Munnar, at a height of 1600metres above sea level is the tea capital of Kerala with 45000 hectares of land under tea cultivation. The British started tea plantations in Munnar and the mountains and valleys here are draped with endless rows of tea plants. This hill station was a summer retreat of British India. The tea estate Bungalows of the erstwhile British managers built in the colonial style are the remnants of the lifestyle of these pioneer planters.

The Tata tea company owned most of the tea estates in Munnar. The hills of Munnar got the name Kannan Devan hills from the headman of Anchanad valley (a region in Munnar) Kannan Thevar. From Kannan Devan hills Tata tea's famous brand name Kannan Devan originated .Now Tata tea has transferred the estates to Kannan Devan hill Plantation Company a consortium consisting of employees.

We checked into The Abad plaza hotel and had a quick bath and change. None of us wanted to be indoors in such invigorating surroundings and wonder of wonders it was indeed cold!But after dinner we decided to sleep. We were tired .

Early morning after a heathy breakfast and Chaya straight from the tea estate we set out sightseeing. The sight of the women picking tea leaves and putting them into bags slung over the shoulder reminded me of Wordsworths highland lass.

A visit to the " TeaMuseum" at Nallathani estate helped us understand the history of tea plantations in Munnar.
The wild life sanctuary Eravikulam National park is just 15kms from Munnar.Rajamalai, part of the park is the home to the Nilagiri Tahr, the rare mountain goat.To our delight we actually spotted one.
The highest peak in south India Anamudi with a height of 2695 metres is at EravikulamPark. We learnt that Munnar, the name derives from the "three rivers" Mudrapuzha, Nallathani and Kundala that flows by to PeriyarRiver. The green scenic beauty of the sloping tea plantations and the blue of the sky were indeed a rare combination.I am sure Mom wants a sari in this combo , smiled my daughters and I was sure I would too. By afternoon we visited MattupettyLake , a scenic picnic spot with boating facilities. The Indo-Swiss Live stock project at Mattupetty, a cattle farm with a variety of breeds of high yielding cattle is a place worth visiting. Echo point on the way to top station is a favorite tourist spot where natural echo reverberates. All of us stood and screamed our lungs out to hear the echoes.

Kundala has a golf course, which belongs to Kannan Devan hill plantation company ltd. The Kundala dam and lake are also a major attraction. Top station at a height of 1700 metres offers fantastic views.The Nilakurinji (stroblanthus) flower would bloom once in twelve years and the mountains would be abloom with it. But unfortunately we couldnt see it.

Kerala 's only sandalwood forest is at Marayoor.There is a sandalwood factory run by KeralaForest department. The Stone Age Murals and etchings on the caves known as Muniyaras at Marayoor is an interesting place. We were quite tired by now and returned to Abad.

We did not go to some other scenic spots as we had covered the important bits.We just relaxed in the hotel for two days .They had arranged a few programs to keep the tourists busy. An ayurvedic massage and sauna was also included. It was fun to sink into near oblivion under the expert hands of the masseuse.

Anyway we returned to Bangalore absolutely detoxed and rejuvenated.