Visit to Munar-Kerala

I took a couple of weeks off during the X'mas vacations to spend a few days in Kerala and the balance in Sri Lanka (separate post on that). I also invited my lady friend from NYC to spend the holidays with us as she was off from grad school for a month. We flew to Cochin (2.5 hrs) from Mumbai and stayed in the city for a couple of nights to explore Cochin before driving up to the Munnar hills. My college buddy Ranga in cochin is a tea veteran of over 15 years and knows Munnar really well. He booked us at the Yellapatty Tea Bungalow for a few days and joined us on this vacation. He loves the mountains and uses every opportunity to be up in the hills.

Munnar is a four hour drive from Cochin at an elevation of about 5000 ft above sea level.  You drive through various small towns and villages along the way and there are plenty of relatively clean rest stops.

You know you have reached the town of Munnar when you arrive at the Kannandevan Tea Depot, the local tea plantation's retail outlet. I found the town to be fairly crowded as it has become a tourist hub in the last few years. We had booked the Yellapatty Tea Bungalow, a 3 BR colonial property perched on top of the Kannandevan Plantation. Munnar is at an elevation of approximately 6,500 feet and a 45 minute drive from the town of Munnar. The bungalow was built a 100 years old with colonial style architecture and is furnished with matching furniture. It has working fireplaces in all its 3 bedrooms and its large family room. The bungalow provides absolute privacy to its occupants as it's at least 30 minutes away from the nearest bungalow from there. The domestic staff is really friendly and well trained and they can whip up pretty much anything you like in the kitchen including 'continental' meals to spicy Kerala cuisine. There was a bit of a language barrier but nothing that you can't overcome after a while as the staff is so friendly. It's best to carry your own booze as the bar is not stocked. What I enjoyed the most was waking up early in the mornings and sitting out in the private garden sipping some excellent Kannandevan tea. The mountain air is cool and crisp and the morning sun light is particularly sweet on the skin. The best part was that my cellphone didn't work so no one could reach us. My brother was a bit wired up on the first day as he couldn't see what the markets were doing and we were barely a week away from our fund's first year end closing. However, he calmed down after a while and really began to enjoy the vacation. We went for long walks around the tea plantation and I got to spend some quality time with my 8 year old nieces who I hadn't seen in a while. We drove out of the tea plantations to another part of hills where we went trout fishing and found the local streams to be well stocked. You need a fishing permit to fish in the local streams but if you go deep enough into the forest areas, you won't find anyone looking over your shoulders.

There are several such tea bungalows in the Kannandevan tea plantation which previously served as lodgings for the tea plantation execs. However, the downturn in the tea business and the subsequent partial exit of the Tata Tea from the plantation company has forced the plantation to offer these bungalows for tourism. Check out Tea Sanctuary for the various tea properties available on rent from the plantation company.

I highly recommend a week at one of the tea sanctuary bungalows if you are looking to calm your nerves and enjoy some blissful downtime in a beautiful natural setting.

Comments

[anil]

Interesting can u tell me how to book that Bungalow and price details

[Nikitha]

Hi, Am a Tata employee working in Bangalore. I would like to visit Munnar and choose Yellapatty Bungalow.

Can you please let me know facilities provided there and respective tariff, food expenses etc...

Thanks..

[Pramod]

I am a TCS employee and planning to Visit munnar. It seems TCS provides Holiday homes in yellapatty bungalow. Is it the same bungalow which TCS provides? and what are the facilities available? How far is it from nearest railway station?

[poornima]

I am a TCS employee and planning to Visit munnar. It seems TCS provides Holiday homes in yellapatty bungalow. Is it the same bungalow which TCS provides? and what are the facilities available? How far is it from nearest railway station?

[Vikram]

Yellapatty used to be a Tata Tea bungalow so I wouldn't be surprised if they have a relationship with TCS. You need to drive up to Munnar from Kochi-its a 6 hour drive. Can't advise you on the train services in the area.

Check out http://www.theteasanctuary.com/Bungalows.htm for more details.

Its an awesome place to relax and spend a few days. Definitely worth visiting.