Tag: Greenery

Posted on in Travel

God’s own Country

Munaar

Munnar is a small town in the Idukki district along the Western Ghats. In Tamil, Munnar means three rivers. There are many other villages and towns around the area, people residing here are mostly Tamilians and Malayalees. With an elevation of 1,700 meters (5,577 feet) above sea level, Munnar is located at the Western Ghats and is one of the finest hill stations in Kerala. If you are interested in flora and fauna, Munnar will offer a plenty of exciting species to look for. Munnar is rich with exotic flora and fauna because of its climate. The Neelakkurinji flowers are most famous among them as they bloom once every 12 years. The whole valley turns violet ,and offer tourists to witness this nature’s one of most elegant gifts

This hill station is famous for trekking and the favorite trekking spot is the Aanamudi, which is the highest peak in the Western Ghats. The Munnar hill station was once a summer resort for British Officials at the era of pre-Independence. They played an important role in developing the tea-estates there.

Interesting Facts:

  • Munnar Echo Point is a scenic location which is lapped amidst the picturesque mountains of Munnar.  Listen to your own voices hitting the ravines and coming back to you, it is a magical experience and the beautiful clean lake formed just beside the hillock, makes the place even more splendid.Located close to the Top Station is another must-see spot, the Echo Point, known for its natural resonance. The echoes are not all that this point is popular for, the beautiful river flowing through the green grassy valley with tea and coffee plantations makes it a perfect spot for nature lovers. This is an amazing spot for photography.
  • Munnar is considered as the hill station which was once the summer resort for the British Government Elites.
  • Munnar has the highest peak of the Southern part of India called Anamudi Peak, which makes for an ideal spot for trekking. So, if you are a trekking enthusiastic, put your shoes on and trek away!
  • Munnar, today is the commercial centre for some of the world’s highest tea-growing estates.

Munnar has a wide range of adventurous sports to offer including rock-climbing, paragliding, trekking, cycling is just to name a few. Because of the natural beauty of the hills, these activities become more enjoyable.

Munnar is famous for the wild Neelakurinji orchids, which bloom once in twelve years when the entire valley turns violet.

You must not miss the Top Station. This is the highest point in Munnar, offers gleaming views of the hills, rivers and valleys surrounding the Western Ghats.

Munnar is a food haven for food lovers! All dishes here are cooked in coconut oil and garnished with crushed coconut.From puttu and kadala curry to appams with stew, Munnar offers a variety of food.

  • Best time to visit Munaar
  • Munnar enjoys pleasant weather throughout the year. It is a perfect place to visit between April and mid-June for a summer vacation and October and February for winter holiday. In the monsoon season, due to rains, Munnar’s landscape comes to life.

How to reach Munaar:

  • Via Air:

The closest air terminal is Cochin International Airport, which is around 125 km far from Munnar.Once you arrive at Cochin airport, you can hire a cab to Munnar.

  • Via Train:

The closest railway station from Munnar is situated in Kochi or Ernakulam. You can book a train from any part of the country to this railway station in Kerala. There is also Aluva Railway Station which is closer to Munnar. Once you reach either of this station, book a cab and journey by road to the beautiful hill station of Munnar.

  • By Road:

The final journey to Munnar can only be completed by road. State-run or private transports, handling from different towns in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, are the most ideal approach to get to Munnar by street.

Picturesque landscape, refreshing lush green tea plantations, wonderful climate with a Misty clouds , rich abundant flora and fauna. If you are looking for a peaceful and rejuvenating holiday in the hills, then book yourself a hotel in munnar right away! Munnar is the ultimate destination for the most relaxing time ever. There are plenty of interesting activities to do and absorb the beauty of the lush green scenery everywhere with a steaming hot cup of freshly brewed tea! We bet the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word Munnar is the tea estates, sprawling across the town .

We went to Munaar from by Car. The distance from Bangalore to Munaar is around 480 kms . There is a good connectivity of roads.

It will take around 10 hours to reach Munnar if one begins early in the morning ,We started our journey at 3 am to avoid the traffic . The journey will go via

Bangalore → Hosur → Krishnagiri → Salem → Avinashi → Udumalpet → Marayoor → Munnar

We packed a lot of food and water to avoid unnecessary breaks ,as the journey is long ,Roads are in a very good condition and once you enter the chinnar wildlife , the adventure begins. Breathtaking views narrow roads and the steep mountains is how I can describe the distance from Chinnar wildlife to Munaar .

It is definitely a place of tranquility and peace. You will find neverending tea plantations, pristine valleys, hill ranges, forests, waterfalls, rare flora, and fauna. I had an incredibly wonderful time in Munnar not just because of its breathtaking landscape but because people are so nice in the region.

.’Road trips are always fun. You can play your favourite music and enjoy the magnificent views outside your window. Take short stops to admire scenic spots and taste the local cuisine. The overall experience can be refreshing and lift your spirits.The route goes through the thrilling Chinar wildlife sanctuary with narrow and steep roads ,one can enjoy the nature at its fullest .Once you cross the wildlife Sanctuary you will be surprised to see the tranquillity of Munaar,truly a ‘God’s own Country

Thankyou

Posted on in Travel, Trips and Travel

Ooty

Ooty is a town and hill station in the Indian state of Tamilnadu The name “Ooty” is short for Ootacamund (officially Udhagamandalam). Ooty is located in the Nilgiris, or Blue Mountains, a mountain district. Ooty stands at about 7,500 feet above sea level.

The town of Ooty is tucked in the heart of the Nilgiris, making it a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Owing to its perfect geographical location on the hills, it has remained an all-time favorite retreat for travelers.The lush green landscape covered with tea estates, valleys, and forested lands on one hand and the classic vibes of the good old days make this hill station the perfect place to escape. The expansive greenery, the pleasant weather, and the endless adventure options are what Ooty is famous for.The quaint and quiet hill station is one of the most popular mountain destinations in South India. Ooty is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district, with Doddabetta as the highest point. It is located 86 km from Coimbatore and 128 km from Mysore.Ooty enjoys a pleasant weather all through the year and is also the most popular destination in South India.

Ooty pine forest

Few interesting facts:

  1. When the East India Company formed the Madras Presidency, Ooty served as its summer capital. The officers of the company would retire to this hill-station to evade the blazing summer of south India.
  2. Ooty has a small-scale industry based on oil extracted from eucalyptus trees. These huge timbers grow in abundance across the Nilgiri Mountains.
  3. The Dodabetta Peak, about 10 kilometres from Ooty, is the highest peak of south India at 2,623 metres from the sea level.
  4. The famous Botanical Garden of Ooty has a preserved fossil of a tree-trunk which is approximately 20 million years old.
  5. The Ooty Lake is actually an artificial lake. It is one of the very few artificial lakes of India situated at an altitude of 2,000 metres or above.
  6. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is UNESCO world heritage site and has one of the last few working steam engines in the world: 
  7. Nilgiri Mountain Railway mountain route has  16 tunnels,  250 bridges, 205 sharp curves and extraordinary natural scenery of the Nilgiri Hills visible all along the way.
  8. Due to this amazing experience with nature UNESCO announced this in World Heritage List as Mountain Railways in India in 2008.
  9. Home of the largest squirrel (The Malabar squirrel), the tallest wild cattle (The Indian Bison), Nilgiri thar and a huge host of other Flora and fauna Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
  10. No plastic Zone ,Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in the field of banning single-use plastic altogether.This preserves the beauty and the biosphere of the place.

Most popular tourist places:

Pykara falls
  1. Ooty Lake
  2. Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
  3. Pykara Lake.
  4. Pykara Falls.
  5. Doddabetta Peak.
  6. Avalanche Lake.
  7. Mudumalai National Park.
  8. Government Rose Garden.
  9. Tea plantation,tea factory , Chocolate factory.
Tea estate
Nilgiri tea

I recently visited the place and to my surprise found it to be the cleanest and greenest Hill station I have ever seen ,it lured me by its calm and quaint atmosphere.

We started early morning from Bangalore around 6 am and reached Ooty by 3 pm noon.The road was good and Quiet scenic.The route which we took was: Bangalore – Mandya – Mysore – Gundlupet – Bandipur – Mudhumalai – Masinagudi – Ooty.

Crossing The National park was a cherry on my Cake.We had a chance to discover the nature in depth.Though we could not spot a Tiger but were lucky enough to see the group of deer and fawns,Elephants and Peacocks.Once we crossed the National park then was the turn to climb 36 Hairpin Bends,the curvy road to Ooty.As we were crossing the Bends the ambience was getting more cleaner and brighter .Once you are on the Hills you can feel the magical spell it offers.

Things to Shop:

  1. Ooty’s famous Tea .
  2. Do not forget to buy the home made Ooty Chocolates with ample choices.
  3. Mouth melting Ooty cookies known as Varkey.
  4. Spices
  5. Eucalyptus Oil
Ooty Chocolates
View from Sinclair Retreat Ooty
Pine Forest

Thankyou

Posted on in Travel, Trips and Travel

Hill Stations of India

Let’s Gather some facts about the places located at the higher elevation.

A Hill station is a village or a town high up in the hills,mostly located at the higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley.Mostly Hill stations are at an altitude of approximately 1000 metre to 3000 metres.The climate is usually cold and the hill stations have a low temperature.Visiting a hill station in the summers is the best getaway to beat the scorching heat of the city you live in. In addition to that, the pleasant weather and temperature are suitable for meditation and health curing activities. India is a hot country with very high temperatures during April, May, and June. A short trip to a hill station every summer is exciting and quite alluring. Everybody wants to escape the blistering heat to refresh and rejuvenate. It is a great escape for people from the blazing heat of Summers. Majority of the highest hill stations are located in India, Asia. They are the most popular ones in the world with thousands of foreign tourists flocking to witness the beauty of Hills .

Let’s explore few of the India’s most beautiful and highest hill stations.

Leh
  • Situated at an altitude of 3,505 metres, amidst the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges, Leh, the headquarters of the Ladakh region in Kashmir is the highest hill station in India.
  • Doodhpathri lies in a bowl shaped valley in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas, at an altitude of 2,730 m above sea level. The natural meadows, which are covered with snow in winter, allow the growth of wild flowers such as daisies, forget-me-nots and butter cups during spring and summer.
  • Gulmarg is very famous for its skiing scenes in India. This town is located on the Pir Panjal Range, which is a part of the western Himalayas at an altitude of 2,650 metres.
  • Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh and a popular hill-station among Indian tourists. Situated at the height of 2276m, Shimla was the summer capital of British India. Shimla still retains its old-world charm with beautiful colonial architecture, pedestrian-friendly Mall Road and the ridge queued up with multiple shops, cafes and restaurants.
  • Udhagamandalam ( Ooty) -located an an altitude of 2240m , is situated in Tamil Nadu’s famous Nilgiri Hills. Originally known as Ootacamund, Ooty literally means, ‘a house in the mountains’One of the most visited hill stations in South India, It has been a popular tourist  destination. The Ooty Lake, Nilgiri Mountain Railways, Fern Hill Garden, Pine forests, and the Pykara falls make up the most loved sights in this town.
  • Nainital is a hill town located in Uttrakhand with an elevation of 2084 m . One of the most famous hill stations in India, Nainital is known widely for its stunning lakes and hill tops which provide a view of the valleys. The three summer months of May to July are the peak season at Nainital because while the rest of the country burns with the summer heat, this town gets almost perfectly favorable temperatures and weather conditions.
  • Located in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, and an altitude of 2050 m Manali offers adventure lovers with River rafting, skiing, trekking, paragliding, rock-climbing.
  • Small city in West Bengal, Darjeeling located at an elevation of 2042 m has emerged as one of the most visited hill stations in the country. The population of Tibetan monks in Darjeeling somehow makes it a very peaceful place to be in.The beautiful views of Mount Kanchenjunga are truly breath-taking. Also, known as ‘the Queen of the Hills’, Darjeeling provides visitors with a number of places to visit and events to experience. The Buddhist Monasteries, Tiger Hill, Observatory Hill, and famous Darjeeling Toy Train are among the must-see sights in this city.
  • Mussoorie spreads across at a height of 2,000 m above sea level.Home to numerous trekking trails, Mussoorie would be a perfect destination if you are planning for an ideal summer or winter trip in Uttarakhand.
  • Known for its evergreen tea plantation, the hills of Munnar stands at an elevation of 1532 m with their rolling beauty and charm can cast a magical spell on the visitors! While most of the hills are adorned with tea plantations, some are enchanted by mesmerising waterfalls, lush vegetation and lot more.

Few Shots from my Camera:

The Ridge Shimla
Shimla
Mussoorie
Pykara falls Ooty
A view from Sinclair Retreat Ooty

Travelling to a Hill station that offers serene and lush green surroundings ,a calm and peaceful environment ,misty landscapes usually takes away all our stress and rejuvenates us while landing us to a fairyworld .

Thankyou