Munnar
Moving towards south India, we are here with one of the most famous town and hill station in Kerala — Munnar. Munnar is the perfect honeymoon destination well known for its romantic climate. It rains throughout the year in Munnar with moderate to heavy rainfall. Chill climate, best places, greenery all over are few descriptions of this place. It’s a hill station that witnesses a large number of visitors throughout the year. Still one will find their peace of mind and calm environment over here. Munnar is also known as “Kashmir of South India”. Let’s have a detailed view on the places to visit here.
Tea Museum
There are several tea factories in Munnar. One which you can visit is Kanan Devan hill plantations. Here, you can visit the factory and can experience the entire tea making process in the factory. Also, they explain you every step of tea manufacturing from the selection of tea leaf to processing it to make tea powder. After the visit, you can taste the tea of your choice at the counters. Also, you can purchase any tea powder you like at a reasonable price. You can view the huge tea gardens surrounding the factory and also the history of tea making.
Waterfalls
On your way to Munnar, you will get to see waterfalls and the beautiful scenery around it. There are lots of waterfalls in Munnar throughout as a result of rains in the region. You can visit Attukal waterfall, Lakkam waterfall, Pallivasal waterfall where the first Hydro-electric project in Kerala was established, Cheeyappara falls and Thoovanam waterfalls which are some of these best waterfalls in Munnar.
Gardens
An evergreen place like Munnar obviously has beautiful gardens all around. You must visit the ROSE GARDEN where you can see a hybrid variety of roses. Here you will find almost every color rose including black green etc. Also you can visit the SPICE GARDEN in Munnar where you will get to know all the botanical details of each and every spice. You can add BLOSSOM HYDEL PARK in your visit list. One of the best park in Munnar known for its nature trails, bird-watching & scenic lookout points.
Dam & Lakes
Two of the major dams adjoined by beautiful lakes are a must visit place in your Munnar diaries — Mattupetty dam and lake: Mattupetty is located 13 km away from Munnar. Here you can enjoy the greenish valleys and feel the fabulous climate around. This dam is a vital source of electricity generation in Munnar and also a haven for many wild animals and birds due to its constant water availability. The second one is Kundala dam and lake: Kundala is a picturesque place, about 20 km from Munnar. There is an artificial dam in Kundala. The famous Neela Kurunji flowers which bloom once in twelve years, bloom in the hills and valleys around Kundala Lake.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Chinnar is around 60 km away from Munnar. The 90 km sq sanctuary is unique with its floral, ecological, geomorphologic and cultural significance. Chinnar is a unique thorny scrub forest with xerophyte species. The south side of the sanctuary is covered by Eravikulam National park and the north side is by Indira Gandhi wildlife sanctuary. Chinnar has about 1000 species of flowering plants and a wide variety of medicinal plants. You can sight here 225 recorded species of birds and also the endangered species of Giant Grizzled Squirrel of India. Other important mammals that you can see here are the elephant, tiger, leopard, sambar, spotted deer, Nilgiri Tahr etc. Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is famous for its eco-tourism activities, jointly organized by Forest Department and the Eco-development Committees of the local tribal communities. The eco-tourism facilities include river trekking, trekking to the cultural site, nature trail to the watchtower, a trek to the Thoovanam falls, interpretation activities and medicinal garden, tree house at Chinnar, trekking, and camping at Vasyappara.
