Ramble Diaries: Munnar

This is what Munnar.com has to say about Munnar:

Munnar - breathtakingly beautiful - a haven of peace and tranquility - the idyllic tourist destination in God's own country.
Set at an altitude of 6000 ft in Idukki district, Munnar was the favored summer resort of the erstwhile British rulers in the colonial days. Unending expanse of tea plantations - pristine valleys and mountains- exotic species of flora and fauna in its wild sanctuaries and forests - aroma of spice scented cool air - yes! Munnar has all these and more. It's the place you would love to visit - it's the place you would wish never to leave.

True to every word above, Munnar is a beautiful hill station located some odd 140 kms from Cochin by road. The drive in itself is beautiful as you start reaching your destination. And the place is definitely a great respite from the dry/humid summer. It can be a great destination during winters too but, you have to keep in mind that the temperatures drop to a great extent over here during summers as well so winter is certainly going to be cold despite of our impression that destinations in South India are not really cold.

We started our trip with a visit to spice/ayurvedic garden tour. You will encounter a lot of spice plantations on your way up and most of them offer a tour at nominal prices with a tiny shop offering the goodies which you can make a call on after you have been enlightened about the magical powers these herbs have.

Pepper Tree

Nutmeg Tree

Herb that wards off snakes

Bay leaf and Cinnamom

Now, the moment we decided we are leaving for Munnar we were advised not to miss the local fruit market for the variety of fruits it offers at rates one cannot imagine in cities. So we knew we had to hit the market every single day we were there and grab those awesome fruits for breakfast. And during my research I had even discovered that Tata not only has huge tea estates in Munnar but it also has a strawberry plantation and processing unit, where they prepare strawberry preserves. Now, my husband happens to be a big strawberry fan so this was again added to our must visit list.

Once we reached Munnar, instead of looking for a place to stay we decided to cover some tourist places before it's dark and then look for a decent hotel to spend the night. So we quickly reached the tea museum and finished it in a frenzy as our mind was focused on the strawberry unit.

Despite of being told that it's closed during these hours we took our chance and left looking for the strawberry processing unit. Though the unit itself was shut the shop where they sold their stuff was open and the managing lady was kind enough to take us through the process. But, what still evaded us was the strawberry plantation. Which to our disappointment we realized was very tiny with hardly visible strawberries. Later on asking they told us that they don't really grow them here but source them from local farmers who grow them in between their tea plantations for extra income. Voila! We knew there was another adventure on our way. But, there wasn't much time before it turned dark and we had another place to tick off before the day ended. So a few quick pictures and after buying two bottles of a yummy whole strawberry preserve we were back on our way.

Pictures from Tata Processing Unit

Next destination was flower garden. Not much to say about it. So just take a look at the pictures.

Husband posing with all the lovely flowers

It was time to find a place to stay now. And that's what we did and settled for the day.

Next day as planned started with a visit to the fruit market where we found some exotic fruits indeed. Different types of berries, avocados, melons, passion fruit etc. We took our haul and started our day. Today's destination was top station where we were advised by our friends to camp at night. And off we went. Lovely drive and lovely view. We stopped at echo point in between.

On our way to Top Station

Echo Point

Echo Point different view

Mist around the echo point

Tea garden near top station

Just look at the lush green

Solitary tree

Top station is the highest you can go and has a lovely view of misty mountains and also marks the border or Kerala and Tamilnadu. Also, nearby are forests that offer variety of flora and fauna and some guided tours are available at nominal rates again.

We explored the tea gardens, climbing and clicking pictures and then decided to settle for our camp. It was really cold at night and we had the pleasure of having a camp fire.

Tea plantation near camp site

Canine Company

Camp fire at night

Need more warmth

Camp site next morning

We were all done but, one thing still remained to explore and that was the strawberry plantation which we had our minds on from the beginning. So today before heading back we had a list of things to do.

1. Visit strawberry farm

2. Buy spices

3. Buy tea

We got the spices and tea from the main market of Munnar. Spices we had to haggle a lot and eventually found a great shop somewhere in by lanes who helped us customize our packs to our need. I also bought a spice called All spice, which has a wonderful aroma.

Tea we decided to go for the official Tata store located in the heart of Munnar market. Our best pick was the rose flavored green tea. Which we till date regret not buying more of. It is absolutely refreshing.

With all the things ticked off our list it was time for adventure. To find our strawberry farm. And trust me it was an adventure indeed. After a long drive through treacherous roads we did manage to find what we were looking for and the farmer there was kind enough to let us pluck as many as we wanted and we had a absolute gala time doing so and more so in eating them all our way back to Cochin. So without much more details here are some pictures.