I visited Munnar, a beautiful hill resort in Kerala, India with family this week. I try to relive the trip in this post.
We started from Chennai by the Alappuzha express around 9 PM and reached Erankulam Junction at 10 AM. The train was an hour late but the pleasant weather and the scenery on the way made sure that we were not too bothered by the delay.
A view from the train
Another view from the train
From Ernakulam station, we took a cab to Munnar - a distance of 160 KM.The drive on the hill is very scenic - some of the shots are right out of a postcard.
Scenic view of a tea estate enroute to the top
There are several tea estates in Munnar; most of them belong to Tata Tea. You will find Kanan Devan mentioned in many places - it is brand owned by Tata Tea.
Many such amazing views greet the traveler
We were able to see three waterfalls on the way up. The water in them seemed clean, thanks to people not bathing in it.
This is my favourite shot of one of the three waterfalls
We visited the “Spice Garden”, an area with a guided tour of the trees and plants that grow in that region.
A bright red flower in the “Spice Garden”
The drive from Ernakulam Junction to Munnar town takes about 4.5 hours. If you spend more time around the waterfalls or clicking snaps, this can go up by over an hour. We stayed in Siena Village, a further 20 km away from Munnar town. The food was good but the service was not so. The USP of this resort in my opinion, is the amazing view that you get from the room.
Clouds can cover the region fast
We also visited the Mattupetty dam - rainwater dam and Echo Point - an area near a lake where if you shout loud enough you might hear an echo (pics not worth posting). We also went on an exciting elephant ride where the elephants trek up a slope!
Fencing at the waterfall to prevent people getting in and dirtying the area
Thanks to our driver I was able to get a long shot of the waterfall
A beautiful shot to round off this post
We returned back to Chennai by the same train, boarding at Ernakulam Junction at 5.20 PM and arriving at 6.20 AM in Chennai. I was not impressed by the Ernakulam junction station as it neither had a good public announcement system nor a clear indication of coach positions from engine. This led us to a minor chaos while boarding the train. But the train stops for over 10 minutes giving people sufficient time to board (we were traveling with a 2 year old infant).
For people planning trips to Munnar, I recommend setting aside 2-3 additional days for the house boat in Alappuzha and visting Thekkady. These are definitely on our agenda for our forthcoming trips.
For now though, we will be revisiting Munnar in our dreams!
