By the time we reached Munnar, it was 10:00 AM, next started the hunt for a good place to stay. Unfortunately, the cottage we had been recommended to had already been booked and the other homestays were too far from the town. Anyway, we dumped our luggage in the hotel and set out for “sightseeing” with our driver in a classy Mahindra Jeep. Now, this was a vehicle made for mountains, open at all sides and ran awesome!

We went to see several “points” which included a tea garden and two dams. The tea garden site was very picturesque which vibrant green tea plantations swept across the mountain slopes like a green carpet. There were also shops selling various kinds of aromatic teas. We also happened to visit a beautiful garden known as the Blossom Park, beautiful flowers and other ornamental plants dotting the landscape. Next, in line, we went to the Mattupetti Dam, which makes a huge lake in its catchment area. It was a good picnic spot and people were enjoying boating in the lake. Some more viewpoints later, we started for a place called The Top Station, which happens to be the highest point in Munnar. It was evening and we were pretty cold by then, but due to the long flight of stairs, we started getting sweaty in no point. Only when I came down all the way that I realized that I had been to this place before, that this was the summit of a particularly difficult trek which we undertook nearly one year back, then not knowing that we had reached Munnar all the way from Tamil Nadu!

Nights in Munnar are particularly cold; it’s always a good idea to keep some warm woollens handy.