After our short stint at wilderness in Periyar, our bus slowly made its way to Munnar, the world of tea plantations. Munnar is one of the most famous hill stations in Kerala. Situated at 5,200 ft above sea level, Munnar is deep in the Western Ghats range of mountain. As the bus climbed up the mountain road, the views were endless tea plantations. A beautiful Munnar tea plantation.
Munnar Tea Plantation
The bus stopped at Poopara, Idduki for a photo operation. Amazingly, what set Munnar tea plantation apart from others is the rows of tree fork that lined the tea plantation. The trees were all in approximately similar size. The tree fork shape added to the scenic green view of the plantation.
The road along the tea plantation is a two-lane road, so parking might be a headache. Literally you can stop anywhere you want, but each plantation has its own guard. Some may ask for a meagre sum of money to allow you to enter the plantation area.
Unlike the tea plantations in Cameron Highland where you can roam wherever you want, there were buffer zones set for all the tea plantations. You cannot go beyond the buffer zone because of the tea leaves preservation.
Our second stop was near the Anayirangal Dam. I wish we had more time to spend here. I wish we were brought here in the morning when the lady tea pickers were busy at work. I walked as far off as I could and managed to get some shots.
Since we were scheduled for lunch at another heavenly resort, Spice Tree Munnar, we were transferred by 4wd to Spice Tree. The experience was different because we got to feel the windy breeze and caught the smell of tea plantations. Though we loathed the motion sickness during our bus adventure, 4wd ride was something else.
And then, this happened. We arrived in heaven. Spice Tree is perched on top of a mountain. It is awarded the certified of excellence in 2015 by Tripadvisor. I did not take many pictures of this beautiful resort. Clearly I was too hungry at that time.
The fantastic food served at Spice Tree.
The trip to Munnar was made possible by Kerala Blog Express 2016 from 15-29 February 2016. #keralablogexpress2016