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MUNNAR,130km east of Kochi and four-and-a-half hours by bus north of Periyar, is the centre of Kerala's principal tea growing region. Although billed in tourist bumf as a "hill station", it is less a Raj-style resort than a scruffy, workaday settlement of corrugated iron-roofed cottages and factories, surrounded by vast swathes of rolling green tea plantations. All the same, it's easy to see why the pioneering Scottish planters that first developed this hidden valley in the 1900s felt so at home here. At an altitude of around 1600m, the town enjoys a refreshing climate, with crisp winter mornings and relentlessly heavy rain during the monsoons. Hemmed in by soaring mountains - including peninsular India's highest peak, Anamudi (2695m) - it also boasts a spectacular setting; when the river mist clears, the surrounding summits form a wild backdrop to the carefully manicured plantations carpeting the valley floor and sides. Munnar's greenery and cool air draw mainly well-heeled honeymooners from Mumbai and Bangalore. However, more and more foreigners are stopping here for a few days, enticed by the spellbinding bus ride from Periyar, which runs across the high ridges and lush tropical forests of the Cardamom hills, or by the equally spectacular climb across the Ghats from Madurai. |
The town itself may be dull, but the hiking and cycling are excellent, with all gradients on offer, from gentle rambles through the tea fields to mountain climbing.
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