It was on a rain drenched evening that we reached Munnar,a hill station on the border of Kerala. To say its beautiful is an understatement.Its a very small town bordered by tea estates on all sides. The rolling greens in every direction is a real treat to the eyes.SSsomebody said that Munnar was the summer capital o the British in Southern India.I thought it was Ooty.We were also told about the two local tribal chieves Kanan andd Devan who had initiated tea planting in this area.Tata Tea has a particular product named after them. Tata has huge tea estates here,chief of them being the 'Lechmi tea estate'.It was a dream of mine to stay in a tea estate and this time we did.
Initially, we stayed at the High Range club, which is basically the planters club,situated in the golf links.Its a beautiful an very old property. there's a room there dedicated to the old planters of yore,complete with hunting trophies and all.
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Golf Range |
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High Range club |
We also got an opportunity to stay at a planters bungalow. I was thrilled.Right in the middle of the tea estate was this tiny picturesque house. Apart from the usual places to see ,this was a high point of the trip.
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Planters bungalow (there was a wood fire in the kitchen) |
We heard stories about how elephants would come up to the house,take a stroll in the garden and wander off. I woke up every morning hoping to sight some, but no luck.
In munnar, you must go to the Matupetty Dam and the Eravikulam national park to see the neelgiri Tahr(this is on the endangered species list). There is also Top station, which is a viewing point.But viewing points like this are scattered all over Munnar. There is a tea museum that you can take in. We just wandered around.Took long walks and got drenched in the rain. Then ha some piping hot masala tea by the road side. Bought bag full of essential oils and flavoured tea. The two things I liked best was the strawberry preserve and Tion.Tion is a cold drink manufactured by Tata tea and I liked it immensely. We bought crates of Tion for back home,because its not available anywhere else.I love Tion (its amazing for cocktails) and I wish Tata Tea starts producing it on a big scale.
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Munnar from top |
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tea plantation workers settlement |
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view point |
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walking through the tea gardens |
Munnar hill station is the best place in Kerala to visit during the days of the holidays . I like this place very much due to its beauty and the greenery. One should think of going for the tour to this kind of the places in the days of the vacation when they get the time.
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