Munnar – A Place Blessed By Nature

Munnar – The heaven of natural beauty; a place created and blessed by Nature in special. I have visited Munnar 4 times in past 3 years. I feel this is the most beautiful hill station in South India. It is not just because it is incredibly beautiful; but there are lot of places to visit also like Devikulam, Eravikulam National Park, Anamudi Peak, Top Station, Kundala lake, Green Valley, Photo Point, Mattuppetty Dam and lot. We need at least one week to cover and enjoy entire Munnar.

If I think about Munnar, the first thing comes into my mind is Neelakkurinji; the is a famous flower which is present, I think only in Munnar. It bloom once in 12 years and I got a chance to visit last time in 2006. My goodness!!! I cannot express that feeling. The entire hills in Rajamala were of blue colour!!! Can you imagine the sight? Mind blowing, fantastic, incredible…. really I don’t have words to express. The paining fact is that I didn’t had a Camera that time and I have to wait till 2018 to capture it next time!!!

Wherever you see you can find the greenary of Tea Plantation and that is more than enough to hold your breath. Munnar is also paradise for wildlife lovers as Eravikulam National Park and Marayoor – both are very famous for wildlife are nearby. I felt it is the magic of nature with the combination of valleys, streams, cliffs and exotic wildlife in one place and this is  the place created for nature lovers.

Eravikulam National Park – I think this is the main attraction in Munnar. It is just 10 km drive from Munnar town. It is not like typical National Parks. Here we can see only Nilgiri Tahrs, a kind of mountain goat which is a rare species. In India we can see only around 2000 Tahrs and majority of them are in Munnar.  We can see them for sure and they are very much familiar to the visitors. They will pose for your photos like models!!!

Kundala Lake is famous for boating and horse ride. It is a lake on the way to Top station which is the top most peak of Munnar. It is a good idea to combine the lake and Top Station together for an evening in Munnar.

Top Station is the highest peak of Munnar. It is not like other view points; since it is surrounded by mountains. Sunset in Top station is famous and there will be lot of visitors on evening time usually. I could capture some good snaps from here.

On the way to Kundala lake and Top Station there is another spot which is called a Green Valley. There is a lake and small green hills which makes this spot really attractive. If you are lucky enough can see the elephants there. Once I was lucky enough to get some shots of elephant group in Green Valley.

There are another attractions like Mattuppetty Dam and Echo point and as a photographer those spots weren’t that interesting for me. Devikulam is another hill station very near to Munnar and on the way to Devikulam there are lot of places we can stop and click.

Shanthan Para is almost an unknown place in Munnar. While coming back from Munnar I have visited that place also. There are lot of place like this in Munnar like Mannavan Chela and Shnathan Para; they are also fantastic places for natural beauty. I am planning to explore these places next time…

Lot of times I felt that It would be great if we can stay in Munnar in a tent in an open space. But there are lot of restrictions and the tea plantations either belongs to government or it will be a private properly. If we are staying in a hotel with all the facilities, personally I feel it won’t be that great as you are staying in a natural environment. So I used to sleep in my car if I am not with my family.

I would say Munnar is the complete package for photographers; for both landscape and wildlife. Marayoor is the only place where we can see the sandal tree forest in Kerala. This also famous for wildlife. So if you combine Munnar and Marayoor, it would be the perfect blend of Nature and Wildlife photography. I am just waiting for another trip to Munnar after the mansoon.