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This beautiful hill station is popular for its cool climate and tea plantation. This quiet little town boasts of many colonial bungalows, tea factories, wildlife
sanctuaries and many lakes. The accommodation facilities are excellent.
Munnar, literally meaning 3 rivers, is situated on the confluence of three rivers. The average altitude is over 4000 feet above sea level.
The sprawling tea plantations and the cool climate make Munnar a special place.
Reaching Munnar : 133 km from Cochin, the journey by bus takes nearly 4 hours. Buses start from near the south Railway station
and are mostly run by private operators. Munnar is also accessible from Kodaikanal (110km) and Thekkady(98km).
Sight seeing
Eravikulam National Park : Rajamalai in the Eravikulam national Park is about 17 km from Munnar. The sanctuary provides close viewing of the Nilgiri Thar, an endangered species. More than half of the Nilgiri Thar is found in this sanctuary. The other interesting sight is the flowering blooms only once in 12 years. The next bloom is expected in 2006 AD only. The other animal sighting commonly reported are Panther, Sambhar, Barking Deer, Gaur, Giant Malabar Squirrel etc. The sanctuary is 4 km from the
Munnar-Marayoor (Udmalpet) Road.
Marayoor(36 km) : This small town is famous for the sandal wood forest in the surrounding region. Permission is required from the forest authorities to venture into the forest.
Chinnar wild life sanctuary (70 km) : This sanctuary is further on the Munnar-Udmalpet road. This
road cuts through the sanctuary. The best time for animal sightings is in the evenings and early mornings. Common wild life sightings are Elephants and Gaur besides some rare birds. There are watch towers
erected in the forests, with permission from the authorities one can use it to spend a night watching wildlife.
Mattupetty (13 km) : The Indo Swiss Project here attracts a lot of domestic tourists, the exotic cattle, rose gardens, lush green meadows and the dam with boating facilities are the major attractions. Top station (14 km) and Kundale (12 km) are the other attractions in the area.
Devikulam (16 km) : This is another hill station 30 minutes
from Munnar. The lake and the tea plantations are the major attractions.
Suryanelly (27 km) : This hill resort is 40 minutes from Munnar. The lake and the tea plantations are the major attractions. The route to Suryanelly winding through the hills is a delight. There is excellent accommodation facility here.
Thattekkad bird scantuary : This sanctuary is 12 km from Kothamangalam which is on the
Cochin-Munnar route.
Kodanadu : This is a forest elephant care center, here you can see baby elephant rescued from the forests being cared for. The elephants are also trained here. Kodanadu is 15 km from Perumbavoor which is on the Cochin Munnar route.
Pothamedu: Pothamedu offers an excellent view of the tea, coffee and
cardamom plantations in Munnar. The rolling hills, the lush mountain and the
breathtaking scenery here is ideal for trekking and long mountain walks.
Rajamala: This is the natural habitat of the NIlgiri thar. Half of the world
population of the rare mountain goat which is fast becoming extinct, is now
found here. The Nilgiri thars are today reduced to small herds found in
Eravikulam - Rajamala region. Today number of Nilgiri Thars in Rajamala is
estimated at 1317.
Sanctuary Visit: The park is divided into three regions - the core area, the
buffer area and the tourism area. Visitors are allowed only to the tourism area
which is in the Rajamala region. The Nilgiri thar can be observed at close
quarters here.
Kundala: Kundala is a picturesque town on the way to top station. The
golf course which belongs to Tata Tea Ltd is located here. The Kundala
artificial dam is another attraction. Aruvikkad waterfall is also near
Kundala.
Places to Eat
Early morning food stalls in the bazaar and near Isaac's serve breakfast snacks. In the evening, outdoor eating places set up near Gandhi statue.
Rapsy Restaurant, in the arcade running off the bazaar, has excellent chicken biryani.
Hotel Brothers has one meal- 'Keralan dish' - fish curry and tapioca.
Edassery Eastend has two good restaurants : up stair it's up
market; downstairs it's simple, cheaper and incredibly slow.
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