Mystique Munnar

It was late September 2005 when we headed for the southern beauty – Munnar! The approach to this green hill station has a long winding roads and hardly any vehicle was visible on the way. It was around midday when we saw the first beauty of it – immeasurable tea garden and a black road in it looks like a big Anaconda sleeping on the green field. Our jaw dropped with the first view and there were more to come.

After reaching the Munnar town, we didn’t have to struggle much to get a comfortable accommodation as it was off-season. Hotel ‘Westwood Riverside Garden Resort’ became our address for next 3 days. Munnar was one of the favorite places to British people on summer. It was a hill station where many used to come for change. And now it’s the biggest tea cultivating place in southern India.

When we came out for stroll, the lash green tea gardens were everywhere. There’s huge lake which is known as Munnar Lake few kilometers away from the town. When we reached there, the overcast sky had created such an out-of-the-world view that all of us thought it could be the end of this earth! The local farmers were bringing the fresh vegetables from field & washing them on the water. I never saw that freshness in vegetables in life!

Another element which made the Munnar trip memorable is ‘Nilgiri Thar’. This is a kind of goat that can climb mountains straight. There are only two kinds of Thars available in India, the Himalayan Thar & Nilgiri Thar. I had to trek little to get a closer view of this almost-extinct species, and was lucky enough to find some cute baby Thars roaming around. But they are shy, jumped towards their mother after seeing the camera.

Finally before leaving this mystique place, we visited the Munnar church. It’s one of the oldest churches in India completely made by stones. When I went inside, I found some local ladies were praying. But the loneliness of this church touched me and I felt like spending some time with myself there. Unfortunately, the call of duty came in the form of the horn of our car, and I had to bid adieu to Munnar.