (Cochin) in the Indian state of Kerala.
Breathtakingly beautiful, heaven of peace, blankets of mist, mountains covered in green shades everywhere- that is why this city is one of the most preferred honeymoon destination in southern India.
This hill station was once the summer resort of the erstwhile British Government in South India.
We stayed in Munnar during monsoons (which is always my preference for hill stations) for 3 nights in July 2016, while on a road trip in Kerala spanning multiple cities for 10 days.
How To Reach Munnar
* Nearest Airport from Munnar is Cochin International Airport (Kochi), which is 110 kilometres away by road. From there, you can hire a cab to get to Munnar
* The Madurai International Airport is 140 kilometres away from Munnar. In case you de-board at the Madurai International Airport, you can hire a cab or board the state transport or private buses to get to Munnar
* Ernakulam Railway Station is 130 kilometres away while the Madurai 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
* Munnar is also well connected with many state-run or private buses, plying from various towns in Kerala and Tamil Nadu
3 Days Itinerary in Munnar
We started from New Delhi in morning 6:30 AM Indigo flight to Kochi and was received by the driver of our pre-booked taxi at around 11:00 AM outside Cochin Airport.
Day-1:
It took us 4 hours from Kochi Airport to Munnar (with stoppages midway). Our driver was very friendly and he suggested to visit spice garden enroute. There were many, and we agreed immediately as it was part of our plan.
Munnar Spices & Ayurvedic Garden:
All the shops have a spice garden attached to it where they offer you a guided tour explaining about the type and usage of various spices and herbs. We paid INR 100 per person for the tour.
It is generally said, spices which grows here is no where else grown because of climate limitations. Post tour, they have shop where they sell these herbs having medicinal benefits such as weight loss, memory power, immunity, health and so on. But are bit costly, we ended up with a bill of INR 7500.
Address: Kochi – Dhanushkodi Road, Chillithodu, Kerala
Jeep Safari on Rocky Terrain & Elephant Ride:
Another exciting adventure in Munnar is Jeep Safari. We came to know that the spice garden also provide short 20 minutes Jeep Safari on a rocky terrain followed by a 30 minutes Elephant Safari. We immediately agreed and paid INR 300 per head for both.
Trust me it was adventurous and completely worth it. Those 20 minutes inside jeep on rocks were more than enough.
After all this, we left for our Munnar hotel which was still at some distance. Mind it, I booked hotel (Hotel Siena Village) 20 Kms away from the main city in Chinnakanel and the route passes through a waterfall and some of the most scenic tea plantations.
Spent rest of the evening at hotel’s sprawling campus.
Day-2:
After breakfast at hotel, we left early for city site-seeing. Ensure your camera batteries are fully charged as Munnar will not let your camera take rest.
Chinnakanel WaterFalls:
Lying at a distance of 3 KMs from our hotel, this road side waterfall is very refreshing and beautiful. Originating from River Devikulam, the greenery around the fall makes it more scenic. It is also known as Power House Waterfall.
Since it was monsoon season, water flow was heavy so bathing was not allowed. Even we were not having any such plan. But during other times, you can take a bath in the natural pool and can spent hours.
We spent around 30 minutes here, clicking lots of pictures and enjoying the view.
Tea Plantations/Photo Point
Although there are multiple view-points and huge number of tea plantations, found this one while going from our hotel towards main city in an open area. Couldn’t stop ourselves from spending some time here.
There is a hut-house from where you can have panoramic view of the whole plantation area.
Tea Museum:
Country’s first ever Tea Museum, with an aim to depict the growth of this more-than-a-century-old tea plantation district (Munnar).
The tour starts with a short film about the story of their journey since beginning.
You get the first hand knowledge about tea processing and the operations that go into the making of black tea through a guided walk. Many old equipment and tea processing machines are kept here on display.
At the end, there is a shop where you can taste & buy different types of tea. Once again we ended up buying stuffs worth 3000 rupees.
Eravikulam National Park:
Yes, national park in the background of tea plantations. It is a home to Nilgiri Thar, an endangered species of goat.
From the parking area, there are safari buses which will take you up the hill to a particular point. From there you have to trek up to spot the friendly goats. There is a scenic waterfall (part of Lakkom Waterfalls) midway while coming from the bus, the bus will take a pause of 2 minutes there but you can only watch from windows. Try to sit on the right side of the bus to get better view of falls.
During trek, you also get a breathtaking view of hills and tea plantations along with Anamudi, South India’s highest peak.
The park is closed from January to March as it is the breeding season for Nilgiri Thar.
Rose Garden:
Beautiful and colorful. The place is well maintained with a reasonably good variety of flowering plants. You will love to walk here and can get some nice pictures clicked. The places is not very big, we spent around 1 hour here.
Photo Point:
One think which was very common throughout this city, there were lot of photo points. And interestingly you will find each better than last ones. Same was happening with us, this one we found more beautiful than last one 🙂
Mattupetti Dam:
Our next pit-stop, the water here is clean and greenish blue. You can also do boating at the dam. Nice place for photo shoot with beautiful views. Leave your vehicle and walk through the road over the dam. Don’t spend too much time here.
If you are lucky, you can witness water gushing out from the dam gates.
Echo Point:
This spot will bring the child inside you. It is fun to stand here, scream out loud and hear your voice resounding through the hills. The view around is amazing with hills and a calm lake.
Day-3:
Yesterday was the first full day in Kerala out of our 10 day long trip. So we were heavily energetic and visited lots of places.
But today morning we felt in need of some ayurvedic massage after hectic site-seeing day before. So, today we planned to keep it easy and relaxing.
Post breakfast, we decided to spend some time in hotel’s beautiful premises. It was indeed a beautiful campus with magnificent views..
After that we decided to go to a nearby dam’s reservoir lake, which our hotel staff suggested.
Anayirangal Dam & Lake:
Probably the most scenic lake we saw so far in Munnar. Less crowded, windy, well maintained and photographer’s paradise.
You can do boating here (option for shared motor boat and speed boat) available. There is a small cafe to satisfy your taste buds.
We spent around 2+ hours here enjoying the cool weather and misty winds.
Don’t go towards nearby forest area, as it is a common place for elephants.
We returned to our hotel by 3 PM, as we had tickets booked for the world famous Kathakali and Kalaripayattu shows.
Punarnava Cultural Center:
When in Kerala, these are a must visit, mostly they perform during evening hours. Ask your hotel staff for the best such center nearby and book tickets in advance. The same we did, ticket cost was INR 250 per person for both shows.
Show timings here were 5 to 7 PM and they asked us to arrive 1 hour before, if we want front row seats and want to see the artists getting ready with the costumes and makeup. And we obeyed and reached the center sharp at 4:00 PM.
It was indeed a good decision, they put in so much efforts to get dressed up for the show. The auditorium is not so well decorated and fancy in such centers but you will enjoy what you come for.
From 5 to 6 PM, was Kathakali dance show, which is Indian cultural dance form of story telling mostly using eyes and face movements.
From 6 to 7 PM, they perform the famous Kalaripayattu, which is an Indian martial art and fighting style that originated in Kerala.
Post every show, they will invite you to come forward and get your pictures clicked with the artists.
After the show, came back to hotel for dinner.
Next day we had to checkout but since the hotel was having it’s own Ayurveda Therapy Center, I tried one of the massages with the name “Abhyangam” for 2500 rupees.
These massages are costly and I will recommend to get it done at some dedicated spa centers instead of hotel.
Around 11 PM, we left Munnar after having Bamboo-Rice Pudding at a makeshift road-side stall. It was unique and tasty desert. You should try if you get a chance.
Enjoy………………..
© All Rights Reserved
2 Comments
shashi · August 13, 2020 at 7:51 am
just wooow! The whole Kerala is God’s own country and munnar is heaven!
we too visited munnar after you and still cherish every moment of visiting. it may be sarvan bhawan food or shopping,it is side seeing or visiting spice garden… beautiful memories got awakened.
n it’s true that places especially hills look very beautiful in rainy season, nature get life after summer.
kerala reminds me that soul healing fragrances of medicinal plant n flowers…full of memories.
Shivam Singh · August 16, 2020 at 1:02 am
Thank You so much… 🙂
Visiting this place will always awaken your soul..
Beautiful lakes with mountains in background gives a picture perfect view.