Serpentine roads to cater to the driver/rider in you, a thousand shades of green to soothe your soul, pockets of foggy clouds to blow you away and the expanse of calm water to wash it all down - can there be a better combination of the elements of Earth to experience in one place?
Here's a 2-day itinerary to make the most of a weekend getaway at this confluence of mountains streams.
Transportation:
Not all the places worth visiting are accessible by public transport and the buses/autos aren't very frequent as well. Hence, it's better to take your own vehicle or opt for a self-drive. Although the roads are in good shape (as of writing this in Nov, 2022) and you won't have difficulty driving, if you prefer not to, then you can opt for cab services as well. We took a self-drive car from Kochi and drove to Munnar and back.
Here are a few suggestions that might help:
Self-drive:
https://www.evmwheels.com/ (We took an Innova from them and it was )
https://tranzcars.com/
Cab:
https://www.savaari.com/
Stay
Munnar has a wide variety of options when it comes to offering accommodation. The trick, however, is to find a place that helps you experience things as easily as possible. As it is a hilly area, it gets really foggy soon after sundown, so choosing a stay is really crucial. You don't have to stay at the city centre to extract the most of your trip. As all the attractions are at either sides of the city centre junction, you are better off staying at one of the sides and make the trip to the other side on one of the days. This way you won't lose daylight in commuting.
We stayed at
This place is easily accessible by every vehicle and their food preparation was also pretty decent.
Now that reaching here and staying has been accounted for, let's get to the itinerary.
No matter where you go in Munnar, there's a very high chance that you'll take the Gap road. For some reason, if you don't, make sure you take a drive down this serpentine stretch of tarmac. It is a visual treat.
Located right by the side of the highway, this expansive waterfall is something that won't escape your eyes. Stop your vehicle and let the beauty wash over you.
Continue on this route to Munnar echo point, photo point, and hill-top view. Located one after the other, these are epic spots for having a conversation with nature or sightseeing.
There are a bunch of dams and
is very popular amongst the tourists. Since the overall feel and the activities are almost same, I'd recommend going a little further to
which has lesser rush and hosts amazing sceneries.
You can either call it a day here or go for one last experience at
as it falls on the same route while returning from Kundala Dam.
The elephant ride costs INR 750 (or 700) per person. There is usually a queue and a ride session is around 20 minutes.
A sunrise trek with off-road Jeep safari at 4AM is the perfect way to begin Day 2 at Munnar. The cost per vehicle (5 pax) is INR 2500. After reaching the parking at the hill top, you have to walk for around 1.5 kms to reach the viewing point. If you are lucky, the sun will make an appearance.
We weren't. But the journey back is filled with scenic green land and makes up for it.
Rest for some time and then head to
In my honest opinion, this dam is the best in terms of the views and the activities (and is a hidden gem, so fewer tourists).
We took a speedboat ride which costed us INR 1100 (for 5 pax) and it was worth the money. The expanse of water is immense, and the scenery elevates to another level once you are in the middle of the dam. I 100% recommend it. There are other water activities as well, like kayaking, circular boat ride (the one in which the rower spins the circular boat using his paddle).
We watched the blue clouds turn grey here and went to Gap road for an evening drive before calling it a day.
Other Attractions
Here are a few other spots that might be interesting to check out:
I hope this article provided you some insights and helped in planning your next weekend getaway. Happy Travelling. And if you visited Munnar and found some hidden spots, do mention them in the comments section and share them with the community.
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