How do you describe a place you have stayed in for 5 years to the rest of the world that might be visiting for a few days? While riding through the Ghat roads of Munnar, I once saw a sign board along the side of the road, at the bottom of which was written “As close as it gets to heaven”. That’s the shortest and the closest description one can use to describe Munnar. No matter how long you stay there, it never ceases to amaze you with its beauty.
After staying in Munnar for 5 long years from 2010 to 2015, I was lucky enough to get a chance for an impromptu trip to Munnar in October 2019, the last trip to a mountain before lockdown. While on a trip to Cochin I met a roommate of mine from college who happened to be in Cochin. While catching up with each other, we discussed how one of our roommates had started a campsite near Munnar which from the photos looked even closer to heaven. We both had a day to spare and just like in the old days we thought of spending that day wisely with an impromptu trip to our friend’s campsite in Munnar. We left from Cochin on a gearless two wheeler with no luggage or extra pair of clothes, early morning next day.
Munnar is around 120 Kms from Cochin. First 40 kms is just like any other roads in Kerala, narrow, greenery on both the sides with glimpses of concrete jungle at regular intervals. This goes on till we reach Neriyamangalam, a small town just before the ghat roads to Munnar begin. Just after the town comes a bridge, and the moment you cover the bridge the scenery changes for the next patch of 40 kms. You find jungles on both the sides, without any signs of human civilization throughout the stretch. You will find two waterfalls at the near end of this stretch. Valara and Cheeyapara waterfalls. These waterfalls are usually at their best just after the monsoon and luckily, thanks to the changing climate, the monsoon was late and we were able to see them at their best. Cheeyapara waterfall descends from a height, cascade down over seven steps, strikes with force onto slabs of rocks just a few meters away from the road. Valara on the other hand is at the other end of the gorge from the road. The riverbed ends abruptly and the water falls steeply into a gorge covered with bamboos and trees. These waterfalls are so magnificent in the monsoon that the very sound of it will strike fear within anyone who hasn't witnessed it before.
At the end of this stretch we reach a beautiful little town named Adimali covered by hillocks. The climate is chillier compared to Cochin but still a lot more similar to Cochin than Munnar even though Munnar is just 30 Km from Adimali. For liquor enthusiasts, just a few kilometers before Adimali in a little town named Pathamile, there is a government authorized Toddy shop famous for its coconut toddy, Kerala local delicacies and a practice of collecting photos of their customers and sticking it on a wall behind the makeshift reception desk. Being a responsible citizen we decided to skip the toddy and enjoy the meal. We found our old moss covered photos that had been stuck on that wall since 2013. We updated our wall photos and continued with our journey.
Adimali to Munnar is a route we have frequently covered when in college. At first the roads continue the same way with enough signs of civilization. The landscape change drastically once you cross Chithirapuram Church. You are swiftly surrounded by beautiful mountains covered with green carpets of tea plantations till the horizon. A landscape straight out of your dreams. With the landscape changes the climate. Along with the chilly winds of the mountains came the heavy drops of rain drenching us to the very core and the chills making us shiver to the core.
The campsite is around 30 Kilometers from Munnar on the way to top station. A few kilometers before Top station we take a detour into the tea gardens by a narrow concrete road which as we go deeper and deeper feels like a passage to an alternate universe with just tea plants around. After a few minutes of cruising through the curvy, narrow roads covered in green, you reach a small colony deep inside the tea gardens housing the people who keep the plantation the way they are with their hard work. A place cut off from the rest of the world with people staring at you like you are from a different world. After parking our vehicle in the colony, we climb through a narrow path along the tea gardens until you reach the top and walk alongside a natural boundary made by the nature from thickets.
By the time we reached the top it was already dark. We needed a torch to find our way through the rain. As we were going further, we could see a small opening in the boundary leading to a series of staircase made by chipping steps in the ground. As we went further we could finally see some light. As it was dark the first thing I saw at the campsite were small grey tents illuminated by a camping torch hanging on a tree on top of it. The campsite was still under renovation and was not open for business. They had pitched three four tents to accommodate us with them.
The place was pitch black and covered in mist. There was nothing we could see by the time we reached our destination. But in between you could get glimpses of silhouettes of mountains up front for a brief while. It was still raining, it was very cold and we were dripping water from our clothes. We decided to light a campfire to feel some warmth and to get ourselves dry. The campfire and the tent were the savior for the night and kept us warm.
The next day as we woke up after sunrise, the mesmerizing view was uncovered to us slowly as we opened the tent from the inside like the raising of the curtain to a deserving surprise for the troubles we had to go through to see the view. Heavenly fluffy clouds devouring ranges of tall, magnificent, green mountains covered in different shades of the early morning sun rays. I stood out there mesmerized, facing a valley with the small town of Kambam at the far end near the horizon hiding under the clouds. As close as it gets to heaven. Cut-off from the world with no sound other than the chirping of the birds.
After an hour that was lost to us being lost in a state of fascination, We went for a short trek to the nearby mountain making our makeshift way through the thickets to reach a cleared area which felt exactly at the center of the valley. In a matter of 30 minutes the entire area was covered in a thick mist blinding us from the view. It felt like the sun set a few hours early in the morning itself.
We packed our bags, bid our farewell with the valley hiding behind the mist and walked back to the colony with a heavy heart to the place where we had parked our vehicle. We rode back, the mountains bidding us goodbye in our rear view mirror, carrying the silence from the silent hills back to concrete jungles.
If anyone is looking to hit a refresh button from 2020 and work from home, pack your bags and head to Munnar to one of the many campsites near Top Station, Munnar. The one I went to was Amoeba Nature Camping. You can find them on Instagram and Facebook by the same name.