Bangalore Munnar by KSRTC. Review on Munnar

After finding the reviews by others so helpful, I decided to write one on my very recent trip to Munnar so that it will be more informative to other tarvellers.

I planned the trip very late(just a week before) and checked with the well-known Kerala operators KPN and Kallada in Madiwala. But both are full. That's when I came to know that KSRTC(Karnataka) is running a direct service to Munnar from Bangalore. I promptly aligned my trip plan with the ticket availability(had to advance by one day) and booked the return tickets online(very good) thinking that govt service is always cost effective, reliable, comfortable, and safe.

On the day of travel it was raining cats & dogs and as usual Bannerghatta Rd. is chock-a-block. By the time we reached the KMF bus stop opp. Christ college we are already 30min late. In the meantime I called up the KMF KSRTC number(provided online) many times and the person was patiently telling that all the buses are running late. He does not know the status of this bus. Adding to my worries I couldn't find any office near the bus stop after I reached there. Then we(with 16 month old kid) waited there for another 1hr in the downpour without knowing whether the bus has already left or not. Finally the bus arrived at 10.30pm(right time at that bus stop is 9.10pm). The GYAN is reach the bus stop before time otherwise, there is no one to help you.

An all new story unfolded after a few hours of journey. The bus is full of bedbugs! Those are into everywhere. You, your clothes, bags, everywhere. So we didn't have sleep and then we spent half-day in Munnar to clear all our belongings of those bugs. Same story repeated in our return journey. The GYAN - you know.

Coming to the safety part - as the bus was running 1.5hr late, both the drivers drove it as unsafe & as rashly as possible to cover the late. Don't be surprised - that's not to be ontime. They have to start back from Munnar at 4.30pm and they should get some sleep before that. Right time itself is 10.30am. We had all the sufferings of rash driving(for 3.5 hr in Munnar ghat road) in the form of vomitings. Finally arrived in Munnar at 11.30am in horrible state. We couldn't enjoy the beautiful scenary and innumerable waterfalls big & small on the way. The GYAN - you know.

At the end it turned out that KSRTC to Munnar is only cost-effective and nothing else. Then I got to know why I was able to get tickets just 1 week ahead. The best way as I feel now is to go to Ernakulam by train and then take a cab to Munnar. Cab from Coimbatore will be costly as you have to cross the state.

Coming to the hotels in Munnar, we stayed in Whispering Meadows. This hotel is in a very good location but far from the town. 9km away. You should have own vehicle or else you should be prepared to pay Rs.300+ extra for all sight-seeing trips. Same is the case for to-and-fro from bus stop. Also getting the cab at hotel on call was slightly difficult. inspirekerala.com helped me a lot in this matter. Otherwise, this is a nice place and we literally stayed in the cloud for 2 days! And, it is only a myth that monsoons are not the right time to visit Munnar. Out September-end visit is excellent.

On the way, 2km before this hotel is the Misty Mountains. This is also in an excellent location overlooking a valley. But the hotel itself doesn't give you the feel of living in nature. It is a nice hotel like all other hotels. But Whispering Meadows looks like a resort in the midst of a forest.

There is a home-stay, Aranyaka, 1.5km from Misty Mountains, on the way to Attukad water falls. This is also in an excellent location. Try this out if you have own vechicle.

Royal Retreat is also not too far and not too near Munnar. May be one of the options to consider. SN Tourist Home seems to be a favourite one in economy budget. Looked decent too. Unlike Ooty, Munnar is not a big/nice-to-walk-around town. So you will enjoy more if you stay slightly away from the town. Also, the sightseeing places are widely spread in all directions.

Sightseeing - The never miss places out of the ones we visited are Top station(reach this palce well before 4pm) and Attukad/Attukal water falls. You can easily trek to this falls from the NH-49. It is 2.5km away and clear road is there. Very good map is at https://idukki.net

Food - We had one lunch at Srinivas in the town centre and it's good.