Our trip to Munnar - 22nd to 24th September 2016

I like traveling and sightseeing, a lot. Sometimes, I am obsessed with them. It annoys my wife, yet she had always put up with me and had given me a company. Commencing the 19^th instant, my Kerala tour took me to Thiruvananthapuram to attend a relative’s 80^th birthday, to Kottayam Thirunakkara Temple, to Ettumanoor, Kaduthuruthi, and Vaikom on the way to Ernakulam, and to Kalady from Ernakulam on the way to Munnar. After spending a day and a half at Munnar, I drove back to Tenkasi, via Theni on 24^th.

We could reach Munnar only by around 2.00 PM on 22nd, driving from Ernakulam after stopping over at Kalady. The first day at Munnar was a bit disappointing when we went to see Rajamala and Iravikulam National Forest. They took us by a bus up to a point, from where one had to walk a kilometer. I couldn’t spot any wild animal on the trek. One could get a close view of the South India’s highest peak, Anamudi (2695 meters above MSL). Unlike Dhottapetta, where one could drive all the way up the hill, here at Anamudi, the peak stood as a solid rock at some distance.

The second-day drive on the Mattupatty direction was much more enjoyable. We stopped over at the Flower Garden, Photo Point (Tea Garden), Mattupatti Dam, Echo point and Top Station View Point. There used to be a ropeway from the Top Station down the hill for transporting tea consignments. One had to climb down, through the steps, some 125 meters to a View Point. We went only to the first stopover, skipping the other two as the climb-down and climb-up were quite steep.

On the third day morning, around 9.00 am we left Munnar in the Thekkady direction. This was, in my view, the most beautiful part of sightseeing in Munnar. We stopped at several places, the last being the Anaiyirankal Dam View Point. Thereafter, we drove up to Poo Parai, from where we took the detour to Theni, the other road leading to Thekkady. We could have as well gone to Thekkady, but called off any idea, hoping to reach Tenkasi, in time to see the Garuda Seva at the nearby Melapavoor during the night.

We thank Sri Amma Bhagavan for a wonderful trip and drive through Kerala. By and large, the roads were excellent, especially, the one from Munnar to Theni to Tenkasi.

Here are some of the pictures taken during our trip to Munnar.