High tea in Munnar

hill station

When we planned our trip to Munnar, I only had visions of an endless expanse of tea gardens. And I wasn’t disappointed. Even as we were nearing Munnar, in the thick of summer, enjoying the beautiful scenic drive up the hill, the breeze turned cool and the sky opened up, greeting us with a gentle shower.

That was just the beginning. The next two days we spent in the idyllic town of Munnar was almost dream-like —
unending chains of tea plantations, crisp, cool air, and light showers alternating with thick envelopes of fog for added effect. It was sheer bliss.

Checking into the hotel, situated in the middle of a tea plantation, we pulled out our list of places to explore in Munnar. Devikulam, Mattupetty, Rajamalai, Top Station, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kundalai Dam, Marayoor...so read the list. We tried following it and visited a few places, only to find them teeming with people who were only interested in doing ‘touristy’ things like boat rides, elephant rides and photographing themselves with green hills as the backdrop.

We realised we had come all the way to Munnar, not to stand in endless queues to buy tickets for some ride or the other, but to enjoy the tranquillity the place had to offer. We were glad we realised this early on in our trip as we spent the rest of our stay in Munnar doing what we like best — we chose a quiet place amidst tea plantations and enjoyed the beautiful scenery around.

On one such exploration of Munnar, we drove up a steep hill, known as Anamudi. Though it was a dangerous drive, with the roads being narrow and slippery, we negotiated the twists and turns of the hill with great catution and reached teh top.

Luckily for us, since it was off the touristy trail, there were no vehicles coming from the opposite direction, making our drive quite smooth. The view from the top was heavenly, to say the least. The thick fog that was descending, soon obscured the hills around, only to move on, as if to allow us to enjoy the beauty of nature in an uninterrupted manner. We found ourselves speechless.

Such was the beauty of nature around. To just sit on top of the peak and watch the world go by without a care in the world was our idea of a perfect holiday. And our visit to Anamudi was just that. Our drive down the hill was in perfect silence as none of us could find the right words to describe our Anamudi experience.

Another place worth visiting in Munnar was the Tata Tea Museum that took us back in time to the colonial era, giving us the history of the place, and also a demonstration of tea production. The hour-long tour of the museum has made us appreciate every sip of tea henceforth.

Well, if you’re planning a visit to Munnar, just follow your heart and not the touristy trail. Munnar is surely
magical.