Hum jo chal ne lage
Chal ne lage hain ye raaste
Aahha...
Manzil se behatar
Lagne lage hai ye raaste
Remember this Shaan song from Jab We Met? You'll feel like humming it on your way to Munnar, especially when you are around 20 kms away from your destination. Why? Read on............
The Prologue
South India has many hill stations and Munnar is the least known among them. Yet, it had remained in my wish list for a long time - ever since I saw the photos that my parents and sister had clicked when they visited this hill station, back in 2013. I was particularly mesmerized by the shade of green that I saw in those photos and wanted to visit Munnar one day. My relocation to Chennai in 2016 improved the chances of the visit, but it still took me another three years to plan the tour.Our recent one-day trip to Pondicherry had probably made me more active and enthusiastic. So, while my family was on summer vacation-2019, I utilized the IPL breaks to book the train tickets and reserve a hotel, a month in advance. The train tickets were only up to Coimbatore but it still provided the euphoria that you can easily relate to, if you have ever used IRCTC. Comparatively, using MakeMyTrip to book the hotel rooms was a cakewalk. Once the bookings were done, it was only a matter of time.
The Introduction
Munnar - the Kashmir of Kerala - is a beautiful hill station surrounded by lush-green carpet-clad mountains and valleys. It has several waterfalls, lakes, and dams. It offers a cool climate throughout the year, and abrupt rain showers make the weather even more pleasant.
Somehow, this hill station lacks direct rail connectivity. You can reach Munnar only via road - from Kochi, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, and Aluva. The nearest railway station is at Aluva, which is around 110 kms away.
We went via the Coimbatore route, and on that route, the road between Marayoor to Munnar is an exquisitely carved piece of art, replete with tea plantations on either side of the road. The road is narrow but smooth, with comfortable twists and turns, piercing through the soothing greenery. The intermittent presence of bright-red Gulmohar trees and pine trees added to the beauty. We just couldn't resist ourselves from halting at multiple places to click photos.
You will find many hill stations with green mountains or tea plantations but you will not find the shade of green that Munnar offers. It's like nature's own canvas in God's own country - Kerala.
I had always known Kerala as the land of backwaters; never knew that it's also a land of several magnificent hills stations.
The Onward Journey
Being Chennai residents, we had the option of going to Ernakulam or Aluva, which are around 110 kms from Munnar. However, I chose Coimbatore because it is a more prominent city and I thought getting cabs would be easier from there.
So, we took an overnight train to Coimbatore, had breakfast there, and set off for Munnar on a cab at 10 AM. As Coimbatore is in TN and Munnar is in Kerala, we had to get Kerala permit, and for that we had to travel an additional 25 kms within Coimbatore. After we entered Kerala, we were stopped at several security checkposts. On one such checkpost, we were intimidated by a group of monkeys who probably thought of doing some additional checks. Due to these random security checks and our 'selfie halts', the distance from Coimbatore to Munnar seemed more than it actually was. We finally reached Munnar at around 4 PM and checked into Bellmount Resorts.
The Sightseeing
Hydel Park: This park was near to our hotel, so we could visit it on the day we reached Munnar. The park had only a few attractions including a zip line, but by the time I could muster some courage to try it, they closed it for the day.Carmelagiri Elephant Park: This park is on the Madupetty route and it offers elephant ride. Though the ticket cost is Rs 500 per person and the wait time is high, it attracts huge tourist crowd. There are 5-6 elephants and the rides are allotted strictly as per the ticket serial number. Each ride is for 10-15 minutes only, and at end, you can buy a fruit basket for Rs 100 and feed the elephant while sitting on it. For us, it was a first-ever elephant ride and we thoroughly enjoyed it. My son especially enjoyed feeding the elephant which was trained to lift its trunk backward and accept the fruits.
Madupetty Dam: It is one of the must-visit points in Munnar. You can stand on the bridge to take a view of the lake with background mountains on one side and a dry green valley on the other side. You can also do boating in the lake and visit the adjacent market.
Cowboy Park: This park is near the Madupetty dam. It has a kids play zone and offers adventure sports for grown up kids. It also provides boating facility. We did visit the park but did not try any of its offerings.
Echo Point: This place is 15 kms from the Madupetty dam. It's a low lying area on the banks of a river. The green mountains on the other side of the river provide the echo effect and a picturesque beauty. I had a nice time with my son, trying to demonstrate him the echo effect.
Tea Plantation: On our way back from the echo point, we stopped at a non-descript tea garden, trekked across the garden, and clicked some memorable photos. Here we were greeted by a sudden rain shower, which is a trademark of Munnar climate. Visiting a tea plantation was my top priority, and among all the other sightseeing spots we visited, I liked this place the most.
The return journey
We started our return journey at 9:30 AM and reached Coimbatore at around 2 PM. We had to board the Shatabdi Express at 3 PM but the train departed 1.5 hours late. We reached Chennai at 11:30 PM.The Facts and Figures
Date: May 2019
Duration: 1 day 2 nights
Total travel time from Chennai to Munnar: 14 hours, including stoppage time
Cab fare and distance traveled: Rs 8000; 400 kms (includes two-way travel between Coimbatore and Munnar, including sightseeing)
Hotel charges: Rs 2000 per room per night (Decent hotel; complimentary breakfast included)
