Munnar
Hill Station And Tea District Of The Western Ghats; Eravikulam National Park Is Part Of The UNESCO Western Ghats Site · Munnar, Kerala
A hill station in the Western Ghats of Kerala at around 1,600 metres, surrounded by some of the most spectacular tea country in the world: rolling hills clipped into green terraces of tea bushes as far as you can see, cut by mist and streams. The British developed it as a summer resort and tea district in the nineteenth century, and the estates still dominate the landscape. Eravikulam National Park, just outside the town, protects the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats, and the grasslands below Anamudi, the highest peak in south India. Once every twelve years the hills turn blue with the flowering of the neelakurinji shrub; the next bloom is expected around 2030. Visitors come for the tea museum and factory tours, the jeep ride to Kolukkumalai, among the highest tea estates anywhere, viewpoints like Top Station, and the cool air after the plains. The town itself is small and congested. The monsoon is very heavy, and landslides have caused serious loss of life in recent years.
Munnar Town, Idukki District, Munnar, Kerala, 685612, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before travelling. The usual pattern: Eravikulam opens in daytime hours, from around morning to late afternoon, with entry by park bus and last buses well before closing; it CLOSES FOR THE NILGIRI TAHR CALVING SEASON, roughly February to March. The Tea Museum keeps daytime hours and has closed on Mondays. Viewpoints are open in daylight; Kolukkumalai jeeps leave before dawn. Treks run only on booked schedules. Monsoon landslides can close roads for days. Main traps: arriving at Eravikulam during the calving closure, a weekend jam on the Top Station road, and cloud rolling in by early afternoon.