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Kerala Tourism Destinations -
Munnar |
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About Munnar
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Munnar - breathtakingly
beautiful - a haven of peace and tranquility - the idyllic tourist
destination in God's own country.Set at an altitude of 6000 ft in Idukki
district, Munnar was the favored summer resort of the erstwhile British
rulers in the colonial days. Unending expanse of tea plantations -
pristine valleys and mountains- exotic species of flora and fauna in its
wild sanctuaries and forests - aroma of spice scented cool air - yes!
Munnar has all these and more. It's the place you would love to visit -
it's the place you would wish never to leave- so welcome - log on to
munnar.com for all information on Munnar anytime, every time.Munnar hills
is siatuated at an altitude of 5000 to 8000 Ft above sea level. and is
situated at the confluence of three mountain streams - Mudrapuzha,
Nallathani & Kundala. This beautiful hill station was once the summer
resort of the erstwhile British Government in South India. Sprawling Tea
plantations, picture book towns, winding lanes, and holiday facilities
make this a popular resort town.Munnar also has the highest peak in South
India - Anamudi , which towers over 2695 m. Anamudi is an ideal spot for
trekking. The high ranges of Munnar were earlier known as Kannan Devan
Hills,named after a certain Kannan Devan,who had been land lord in the
Anchanad Valley on the eastern side of the district. The main cultivation
crops in Munnar are Tea and Coffee.Among the exotic flora found in the
forests and grasslands in Munar is the Neelakurinji. This flower which
bathes the hills in the blue every twelve years, will bloom next in 2006
AD.
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General Information
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Altitude : 1600
Mts to 1800 Mts above sea level
Tourist Season : August to May
Clothing : Warm Clothes and Rain Gear
Temperature : Min. 0 c - Max. 25 c
Time Zone Indian Standard Time (IST) - UTC +5:30
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Climate
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The region in and around
Munnar varies in height from 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) to 2,600 meters
(8,530 ft) above mean sea level. Munnar enjoys a salubrious climate. The
temperature ranges between −10 °C (14 °F) and 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and 8
°C (46.4 °F) and 16 °C (60.8 °F) in summer. The tourist season in Munnar
is from August to May. However, even the monsoons are lovely with many
streams and rivulets in the area and post drizzle the dew drenched tea
gardens looking majestic and heavenly enshrouded in light mist .
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Tourism
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Until the early 1990s,
Munnar, despite its enchanting natural beauty and salubrious climate,
continued to remain a sleepy plantation town. Its tourism potential was
realised only by the Sterling Group and Mahindra Holidays. However, the
promotion of Kerala globally as God's Own Country and the rapidly
increasing spending capacity of middle class Indians has resulted in a
virtual explosion of tourism activities in Munnar. Resorts, big and
small,have started springing up all around the town and overnight the once
sleepy town has became a bustling tourist destination. Many of the
developments done by unscrupulous investors have had a significant
detrimental impact on the environment in Munnar and the once romantic
beauty of the "sleepy town of Munnar" has significantly eroded over the
years. Moreover the huge throng of domestic and foreign tourists in their
buses and cars have added to pollution in Munnar and stretched the town's
infrastructure and service delivery systems to their limits.
Mattupetty Dam
reservoir, near Munnar.Earlier most of the land around Munnar was leased
out to planters and the only activity permitted on such leased land was
plantation of cardamom. Ownership continued to remain with the Government
and even cutting of trees on such leased land was prohibited. However, the
recent development of resorts has resulted in large scale deforestation
and violation of government regulations governing land use, forests and
plantation cultivation. It ultimately came to a pass in 2007, and the
Government sprung into action to demolish illegal resort constructions to
restore the beauty of the town.
Irrespective of all this, tourism has flourished over the years in Munnar
and important tourist activities include boating (in the reservoirs of the
many dams), trekking, parasailing, hot air ballooning and camping and wild
life safaris in the jungles and sanctuary.The presence of all these
activities and more has ultimately led to Munnar becoming a choice
destination for foreign as well as domestic tourists. One can also see
people from nearby districts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu thronging the town
during weekends.Munnar was the starting point of Kundala Valley Railway
functional between 1890 to 1924.
Mattupetty:Mattupetty
is situated at a height of 1700 m above sea level. Mattupetty Lake and Dam
is a beautiful picnic spot with the panoramic view of the tea plantations
and the lake. Boating facilities are available in the reservoir.
Mattupetty is also well known for its highly specialized dairy farm - the
Indo-Swisss Live Stock project. The Shola forests in and around Mattupetty
are ideal for trekking and are habitat to a variety of birds. Rivulets and
cascades crisscross the terrain here, which again adds more attraction to
the place.
Rajamala:Rajamala is the natural habitat of Nilgiri Tahr. Half the
world population of this rare mountain goat is found here, which is fast
becoming extinct.
Echo Point:Echo
Point has a natural echo phenomenon and offers panoramic views.
Eravikulam National Park:A sanctuary for the endangered mountain
goat of South India, the Nilgiri Tahr ( Hemitragus hylocrious), the
Eravikulam National Park stands out for the stark beauty of its rolling
grasslands and sholas, spread over 97 sq km in the Rajamalai hills.
Anamudi: the highest peak (2695 m) south of the Himalayas, towers
over the sanctuary in majestic pride. The slopes of the hills abound in
all kinds of rare flora and fauna. The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind
in the world, is a unique inhabitant of the park. Other rare species of
fauna found here are the Nilgiri Langur, the lion-tailed macaque,
leopards, tigers, etc.An ideal place for trekking, facilities are provided
here and tourists are allowed to go on foot up to Anamudi.
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History
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Old Aluva –
Munnar Road. The Reconstruction of the road was started in 1891s and
was completed in the following decade. In fact the road has a much older
tale to tell. The road that the local people showed the British was the
remnants of a glorious past, Bits and pieces of an ancient Royal Path that
connected the historic port city of Musiris (Now Kodungallur) with the
city of old Madurai. The road covered the Western Ghat-–home to invaluable
natural resources. The history of trade through this route traces back to
the times before the Old Testament. There is enough evidence suggesting
the importance of the road and the city of Musiris in the history of
ancient globalisation.The presence megaliths and so many other historical
monuments point towards a civilisation over 3000 years old.
The ancient Pathway(road) was constructed in the Chera Era (300 BCE
to 250 CE). The road, which transported valuables including sandalwood and
spices from the misty heights to Musiris, was once the backbone of an
economy. As trade in these items increased, Feneshiya/Arab/Roman/Chinese
traders were attracted to India, and more specifically Kerala.The history
of this trade route has been traced back to times before The Old
Testament.The road is a rather unique one. First, it runs almost parallel
to the rivers Periyar and Pooyamkutty. Second, it goes through an
interesting ecological zone, one of the ecological hotspots of the world.
Third, nobody has as yet traced the ancient road in entirety. The reason
being, the topography of the land has changed drastically over centuries.
The Great Flood in 1534 almost wiped out the city of Musiris, destroyed
the port and, as if in a quid pro quo, formed the natural contours
enabling Cochin Harbour. The course of the rivers was also changed
considerably, making it difficult to apprehend how the road, described as
following the ancient river course, actually wound.However there is enough
evidence to show that the road existed and a civilisation prospered by the
side of it. The remnants of old Forts, Nannangadis, and Muniyaras
(dolmens) around the region show the same.
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Munnar At Glance
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One of the most
popular hill stations in India, Munnar is situated at the confluence
of three mountain streams - Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala. Located
at 1600 Mts above sea level, this was once the summer resort of the
erstwhile British Government in South India.Sprawling tea plantations,
picture book towns, winding lanes, trekking and holiday facilities make
Munnar a unique experience. Munnar is essentially a tea town. The tea
plantations have now been taken over by the Tata Tea Company. The visitor
is greeted with miles and miles of unending tea plantations on entry into
Munnar. Among the exotic flora found in the forests and grasslands here is
the Neelakurinji a flower which bathes the hills in blue colour once in
twelve years. The Neelakurinji, will bloom next in 2006 AD. Munnar also
has the highest peak in South India - Anamudi - which towers over 2695 Mts
and is an ideal spot for campers who like to do some trekking.
The Duke of Wellington is reputed to have been the first European visitor
to Munnar, in 1790, but this is unlikely. In the early 19th century, the
headman of the villages of Anchanad, just to the North of the high ranges
was named Kanan Thevar. It is said that travelers from Madurai to the West
coast passed through these villages and named these hills after him.An
entry in the diary of Madras army Lieutenant made in 1817 describes a
bullock-road heading across the Kanan Devan hills into Coimbatore.In
1877-79, the Poonjar Chief, a subordinate prince to the Maharaja of
Travancore, leased a large tract of land comprising 588 sq. km. to a
lawyer in the employee of the Travancore Government named J. D. Munro.
This tract, henceforth called the Kanan Devan Concession Land, was
completely undeveloped, largely unexplored, and covered with thick jungle
full of wild elephants and tigers.
In Conjunction with Munro and H. G. Turner of the Madras Civil Service was
founded the North Travancore Land Planting and Agricultural Society, whose
members developed their own estates in various parts of the High Ranges.
This first cultivation was undertaken by A. W. Turner near Devikulam lake
in 1877. The pioneers tried many crops such as coffee, cinchona, sisal and
cardamom before discovering tea, the product best suited to the area.The
first tea plant was planted by A. H. Sharp at Parvathi, now in Sevenmullay
estate, but then a 20 hectares (50 acres) clearing in an immense jungle.
In 1893-95, the concession area was purchased by Muir and Co. which later
became James Finlay & Co. Ltd.The original route to the Anamellen's was
cut out of the jungle in 1858 by Congreve and Macpherson, and it led to
what are now Veloine & Valparai Estates. The first plantation was 20
hectares (50 acres) of coffee put out in 1897 by "Carver" Mersh. E. J.
Martin introduced tea a few years later and cardamom, cinchona and rubber
were also added. The latter has now been mostly abandoned.
The Kanan Devan Hills Produce Company was formed in 1897, and
together with other subsidiaries of the Glasgow, UK - based Finlays Group,
namely, the Anglo-American Direct Tea Trading Company and the Amalgamated
Tea Estates Company it opened or came to purchase 33 estates in the high
range and 9 in the the Anamallais.In 1964 a collaborative venture between
Finlays and Tatas was established to develop value-added tea, and in 1976
Tata-Finlays Ltd purchased the black tea producing/marketing operation and
other interests. The name of the company was changed to Tata Tea Ltd. in
1983 when Finlays sold their remaining share holdings including the
considerable landholdings and manufacturing facilities in Northeastern
India. Tata Tea Ltd. justifiably claims to be the largest integrated tea
company in the world, with activities spanning the entire spectrum of the
industry.
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