Munnar, a treat to eyes for its breathtaking views!

What makes Kerala special is its unique geographical features , which include Arabian sea with vast coastline in the west ,Western ghats towering in east with hill stations , almost 40 rivers with stretches of backwaters , Sprawling plantations , paddy fields , wildlife , Ayurvedic health packages , various enchanting art forms and rich cultural and historic heritage. This with added pleasant weather condition makes it an absolute tourist paradise.

Ours was 9 days long trip to Kerala with our family friends. All places are drive-able. Like others , we booked cab with driver who knew English, Hindi and Malayalam to travel across Kerala for complete trip. We boarded our Spice jet flight from Delhi to Cochin / Kochi  via Mumbai. It was a comfortable flight and we landed in afternoon.

Almost all travelers start their Kerala trip from Cochin , hence giving the name “Gateway to Kerala”. It is also home to Southern naval command of Indian Navy.  We had an overnight stay in Cochin at hotel Harbor Bay. It was right across the Cochin harbor / shipyard and for us, even this was amazing to see large port.

After resting for a while, in the evening we went to have the feel of the city.  So, we visited Bishop’s House, Marine Drive, Parade ground and St Francis church where Vasco Da Gama was buried. We also saw Chinese fishing nets which were interesting. Then we visited Santa Cruz Basilica and to white colored Vasco house in Princess street , where Vasco Da Gama lived.

Next day was our trip to Munnar and we left our hotel after breakfast. Munnar – means Three rivers , is a hill station in western Ghats , is located in Idduki district is approx 105 Kms from Cochin International airport. We went via Aluva- Munnar Highway and reached our destination by afternoon. Nearest railway stations are Ernakulam and Aluva which are approximately 140 Kms or 87miles away from Munnar. Cochin Airport is approximately 105 kms or 65 miles away from Munnar. Munnar is famous for its tea gardens , scenic views and wildlife.

Tourist also enjoy spice plantations and elephant rides.There is ‘Top Station‘ (Wikipedia) Viewpoint , which is a tourist destination from where one can have a panoramic view of neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

To tell you the truth we had very unique experience in Munnar at  ‘The Jungle resort’ where we stayed.

It was at a relatively isolated place , located at extreme end of Munnar. I was feeling good about the scenic view but as we reached the hotel , it was quite deserted.

Although the view was exotic, my friend started feeling unsafe since we had nobody around us except for our two families. It was dead silent and even I was not accustomed to such a quite place with my little kid .We called our tour operator and requested him to change our accommodation for Kerala, to which he agreed. The view was actually amazing with a river flowing through the hills.

During the drive to our new hotel, we could admire tea estates.

Splashing water streams and mist covered mountains created a picturesque view.

It was such a nice scenery that we could not resist taking multiple snaps. You can see the mist in the picture.

We also saw sets of a movie in which set of a fall of bus was being created over the hills.