Munnar and Eravikulam National Park

Munnar (three rivers) is the point at which three rivers meet namely, Muthirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala rivers. Munnar is a very new city found in the British rule. The weather condition is very conducive for tea plantation. The population here is built based on the tea estate. Many workers from Madurai and other parts of Tamilnadu have migrated here to work in the tea plantation. The Tamil speaking community is high in this part of Kerala. Never forget to have masala tea here in the tea shops! It’s a must try, with the spices of Kerala.

The Tea County Munnar is a classy place to stay at the Centre of the city. But we stayed in a Homestay as we booked accommodation on arrival at a homestay very much near Tea County Munnar. Hotel Gurubhavan and Sangeetha hotel are best non-vegetarian and Vegetarian hotels we ate on all days. Both are to either side of Tea County.

Four days required to visit all places in Munnar. The Eravikulam National Park and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary are the main highlights. The Tea plantation and the antique museum are a must visit. There we get to see the Film on the evolution of Munnar as a city. Its very informative documentary.

There are many waterfalls in Munnar. We visited the Viripara waterfalls which is 20kms away from Munnar city. It’s a small fall, good to bath. Entry fee is there.

The Eravikulam National Park is the habitat for the largely extinct species Nilgiri Tahr or Varaiaadu. This is a species of wild goat, very shy and timid in nature. These are protected here with great care. We are not supposed to touch or go near them. The forest officials accompany us in the visit. The entry ticket is to be taken. After that we will traverse half the distance by bus. Remaining distance we have to walk around 1 km uphill on a steep road. On the way we met a lot of Nilgiri Tahr freely playing around in herds. We were lucky so spot many of them on our visit. It was nice foggy weather and extremely chill winds on the day we visited.

Visit to Tata tea museum was a different experience. We could see the antique calculators, printers, telephones all used in olden days well preserved. The Documentary movie on how the tea plantations developed in Munnar is very informative. We can buy quality tea here. Leave tea is my choice. The Tea dust is little cheaper but gives more colour to tea. The leaf tea is costly but has a great fragrance. We also saw how the tea leaves are processed to get dry tea powder that are sold in shops. The entire place smells of Tea and fresh green leaves.

The Spices and Ayurvedic Garden is a very informative place. We get to know about so many spices. They have ayurvedic solution for so many health ailments. These Ayurvedic medicines have no side-effects and can be tried as its completely natural herbal solution. The clove, cinnamon, pepper, fragrant Oud and so many plants are found here as exhibit. Chocolate plantation and very delicious homemade chocolates also available here.

Kerala handloom is another place to visit. Nice Kerala sarees of all price ranges are handmade here. The half white saree with golden Jari I bought there goes well for all formal occasions. It’s a memory I preserve of Munnar.

The Elephant safari at Carmelagiri is another highlight and a must try. We can feed the elephants here with a basket of fruits which they sell there. The Elephants are very well trained and friendly. The ride cost is high, around Rs.500. But the money goes towards feeding the elephants. They eat around 100 kg food per day mostly sugarcane and bamboo.

The Echo point in just after the elephant ride place. Here boating service is there. We need to shout so that our voice Echo’s from the mountains at the opposite range. Its a very relaxing place.

One of the evenings we ended at Pothamedu viewpoint watching the beautiful sunset. A walk through the tea estate near by for nearly an hour was the most peaceful moments. The scenery is very beautiful misty and mystic.

This sign board brings in us a deep thought about nature preservation. The Nilagiri Tahr are preserved here with great Love. All we can do is walk silently without disturbing their peace.