Munnar, Marayoor, Kanthalloor Trip- Journey through the lap of Nature!

Munnar is a place of calm and peace. 

You will find never-ending tea plantations, hills, pristine valleys, forests, wild waterfalls, rare flora and fauna. 

I had an incredibly wonderful time in Munnar and it is not just because of its breathtaking landscape but because of the journey happened with my best childhood friend Mr.Shibu who works at Indian Railway.

Moreover, I love the picturesque climate in Munnar and in this blog, I’m going to share a lot of details about my trip and give you as many tips as possible. My pictures are from April, this year (2021).

We stayed at Marthoma Camp Centre, just 1km from Munnar towards Mattupetty Road. 

How many days you spend in Munnar depends upon your travel plan. If you have your own car, you can cover many places in just 2 days. I personally don’t want to rush the writings but want to present an ideal plan on how you can plan your trip ahead to Munnar.

We started our journey from Trivandrum and the entire routes makes us a cliched journey and when we reached Munnar, it felt like a winding mountain with a massive ambit of connected tea gardens.

Of course, when we think of Munnar, the first thing that comes to our mind is the vast expanse of tea estates. And visiting them is exactly what you should be doing while you are there.

The hills at Munnar will be adorned with their green colours so selecting one won’t be tough either. If you are wondering how many tea estates are there in Munnar, then let me tell you that the number will be somewhere above 60 or 70. Some of the tea estates also allows walking tours for tourists. 

A large number of tourists visit Munnar but few venture beyond tea estates and Waterfalls. In my opinion, the road going from Munnar to Udumalpet has the most dramatic scenery. 

This road first crosses the Rajamalai entry point of the Eravikulam National Park with Anaimudi, the highest mountain of peninsular India Then come Nyamakad and Gundamalay, Thalayar and Vaghuvarai with steep hillside and downside  carpets of tea plantations, verdant forests, mountains and deep valleys.

It was a nice experience to walk into the narrow pathways between the tea bushes, at most places it is so steep. 

After Marayoor, we headed towards Kanthaloor, a village which is lying in the eastern side of the Western Ghats and it is famous for its wide variety of crops which is not seen on the other parts of kerala, which includes varieties of tropical crops. Kanthaloor provides the cool climate for the natural farming of fruits like Apple, Orange, Strawberry, Blackberry, Plums, Gooseberry, Egg fruits, peach, Sugarcane, passion fruits. etc. Hill sides are carved out into the series of wide steps enough to cultivate the crops.

We happen to visit the Jaggery production units as well.

It is a virtually a rain shadow village. Kanthallor is actually a paradise for photographers and nature lovers, Kanthalloor and its surrounding environs are especially spectacular just after the rains. One can enjoy the beauty of dense fog in early morning and evening, sublime mist and clouds during this season

With its sprawling tea estates, rolling hills, waterfalls, Kanthalloor has the makings of an idyllic holiday destination. Kanthaloor is situated in the border of Kerala and Tamilnadu placed between Udamalpet and Munnar. 

It was one of the best trips that I had ever in my life. Munnar - Marayoor - Kanthalloor