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Trip to Munnar - Aug 2005

So my Southern sojourn continues........

After a quick one day trip to Mahabalipuram, I was kind of hooked to visit more places in South India. There are lot of places around Chennai, where you can plan out for 2-3 day trip. But, I love more of adventure trip to mountains rather than towns full of temple and beaches out here. Somehow hilly region have their own charm that can’t be matched by others. The view of sky, valley, rivers and forests implants a sense of calmness around you. Looking at the various options near Chennai, the first place everyone suggests is Ooty or Kodaikanal. Both are quite scenic and beautiful hill stations but they are too much commercialized. I would surely visit them sometime (I love hill train journeys-Shimla and Darjeeling done, Ooty left among the top 3) but I was more hooked on to the idea of a trip to Munnar. After being chosen by TIME magazine as the top destination in India and among top 10 paradises around world by National Geographic, it makes sense to visit this place.

Now it does make sense to write a little about how this trip happened. Though thoroughly dissappointed two week back for not able to a make a trip to Kodai (Munnar was left out cuz of rains then) this time me and my roomie thought of booking bus tickets as soon as possible for Munnar. Later that week on a birthday treat of my 3rd roomie, we met a guy named Bobby (working in CTS like Anubhav) and we started talking on coming 3 day weekend. We told him that we are planning to go to Munnar and then he told us that he along with his project team is also going there and they have some places in the group to fill because of last minute cancellations. He invited us along with his team for the trip and we gladly accepted that. Though I don’t prefer a big group like this, while traveling but this was a good opportunity to just hop on and get out of Chennai without worrying too much about various nitty-gritty’s of travel.

We started last Thursday (Aug 25-2005) from Chennai. We all were supposed to meet at 6 at Egmore Railway Station and catch Pearl City Express (it goes to Tuticorin) I reached home around 5 in evening from office due to rains (ominous sign) and then rushed to station after packing my bag, camera and tripod. We reached station around 6:15 pm and train was supposed to leave at 6:30. But the problem was the guy having ticket was still not there. he was caught up in traffic due to rains. Well, he made it at sharp 6:30 and finally we were on the way to Kodai Road (our station). The lights of Chennai started fading gradually as the train moved at its full pace toward South East direction. We were 16 people in the group with 14 guys and 2 gals. Everyone except me was from Cognizant, So me the only outsider out there :). Soon Trichy was gone among the various talks we were having. After we had our dinner (staple Chicken Biryani) we started playing Antakshri, now you have to appreciate the fact that the songs were coming out in all direction in various lang. like Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telgu cuz it was group having people from Kerala, TN, Andhra, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, UP and Delhi. Though, majority of people were from TN and Kerala only. Soon all the songs were finished and we were still waiting for our Station. We shifted to Dumbshell Art and again we were totally bored with it within few hrs. Kodai Road is the nearest station to Kodaikanal. The train was supposed to reach there at 2 but it was late by around 30 mins. We finally reached there around 2:30 am and from there we took our Chartered Mini Bus for the whole trip. It was still raining and that was not promising in any way. Got up few times in between, had tea at one stop but fell asleep again. Finally got up around 8 and saw our bus going through the tea gardens in a serpent way.

Road to Munnar

In between passed through some lovely scenic sites, It was like u have suddenly landed out there in Scottish meadows with blue lake, Blue sky and clouds. A sight that I can never forget, unfortunately, I was not able to catch that on camera cuz of the moving bus. The next few kilometers saw us hurtling through the rugged terrain of overhanging cliffs. Then slowly we had a glimpse of the quaint little town of Munnar amidst billiard tabletop smooth tea plantations from afar. At first sight Munnar strikes as a huge neatly decorated garden of green velvet with no hustle bustle, no cacophony and no horns - a perfect choice for those who preferred solitude and peace.

We reached Munnar around 10 in morning. Munnar is a the quaint little town exuding its old world charm, while nearby rich tropical forests, abounding in exotic flora and fauna, are ready to be explored by cycle or on foot. At 5500ft, Munnar is the only hill station in South Kerala that lay snuggled in the high ranges of Western Ghats at the confluence of three mountain streams - Mudrapuzha, Nallathani and Kundala. The spectacular vista of cloud kissed rolling hills carpeted with tea plantations, rivulets dancing through green meadows and the colonial British settlements of the town make this place an ideal getaway from the rigorous strain of daily life. Munnar owes its existence to the numerous British planters, who cleared large stretches of forests from these hills to cultivate tea on the manicured slopes. Tea still reigns supreme here and Munnar holds the honour of growing tea at the highest elevated land, over 7,200 ft. above sea level. Nearly eighty percent of these estates are owned by Tata Tea Ltd and its holdings. According to the book, Facets of a Hundred Years of Planting (published by Tata Finley Ltd.) the estates initially belonged to Scotsman James Finley some hundred years back. The Tatas purchased them in the 1960s and named it Tata Finley Ltd and finally Tata Tea Ltd.

Tea Gardens

The Deshadhan resorts where we were for one day is the highest Resort in Kerala. Our short 1 day stay there was a pleasure itself. Munnar town is just 4 Km away, but the rustic ambience, virgin greenery and misty surrounding make the rest of the world seem far away. Being Kerala's highest Resort, it is banked by miles and miles of tea Plantations to one side and a huge mountain face standing sentry on the other side. The well-appointed cottages overlook picture postcard sceneries. While luxurious amenities pamper you inside the resort, virgin landscape behold your eyes outside. Inside or outside the cottage, there is an incredible variety of activities you can indulge in. After getting ready and having breakfast we went to Ernakulam National Park in Rajamalai. It’s around 15 kms from Munnar. It is the home of the Nilgiri Tahr. This endangered species of mountain goat is nearing extinction and the present population is about 2000 only, majority of which are found only here. The park covers an area of 97 sq.km. and is divided into 3 zones - core, buffer and Rajamalai. Cars can reach up to the Rajamalai region beyond which one can only trek through the forested grassland. Visitors are not allowed in the core area. As our old jeep began laboring up the hill, the green fertile tea gardens made way for the rocky terrain. Streams gurgled down the smooth slopes to hit the ground below with vibrant force. Anaimudi (meaning elephant head), the highest mountain peak of the Western Ghats at 2,695 m. could be seen at a distance. Permission for entry is obtained from the wildlife Warden of the forest department's office at Rajamalai. The moment we got down from the Jeep, it started drizzling, so we had to take umbrellas on rent (seems like it rains a lot). We strolled along for sometime and reached a vantage point, People say the view of valley from here is totally enthralling but as our luck would have it, it was totally covered with mist and clouds. Due to rains, we were not able to notice any wild animals out there but the view of the mountain was breathtaking. The famous Nilgiri Tahr also favored us with a visit but at the top of mountain. I had to use the 12x zoom feature of my camera to get more close to this endangered species. We waited some more time and in between clicked some snaps but seems like lady luck was not going to smile on us. The weather was unrelenting, so we decided to go back to Munnar and have lunch out there before moving back to resort.

Rajmalai National Park

One of the biggest problem of being in a big group is you can not look out for restaurants of your tastes. I really wanted to get into some good local restaurant and sample some of the dishes out there. Anyways, we landed up in some mediocre restaurant. The food was ok but for someone like me who relishes good food, it was lacking something. While going back, me and Anubhav got down at the dam and decided to walk the next 4 kms to resort. The weather was good and there is nothing better than exploring a hill station through walking. The main aim was though to capture few good pictures along the way. We shot lot of the pics before realising that it’s getting too dark for the lonely road to the top of the hill. The last 1.5 kms was a steep climb and we were totally exhausted even though the road was in a good shape. Rest of the day was spent in watching TV and having some good discussion on various topics.

View From Resort

The next day, I got up around 6 and went straight to balcony, No mist, no clouds at all, just breathtaking view of the valley. The next one hour was the scenic delight. Suddenly after 15 mins, clouds started coming over the valley and within a moment, it felt like we are sitting on the top of clouds. The sky at the horizon was changing hues continuously. Later the mist took over the whole valley. After packing our stuff and breakfast of steaming idlis, we bid adieu to this excellent resort and moved towards the dam. Mattupetty Dam, our next destination, was nestled amidst luxuriant tea gardens boasting splendid views.

Lake at Matteputty Dam

The district promotion council of Idukki organizes boating (both paddle and speed) in the mirror-still waters of the lake. There is Swiss Indo project on livestocks and highly specialized dairy technique is going on in a nearby area. Though others preferred to hang around the dam for some more time, we few guys started to walk around and explore the nearby area till the boating point. The entire stretch offered a fantastic panorama of gentle slopes full of tea plantations on one side and a calm and serene lake on the other. We took a big boat and cruised around in the lake for some time before moving ahead to Echo Point. The rains started again on the way. The beauty of the echo point can’t be described in words. It was just splendid example of hills, lake, forest, dark sky and rains and of course the usual echoing sound that was piercing through the valley.

Echo Pt.

Next destination: Base point for the trek
We reached the base camp around 3:30. It took some time for our mini bus to reach there through small roads of village and the slope was not helping at all in the cause. A trek after a long time, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to manage it in right shape till the end. We started from the village and moved toward the mountains through the small stretch of rocks in between the lush tea plantations. Soon we were on the brink of forest and the steep climb toward the hill. It has rained a lot and the whole path was muddy.....making it a proper breeding ground for leeches to strike us and within 15 mins of trek, we all were busy with leeches all across our legs, shoes, jeans etc. The next few steps resulted in more muddier path and more leeches, someone got a bite also and blood started trickling out. The climb started to become more steeper and the path was getting worse minute by minute. It was turning out to be one of the toughest treks, I have taken till then. The worst part was almost everyone of us were not exactly in proper physical condition to do that trek. Though the walk of 4 kms that we did yesterday was proving to be good in hindsight but still it was turning out to be one heck of trek due to leeches and regular stoppages of group. It was more aggravated by the fact that most of guys and two gals were not at all prepared for it. They were wearing wrong shoes, wrong choice of clothes and it was delaying us in moving fast, resulting in more leeches sticking to our body.

Trek Way Up

Finally somehow we reached the hill top and took few minutes to rest. All my thoughts of instant gratification of the trek were gone cuz of thick mist blocking the view of valley. Suddenly the sun came out from nowhere and resulted in a mesmerizing view of the sky for a few seconds. The funniest part here was everyone was cursing themselves for coming out here for trek. The problem with adventure sports and holidays are always same, when u do them u curse yourself, but later on you fondly remember each and everything. Moreover, you need to appreciate the nature's beauty on these kinds of trips. Anyway after that we had to come down a little to Cliff hut, which was made on the border of TN and Kerala. The view of the valley was amazing and I captured some of my best pics out there in morning as well as evening. The whole Tamil Nadu was down there in the virgin valley full of forest and plains at the end.

View from Cliff Hut

The night beckoned in sometime. By that time we were fresh again and the soon the dancing and singing began around the camp fire. It was one of the best experiences of the life. Sitting out there in the wild around the camp fire, at one side is the deep valley and at another the ferocious jungle (it has panthers and all) with the sky full of stars and mist in the air. In Dinner we had Chapatis, Aloo sabzi, rice and Sambhar and we were asleep within few mins after that in our sleeping bags. 5:30 in morning; No mist, no clouds just clear sky with diff hues and a breathtaking view of the valley. After having an early breakfast (which I skipped) we trekked back to the base camp through a different route. This route, though shorter in distance but more muddier and steeper to go down. We were trying not to slip all along the way, The clear cut rule was try to hold your toes in some rock or put them in grass instead of muddy path. We were back to base camp within 1 hr (as compared to 3 hrs of climbing yesterday). From there, we moved back to Munnar and got fresh at a hotel before having lunch. We started towards Madurai by 2 pm and there were plans to take a stop of 10 mins each at Devikulum falls and a very beautiful spot near a tea factory. We missed the first cuz people were more interested in watching a stupid movie in the bus and second one cuz of the rains. This is why I don’t like such a big group. Imagine you come to place to visit it and enjoy its beauty and you settle down to watch a movie that u have already seen. God help these kinds of people. Soon we entered in Tamil Nadu and started to move down the hills. The road was in a bad shape because of landslides and repair work was going on. At the certain portions there was no road, it was dirt path full of hair pin bends. The entire one hr of going down was giving me goose bumps cuz of the road condition. It was too slippery to drive out there; Result was; I concentrated on watching the movie "7G Rainbow Colony". Movie was crap, some outdated story of Hindi movies of 80's and early 90's but the songs were good. It was one of the last yr biggest hits. Anyway, back to plains and within few hrs we were in Madurai. No time to visit the famous Meenakshi Temple :(, we had our dinner and took the train back to Chennai.

A good break from the heat of Chennai. Though we missed few sights, there is always next time to check them out. Yeah, I will surely come back to Munnar soon. I have fallen in love with this sleepy little town, which is full of natural beauty and still so virgin.

The total cost of the trip was Rs. 3050; cost was little on the higher side cuz of Resort. Otherwise, I am sure; it would come down to 2000-2500 depending on your preferences.

The best time to go Munnar is Oct - March. Go in August, only if you enjoy rains. You might not be able to visit all sights but rains weave their own magic in God's own Country's most famous hill station. Carry Woolens in Winter Season, Temp drop to 5'C at that time in nights.

The best way to reach Munnar is to fly or take a train to Cochin (except Chennai and Bang). From Cochin its 130 kms far and you get taxis and buses. If you are coming from Chennai, take NH47 Ext. from Madurai, It goes to Munnar. From Bangalore, you can take a route via Kodai or Coimbatore to reach Munnar.

Must Do's
Visit Rajamalai, Devikulum, Echo Point, Mattupetty Dam and Top Station
If possible go to Chinnar wild life century.
If possible plan your stay at Deshadhan Resort.
Carry Spare batteries and storage cards/ films. you might now realise, how many pics u have taken.
Do boating at Lake near Mattupetty dam
Do purchase fresh tea, Spices.
Go for Trek, adventure sports etc (contact Kestrel Adventures 9447613908, kestreladventures@mail.com)
Do inquire about the condition of the roads you are going to take.

Avoid
Don’t purchase anything made of sandalwood. Most probably, you wont get genuine stuff or it would be too costly.
Avoid going in rainy season.
Avoid local food, if you don’t like your dishes spicy, otherwise they are too good to resist :)

ClIcK HeRe To ViEw PiCs oF ThE tRiP (for bigger pics and greater clarity @ Webshots)
One more link for pics (small size pics @ Yahoo Photos)

Have fun in God's Own Country. Do visit Munnar once guys, I am sure you all are going to love this place.