Munnar: Paradise on Earth

Raveena Singhmoneycontrol.com

Have you ever trekked an extraordinarily lush green hill; walked along a flawlessly curved path in a valley; swam across a meandering river shadowed with the clear blue skies; and adventured in the scent that connects your being with your senses?

Have you ever been blessed to have cherished all of these together in just one experience?

If not yet, Munnar is the place that awaits your arrival. If Kerala is God's own country, Munnar rightfully deserves to be called God's very abode here. However to start with, here's everything you need to know about the place. This is a sort of expedition where you not just move, you live.

"The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it." - Rudyard Kipling

Envision a hill station that takes you through an exquisite sensory expedition and every time you take a step further, it holds you back just to inhale the invisible magic of that aroma, for one last time. That pleasant hill dwelling can only be Munnar.

"Moonu" signifies "three" and "Aru" signifies 'waterway' and this is how, literally, 'Munnar' came into being. The delightful tea town in Idukki region of Kerala strategically blooms out of the Y-junction of meeting point of rivers- Muthirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala and spreads along these three. Set at a stature of around 1,500 m to 2,695 m above ocean level, Munnar has had a history of being savored in its true essence since the time of colonial rule.

The ravishing slopes, also a home to the waterfalls- tea estates and exceptional foliage and fauna, are in itself a perfect world in the South Western Ghats of India. With an expanse of around 557 sq km, Munnar in Devikulam Taluk comes as the biggest panchayat in Kerala. Neelakurinji / Strobilanthus has exceptional status in the tourism guide of this intriguing destination. A destination known for tea bequests is like a bouquet of flowers, flowers which blossom once in twelve years and in turn draws in bunches of travelers from throughout the world.

Eravikulam National Park and the Nilgiri Tahr are iconic tourist spots in Munnar. In 2006, the place saw the surge of global and local vacationer to witness the uncommon buds blossom. Year 2018 is going to find the same surge of travelers, to see the unblemished blossoming of the flora, after a long 12 years of wait. Here, one can also observe apex of Anamudi, the highest peak in the whole south of India. All it takes to make one literally feel on 'Top of the World', is a trek to this spot.

The untarnished Devikulam Lake; Kolukkumalai (the most elevated tea estate in the nation); the waterfalls like Lakkam, Attukal, Nyayamakad, Chinnakkal, Kuthumkal, Cheeyapara, Valara and Thoovanam; the 'steers town' or Mattupetty and so many other exclusives make Munnar the house nature.

A paradise for shopaholics is one with a complex mix of buyables and a refreshing place to rest when tired after the shopping flee. Fortunately, Munnar in itself is that exotic inn where even foggy nights would assure one of brilliant stars to gape at/on in the sky and newness to listen to. Be it tea or be it flavors ranging from ginger to cardamom; from pepper to cinnamon; from espresso to clove and from nutmeg to everything, Munnar offers a vast line up in one's to-buy list.  Gather an extensive assortment of chocolates including white to dark and liquor to the nutty ones and appreciate enjoying them later, in the restful resorts and inns Munnar is honored with.

Munnar in its beauty is so gratifying that depicting its richness in a solitary canvas would be unfair. With unending field of tea ranches, astonishingly varied plantations in its wild haven and woodland, this is a sanctuary of peace and serenity. And the very fact makes it the ideal vacationer destination in God's own country.

Come seek those blessings from God himself in 'God's own country', for "You are not on a journey to God, you are on a journey with God -- Steve Maraoboli"