Munnar - A Green Paradise ♻️💚

Day 1

We started our road trip in our own car (Baleno)

Did the basic checks
Fuel ⛽ ✅
Stepney 🛞✅
Snacks 😋✅
Fast Tag Recharge ✅
Hard Cash 💰✅
Spotify playlist 🎶✅
Etc.,

We always prefer night drive, as it is peaceful but it could be taxing for people who are not used! Would suggest one to take call wisely.

Blr to Munnar is approx - 580 kms

Me & Vaish started at 11pm, picked up Shikhar our friend from HSR.

Route details
Blr - Selam - Tirupur stretch, so that we can reach the chinnar wild life check post exactly at 5:30 - 6 am

As planned we reached exactly at 6am, after making an entry at forest checkpost of Annamalai Tiger reserve our tire starts slowly rolling inside dense jungle.
On a lucky day one could spot many wild lives, we spotted wild boars & peacocks
20 mins into the ride we now hit Chinnar Wild life check post (Kerala border as well) The roads on the Kerala side is much better than the Tamil Nadu side.

The curvy roads takes you through one of the most scenic roads in southern India via Marayoor Sandalwood forest & rubber plantation.. it's a treat

Day 2

Kannan Davan Hills - Munnar

By now we had started the ascent to Kannan Davan Hills - A hill full of tea plantations managed n run by Tatas.

Finally we did manage to reach our destination
Monsoon Grande Hotel, a hotel with a private tea estate. We had opted for a suite room.

Cost of accommodation: 4.5k incl breakfast

We were damn tired with an overnight drive n we were very sleepy! Somehow we managed to check-in early & all 3 dozed off for a good power nap!

Once we woke up, after finishing lunch at the hotel we started our journey to - Top Station, interestingly the base is in Kerala & The summit is in Tamilnadu.

Must Visit
5⭐ Recommendation

On the way to Top station from Munnar, one can cover almost all the tourist spots, but I would suggest not to since those would be highly crowded!!!
If you are the one who wants to be slightly away from the crowd n enjoy the majestic hills then you are at the right place - Top station.

Top station also provides tent ⛺ accommodation on hire, one can also plan for that, barring tent stay there are also few hotel options to choose from.

Driving can really get tricky here with numerous vehicles on the road & with narrow roads with twists n turns, one can avoid if not sure.

Food options
Try Kerala thali or Malabar Thai
Not a great place to have fish 🐠
Chicken is a must 🍗🐓
Since you are in Kerala - Wine stores are limited n get closed by 8pm or 9pm.

after this magical exp, we started driving back to the hotel, that's when we realised we should pick up some beer!!!
Munnar town has only 3 wine stores n it was 14degree C & it was drizzling. Now one can imagine the demand, it took us nearly 45 mins to buy n get back on the road! Special advice - carry it if possible/ buy it during the day.

Day 3

Eravikulam National Park - Home to Tahr

This was on our to-do list, we wanted to finish it by noon. Hence we started our journey at 8am after finishing a lovely breakfast ( Puttu - Kadala curry - appam - egg roast etc etc)

I would recommend you to plan eravikulam in the first half as it really gets crowded. Waiting for the shuttle bus could be nagging sometimes.
The bus journey is an absolute treat & the cost is rs 200 per person, one can also book a golfer caddy which can carry 7pax for 7k.

One can spend as much time as they want, the last shuttle back to base is at 4pm. The cafe shops offer good coffee n crispy hot bujjis!!!

Get lost among the clouds, with views changing each min.. drizzles / sunshine / mist all come n go as if they are playing hide n seek.

Again a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ recommendation !

After reaching back from the national park, sat back on our lawn n cherished the beauty of Munnar with chilled beer - hot bbq & lovely songs played by Shikhar

We also packed our bags night itself for the long journey back to b'luru