May 04, 2008 01:19 PM
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If you are planning to visit Ooty, drop the idea and go to Munnar. You will also pass through the Nilgiri forest reserve on your way to Munnar. Wide expanse of tea estates and a winding lake amidst defines this place full of placid greenery. The weather is pleasant all round the year so you can go anytime you like.
We went in April 2008 in a cab from Ooty, which took us around 14 hours. We reached Munnar at 10 pm and checked into Hotel East End. The hotel was awesome with well-furnished cottage-style rooms, restaurant, activity room with TT table and carom board, and some swings for the kids. We paid Rs.2, 500 per night, which included buffet breakfast.
The next day we went on a city tour and covered the following places:
Mattupetty dam: The place is surrounded with lush green forests and there are a couple of boating options that you have in the vast lake. We took a 30 minutes speedboat ride that cost us around Rs.400.
Echo point: This place is next to the lake where you can shout or whistle, and listen to your sound resonating in the forest. The forest animals must have gone crazy with the antics of humans in multi-colored clothes!
Another lake: I have forgotten the name, but there was another lake with shikara boating option, we skipped boating at that place.
Water fall: The water fall was huge as we saw from a distance, but there was no way to reach the base of that water fall. It looked breathtaking from afar, but there was no tourist view point created to soak in the beauty of that waterfall, so we were somewhat disappointed.
Kundale tea estates: Miles and miles of light green tea plantations give so much relief to your tired eyes and just make you relax. We just sat near the edge of the tea estates, sipped tea, and enjoyed the view.
Top Station: This place was closed for tourist when we went.
Sita devi lake: We tried to locate this place and spent around 2 hours doing so, but didn’t find it anywhere. People said that you have to walk for a couple of kilometers to get there, so we gave it a miss due to lack of time.
Tata tea factory: We found one Tata tea factory but workers there said that visitors could not go inside. So, we didn’t have any other option but to leave.
We reached back to the hotel, relaxed some more in the evening, played TT, had dinner, and went to our room for a sound sleep. Next day we did some more sightseeing en route to our next destination – Allepey.
Overall, a great place to relax but you must go there for at least three days for that. Great for couples as well as families!
