There are quite a few places located on the Western Ghats that offer some breathtaking panoramic views. We often think that escaping from the daily mundane life always requires going to the Himalayas. Sometimes, we forget to look at some of the beautiful places that are pretty close. We are taking you on a virtual Kerala trip in this blog series. On that note, there should be a special mention of this beautiful hill station of the Western Ghats, Munnar.
In case you don’t know who we are……
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……..
After a fantastic time in Kochi, it was time for us to travel to Munnar, a fascinating destination located in the Western Ghats. We even came to know that Munnar is also considered as “Kashmir of South India“. Now, let’s start our journey……
Table of Contents
1. What is the best possible way to reach Munnar from Kochi?
There are two ways to reach Munnar, the best possible way is by road over train. Let us discuss them in brief and let you know about our journey as well.
By Road:
Munnar can be reached either by taking the NH85 route or NH544, depending on your desire. NH85 takes about one hour less than the NH544 route. Previously, the NH85 route was much smoother than the NH544.
Despite the drawbacks, travellers love to take the NH544 route due to the scenic and beautiful countryside. Nevertheless, both routes have numerous food outlets for you to stop at whenever you want.
By Rail:
Typically, travellers take the train to Ernakulam Jn. or get down at the Cochin International Airport, then take a cab to Munnar. If you wish to travel by train, you need to get down at Angamaly Railway Station, which is the closest to Munnar, about 110 km. However, we suggest you to prefer the road route.
For budget travellers, you have some great news: KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) runs frequent buses that connect Kochi and Munnar. You only need to purchase tickets from the KSRTC Ernakulam Bus stand. The fare can vary anywhere between 100 to 300 INR per adult.
Returning to our story, we woke up quite early as departure from our Kochi hotel was scheduled for 8 AM after breakfast. By the time we were done with the breakfast, our bus was waiting. It was a pre-booked bus that would be with us for the Kerala Trip.
For us, we took the NH85 route. We were more inclined to reach Munnar and then explore the local places in the late evening. As soon as we were on the verge of leaving Kochi City, we could spot a few navy ships from the distant horizon. The weather was clear enough.
By the time the hairpin curves started, we sat on the edge of our seats to catch every glimpse of the surrounding countryside. Finally, the tea garden started to pass by, and we stopped at one such garden. In fact, we even stopped at a random waterfall to catch a good glimpse and interact with the locals.
By the time we reached our hotel at Munnar, it was 1 PM, and we were starving for lunch at the same time. Now that we reached Munnar, you might be curious about…….
2. Where to stay at Munnar?
We stayed at the Munnar Colony Road. A small temple was there just at the opposite side. The market was within walking distance. Apart from the stay at the Munnar Colony Road, there was no dearth of stay options. You need to locate a suitable one according to your budget.
Apart from hotels, you might also be interested in cottages and resorts. Hostels are also available on the city outskirts.
We could spot the tea gardens from the window as we checked into our room. It was a dreamy view for us. We had our lunch at 2:30 PM and then opted to take a stroll down the road.
As we were walking down the road, we saw some Ayurvedic medicine shops. The owners greeted us and requested us to drop a visit. We decided to drop a visit to a few shops.
Before coming to Munnar, we knew that ayurvedic therapies were quite renowned across Munnar. Special mention is to be given to Ayurvedic spas that we found almost at a regular interval by the side of the road.
As we reached the market, two things dominated. One was the obvious tea leaves, and the other was homemade chocolates. We could not resist buying homemade chocolates for us and for our friends. The best part was that they were robust to the environment, unlike the traditional chocolates.
We returned to our hotel for dinner by late evening and ended the day. The next day was all about exploring the Munnar.
Let’s start Munnar hopping one by one……..
3. Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
The place is quite close to the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border and took us about 2 hours to reach. We reached by 10 AM. There was a small entry fee of 10 INR per person and 100 INR per person for foreign nationals.
There were already numerous travellers standing in the queue for tickets. We got our tickets after waiting for 15 minutes in the queue.
As we entered the park, we spotted many squirrels. Our guide told us that it had some of the largest squirrels in the world. We were surprised to hear this.
The forest had a variety of wild animals, including elephants, tigers, leopards, sambar deer, spotted deer, Indian bison and langurs. However, we could spot elephants, spotted deer and Indian bison.
We loved the ambience of the park. Interestingly, we were more keen to catch a glimpse of the Muthuvans and the Malai Malasars tribal communities. Unfortunately, we could not and finally after two hours, we left for our next destination.
Apart from the Chinnar National Park, there were two other Wildlife sanctuaries in and around Munnar. The first is Thattekad Wildlife Sanctuary, and the other is Eravikulam National Park.
Let’s move on to our next destination on the list…
4. Mattupetty Dam
The dam is located amidst the tea estates. Most importantly, the dam is quite famous among the locals as a picnic spot. You won’t believe it; it was the first time we saw a dam form the reservoir of the lake. Travellers indulge themselves in either speed boats or pedal boat rides.
Nevertheless, you will enjoy taking a stroll by the lake and a paradise for bird lovers. Now in the close vicinity to the lake lies our next stoppage…..
5. Echo Point
As you can understand from the name, you can hear whatever you utter loudly. Apart from the echo phenomenon, one of the locals informed us that the place offers some beautiful sunset photography. Unfortunately, we could not stay for that long as we had quite a few places to visit before ending our day.
It was close to four o’clock; we were so busy exploring Munnar that we forgot to have our packed lunch. It was a late lunch for us. After a half an hour’s break, we continued for the next destination…..
6. Tea Tasting and Spice Garden
Our bus driver mentioned to us that he knew one of the best places in Munnar where we could taste tea. It was quite close to the Mattupetty Dam. We were quite excited to taste some of the best tea varieties in the Western Ghats.
With the permission of the owner, you might be allowed to go in the garden or take a jeep ride. However, we decided to taste the tea and listen to how they manufactured the tea from the tea leaves, It was a unique experience for us.
Soon after, our driver took us to a spice garden that was hardly 20 minutes from there. Cinnamon Garden is quite famous in the Western Ghats, especially in and around Munnar. We were in awe of the variety of exotic herb species that grow in and around Munnar.
By the time it was 7 PM, we decided to end our day and return to our hotel. With a heavy heart, we had to leave Munnar the next morning.
We have almost covered the majority of the key attractions. Apart from the ones mentioned, you can visit Anakottapara Park to explore the ancient civilization or witness the traditional Kathakali & Kalaripayattu performances. Adventure-seeking persons can also go fishing at the Sita Devi Lake or bathe in any random waterfall in Munnar. Everything about Munnar is just beautiful.
We hope you got a glimpse of Munnar, and for any help, we are just a click away…..
We are not going anywhere without this last question……
7. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of a new place. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau