Munnar Attractions
NEELAKURINJI :
Munnar is blessed with a rich variety of flora and fauna but the most well known among them is Neelakurinji. The Neelakurinji or Kurinji is a unique shrub species that blooms in Munnar and the hills across Western Ghats. Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) belongs to the family of Acanthaceae. The species name Kunthiana has been derived from the River Kunthi. The genus has around 300 species, of which at least 46 occur in India. Besides the Western Ghats, it can also be found in Eastern Ghats.
On the hills, the plant usually grow 30 to 60 cm in height, but under more favorable conditions they can grow well beyond 180 cms. It can be found only in high altitudes between 1,600 metres and 2,600 m and what makes it so special, apart from its beauty, is that it blooms only once in 12 years. The mass flowering and subsequent death of the Kurinji is the subject of hill folklore.
Although Neelakurinji has flowering cycles ranging from one to 16 years, it has been flowering every 12 years since 1800. What triggers the massive flowering every 12 years is not known. Plants that bloom at long intervals like this is called plietesials. But stray flowerings do occur in between. The flowering season comes between August and November and peak in late September and October although some varieties exhibit little variation. It looks light blue in the early stage of blooming and has purplish blue colour when aged.
Neela means blue in Malayalam language and Kurinji is the local name of the flower. For those in Munnar, the blooming of Kurinji flower is a reminder that their lives have gone past another twelve years and for those from far off places it maybe once in a life time opportunity to witness the Kurinji flowers covering the hills of Munnar in a blanket of blue.
The Nilgiris, which means blue mountains, got its name from the blue flowers of Neelakurinji. Once they used to cover the entire Nilgiris like a carpet during its flowering season. However, now plantations and dwellings occupy much of their habitat. The departments of Tourism, Forests and Wildlife have initiated a campaign for the preservation of Neelakurinji and its natural habitat.
During the last blooming in 2006, the biggest Neelakurinji flowering was at the Eravikulam National Park in Munnar. It also bloomed gregariously at several places around Munnar and in Kodaikanal. The next mass flowering is expected to take place in 2018.
TEA GARDENS :
Munnar’s top attraction is its scenic tea gardens and is top priority on any travel itinerary in this area. There are around 30 tea estates, all are privately owned (about 27 of them owned by Tata Tea Company), but most estate managers will allow visitors to wander around the estate for free. Tea factories at the estates offer a great opportunity to witness the entire process by which tea changes from being a fresh, hand picked leaf to the fragrant product that makes it to breakfast tables across the world. Some tea factories also offer tea on sale for visitors.
MATTUPETTY LAKE AND DAM :
Mattupetty Lake and Dam, which lie 13 km from Munnar, enroute Top Station, at an altitude of 1700 mt, are popular picnic spot with visitors. The lake and dam surrounded by wooden hills and tea plantations, makes a great view.
The Shola forests around Mattupetty are ideal for trekking and bird watching, with the variety of birds found there. Small streams and waterfalls cut through the tract here and there, which again adds more attraction to the place.
Boating is also allowed on Mattupetty Lake and combined with picnic and trekking, makes for a great outing from Munnar. Mattupetty Dam was built in the late 1940’s
SWISS LIVESTOCK PROJECT FARM :
Also known as Mattupetti (cattle village), the Swiss Livestock Project is a highly specialized dairy farm where over a hundred breeds of highly yielding cattle are reared in eleven cattle sheds. Visitors are allowed into three of the sheds during fixed hours. The project was established in 1961 by Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB).
TOP STATION :
Top station, 41 km (1hr) from Munnar is aptly named, as it is home to some of the highest tea plantations in India. It lies on the state border between Kerala and Tamilnadu and commands a panoramic view of rolling green hills.
ECHO POINT :
On the way to top station, at a spot on the lake embankment, amid some hills, every loud sound is echoed manifold by the surrounding hills— the spot is called Echo point which also offers panoramic views. It is just 15 km from Munnar. An excellent place, especially for young travelers to disembark for a while, yell out — and listen to your voice coming back to you!
MARAYOOR :
Marayoor lies 40 km from Munnar. It is a place not to be missed for its combination of ancient caves, sandalwood trees and souvenirs from ancient civilization and more. A natural forest of fragrant sandalwood trees, Marayoor has a sandalwood factory owned by the Forest Department of Kerala, where attractive objects are d’art crafted from the precious wood.
The other important site here is a series of muniyaras (caves) dating back to the New Stone Age. The muniyaras contain rock paintings of considerable archeological significance, also part of the pre-historic excavations at Marayoor, are dolmenoid burial chambers consisting of four erect stones covered by a horizontal capstone.
Other popular attractions at Marayoor include a children’s park that lies under a banayan tree extending over a hector of land, and the Thoovanam waterfall.
CHINNAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY :
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary lies 60 km from Munnar, a mixture of thorny scrub and deciduous forest that is home to some of Kerala’s most interesting wildlife. The prima donna here is the highly endangered giant grizzle squirrel, of which as estimated global count is less than 200. Other than this extremely rare creature, Chinnar’s resident species include elephants, tigers, chital, sambar, Indian bison and monkeys.
ERAVIKULAM NATIONAL PARK :
Eravikulam is one of Kerala’s finest wildlife reserves, and its excellent location, a mere 16 km from Munnar, makes it an unforgettable experience for any lover of the outdoors. The park, a spread of 97 km across Rajamalai Hills, is a combination of grassland and shola forests. The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind in the world, is a unique inhabitant of the park. Other rare species of fauna found here are the Nilgiri Langur, the lion-tailed macaque, leopards, tigers, etc.
ANAMUDI PEAK :
Anamudi Peak inside Eravikulam National Park is the highest peak (2695 m) in peninsular India. It towers over the sanctuary in majestic pride. The hill is abundant in all kinds of rare flora and fauna. It is best know for the endangered Nilgiri tahr (hemitragus hylocrious) although it does harbour a number of other equally interesting denizens— such as Atlas moth (the largest of its kind in the world), Nilgiri langurs, lion-tailed macaques, leopards and tigers. An ideal place for trekking, facilities are provided here and tourists are allowed to go on foot up to Anamudi.
THATTEKAD BIRD SANCTUARY :
The sanctuary lies near Kothamangalam and is 80 km from Munnar. Also known as the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (after India’s most famous ornithologist, who was instumental in its establishment). Thattekad spreads out over a relatively small area of 25 sq km of dense forest of rosewood, teak and mahogany. But don’t let the diminutive size of the sanctuary put you off; this modest bit of land harbours a fairly impressive selection of avifauna, guaranteed to have any avid bird-watchery yearning for more.
Thattekad’s resident species number more than 270, of which the more prominent ones are crimson-throated barbets, rose-billed rollers, sunbirds, shrikes, Malabar grey hornbills, Malayan night herons, rusty-tailed flycatchers, Ceylon frogmouths and parakeets. In addition, the sanctuary is home to more than 200 species of butterflies, plus a few mammals—including leopards and bears.
NEELAKURINJI :
Munnar is blessed with a rich variety of flora and fauna but the most well known among them is Neelakurinji. The Neelakurinji or Kurinji is a unique shrub species that blooms in Munnar and the hills across Western Ghats. Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) belongs to the family of Acanthaceae. The species name Kunthiana has been derived from the River Kunthi. The genus has around 300 species, of which at least 46 occur in India. Besides the Western Ghats, it can also be found in Eastern Ghats.
On the hills, the plant usually grow 30 to 60 cm in height, but under more favorable conditions they can grow well beyond 180 cms. It can be found only in high altitudes between 1,600 metres and 2,600 m and what makes it so special, apart from its beauty, is that it blooms only once in 12 years. The mass flowering and subsequent death of the Kurinji is the subject of hill folklore.
Although Neelakurinji has flowering cycles ranging from one to 16 years, it has been flowering every 12 years since 1800. What triggers the massive flowering every 12 years is not known. Plants that bloom at long intervals like this is called plietesials. But stray flowerings do occur in between. The flowering season comes between August and November and peak in late September and October although some varieties exhibit little variation. It looks light blue in the early stage of blooming and has purplish blue colour when aged.
Neela means blue in Malayalam language and Kurinji is the local name of the flower. For those in Munnar, the blooming of Kurinji flower is a reminder that their lives have gone past another twelve years and for those from far off places it maybe once in a life time opportunity to witness the Kurinji flowers covering the hills of Munnar in a blanket of blue.
The Nilgiris, which means blue mountains, got its name from the blue flowers of Neelakurinji. Once they used to cover the entire Nilgiris like a carpet during its flowering season. However, now plantations and dwellings occupy much of their habitat. The departments of Tourism, Forests and Wildlife have initiated a campaign for the preservation of Neelakurinji and its natural habitat.
During the last blooming in 2006, the biggest Neelakurinji flowering was at the Eravikulam National Park in Munnar. It also bloomed gregariously at several places around Munnar and in Kodaikanal. The next mass flowering is expected to take place in 2018.
TEA GARDENS :
Munnar’s top attraction is its scenic tea gardens and is top priority on any travel itinerary in this area. There are around 30 tea estates, all are privately owned (about 27 of them owned by Tata Tea Company), but most estate managers will allow visitors to wander around the estate for free. Tea factories at the estates offer a great opportunity to witness the entire process by which tea changes from being a fresh, hand picked leaf to the fragrant product that makes it to breakfast tables across the world. Some tea factories also offer tea on sale for visitors.
MATTUPETTY LAKE AND DAM :
Mattupetty Lake and Dam, which lie 13 km from Munnar, enroute Top Station, at an altitude of 1700 mt, are popular picnic spot with visitors. The lake and dam surrounded by wooden hills and tea plantations, makes a great view.
The Shola forests around Mattupetty are ideal for trekking and bird watching, with the variety of birds found there. Small streams and waterfalls cut through the tract here and there, which again adds more attraction to the place.
Boating is also allowed on Mattupetty Lake and combined with picnic and trekking, makes for a great outing from Munnar. Mattupetty Dam was built in the late 1940’s
SWISS LIVESTOCK PROJECT FARM :
Also known as Mattupetti (cattle village), the Swiss Livestock Project is a highly specialized dairy farm where over a hundred breeds of highly yielding cattle are reared in eleven cattle sheds. Visitors are allowed into three of the sheds during fixed hours. The project was established in 1961 by Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB).
TOP STATION :
Top station, 41 km (1hr) from Munnar is aptly named, as it is home to some of the highest tea plantations in India. It lies on the state border between Kerala and Tamilnadu and commands a panoramic view of rolling green hills.
ECHO POINT :
On the way to top station, at a spot on the lake embankment, amid some hills, every loud sound is echoed manifold by the surrounding hills— the spot is called Echo point which also offers panoramic views. It is just 15 km from Munnar. An excellent place, especially for young travelers to disembark for a while, yell out — and listen to your voice coming back to you!
MARAYOOR :
Marayoor lies 40 km from Munnar. It is a place not to be missed for its combination of ancient caves, sandalwood trees and souvenirs from ancient civilization and more. A natural forest of fragrant sandalwood trees, Marayoor has a sandalwood factory owned by the Forest Department of Kerala, where attractive objects are d’art crafted from the precious wood.
The other important site here is a series of muniyaras (caves) dating back to the New Stone Age. The muniyaras contain rock paintings of considerable archeological significance, also part of the pre-historic excavations at Marayoor, are dolmenoid burial chambers consisting of four erect stones covered by a horizontal capstone.
Other popular attractions at Marayoor include a children’s park that lies under a banayan tree extending over a hector of land, and the Thoovanam waterfall.
CHINNAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY :
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary lies 60 km from Munnar, a mixture of thorny scrub and deciduous forest that is home to some of Kerala’s most interesting wildlife. The prima donna here is the highly endangered giant grizzle squirrel, of which as estimated global count is less than 200. Other than this extremely rare creature, Chinnar’s resident species include elephants, tigers, chital, sambar, Indian bison and monkeys.
ERAVIKULAM NATIONAL PARK :
Eravikulam is one of Kerala’s finest wildlife reserves, and its excellent location, a mere 16 km from Munnar, makes it an unforgettable experience for any lover of the outdoors. The park, a spread of 97 km across Rajamalai Hills, is a combination of grassland and shola forests. The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind in the world, is a unique inhabitant of the park. Other rare species of fauna found here are the Nilgiri Langur, the lion-tailed macaque, leopards, tigers, etc.
ANAMUDI PEAK :
Anamudi Peak inside Eravikulam National Park is the highest peak (2695 m) in peninsular India. It towers over the sanctuary in majestic pride. The hill is abundant in all kinds of rare flora and fauna. It is best know for the endangered Nilgiri tahr (hemitragus hylocrious) although it does harbour a number of other equally interesting denizens— such as Atlas moth (the largest of its kind in the world), Nilgiri langurs, lion-tailed macaques, leopards and tigers. An ideal place for trekking, facilities are provided here and tourists are allowed to go on foot up to Anamudi.
THATTEKAD BIRD SANCTUARY :
The sanctuary lies near Kothamangalam and is 80 km from Munnar. Also known as the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (after India’s most famous ornithologist, who was instumental in its establishment). Thattekad spreads out over a relatively small area of 25 sq km of dense forest of rosewood, teak and mahogany. But don’t let the diminutive size of the sanctuary put you off; this modest bit of land harbours a fairly impressive selection of avifauna, guaranteed to have any avid bird-watchery yearning for more.
Thattekad’s resident species number more than 270, of which the more prominent ones are crimson-throated barbets, rose-billed rollers, sunbirds, shrikes, Malabar grey hornbills, Malayan night herons, rusty-tailed flycatchers, Ceylon frogmouths and parakeets. In addition, the sanctuary is home to more than 200 species of butterflies, plus a few mammals—including leopards and bears.
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Website Designed And Developed by Glad Solutions.