Munnar Attractions
Top Station
Top station, 41 km (1hr) from Munnar is aptly named, as it is home to some
of the highest tea plantations in India. It lies on the state border
between Kerala and Tamilnadu and commands a panoramic view of rolling
green hills.
Echo Point
On the way to top station, at a spot on the lake embankment, amid some
hills, every loud sound is echoed manifold by the surrounding hills— the
spot is called Echo point which also offers panoramic views. It is just 15
km from Munnar. An excellent place, especially for young travelers to
disembark for a while, yell out — and listen to your voice coming back to
you!
Marayoor
Marayoor lies 40 km from Munnar. It is a place not to be missed for its
combination of ancient caves, sandalwood trees and souvenirs from ancient
civilization and more. A natural forest of fragrant sandalwood trees,
Marayoor has a sandalwood factory owned by the Forest Department of Kerala,
where attractive objects are d’art crafted from the precious wood.
The other important site here is a series of muniyaras (caves) dating back
to the New Stone Age. The muniyaras contain rock paintings of considerable
archeological significance, also part of the pre-historic excavations at
Marayoor, are dolmenoid burial chambers consisting of four erect stones
covered by a horizontal capstone.
Other popular attractions at Marayoor include a children’s park that lies
under a banayan tree extending over a hector of land, and the Thoovanam
waterfall.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary lies 60 km from Munnar, a mixture of thorny
scrub and deciduous forest that is home to some of Kerala’s most
interesting wildlife. The prima donna here is the highly endangered giant
grizzle squirrel, of which as estimated global count is less than 200.
Other than this extremely rare creature, Chinnar’s resident species
include elephants, tigers, chital, sambar, Indian bison and monkeys.
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