Rolling hills of tea and mountains of spices make this one of the most scenic locations in the country. Here are my top places to visit in Munnar.

Like many travelers, I first visited India with the dream of seeing the Taj Mahal in mind. I explored the palaces and forts of Rajasthan, I prayed at the banks of the Ganges, I navigated the markets of Mumbai.

India’s most iconic experiences are unforgettable and famous (or infamous) for good reason…and they’re the moments that made me fall in love with the country.Yet as I continue to travel throughout India’s various states, I find the quieter and/or lesser known destinations to be just as alluring. One such place I kept hearing about — and finally planned a trip to — is Kerala.

Located on the southwestern tip of India, Kerala is known for its relaxed pace and palm-lined backwaters. It’s also one of the most literate, laid-back, and wealthy states in India, making for a departure from the stereotypes we often hear about the chaos of the north (which is also very worth visiting, just different!)

Planning a trip to Kerala, during which you can see the major highlights, often includes the backwaters of Alleppey, the beaches of Kovalam, and a semi-required stay in one of the major cities (often Kochi.)

You’ll often see pictures of Munnar — just yesterday it popped up as a computer background on a screen. Yet I find that most travelers to India don’t know about it (and there isn’t much information as to what to do in Munnar, either.)

I actually first thought about making a Munnar trip after seeing it on the big Bollywood screen, in Chennai Express. The rolling, green fields and winding roads through tea estates captivated me nearly as much as the song and dance!

Now having been, Munnar is a must-visit for me in all of India — and certainly for South India and Kerala. Here’s a travel guide for the best places to visit in Munnar, and what you need to know before you go:

Munnar Sightseeing – Things to Do in Munnar

Tea Plantations/Tea Gardens

The incredibly scenic tea plantations are bound to be the highlight of any Munnar trip. Most hire a driver for the day to take them through the area — I arranged mine through my accommodation, and that seems to be the most common way to tour them. Be sure to ask your car to stop at scenic points for photos and to take in the views!

Top Station

Perhaps Kerala’s most famous hike, this trail leads trekkers up to the incredible viewpoint at Top Station, more than 6,000 feet above sea level. From here you have amazing perspective on the Western Ghats (the mountain range bordering Munnar) and the valley down below. Fun fact: from here you’re practically on the border of Kerala and the state of Tamil Nadu. The hike is particularly beautiful at sunrise and sunset.

Kundala Lake

I didn’t think that I needed to seek out a lake in India, but surrounded by the hills of tea the pristine body of water takes on an extra visual appeal. I loved stopping here while we were driving around for the day, and you’ll find it free from crowds aside from the occasional peaceful local out for a stroll.

TATA Tea Museum

If you’re looking for a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the process of how tea is made, and you want to dive a little deeper into the history of the area, definitely plan to stop into the area tea museum. You can also taste a variety of different local teas in their tasting room.

Eravikulam National Park

Evavikulam is the place to go in search of protected natural beauty, particularly the Nilgiri Tahr or mountain goat of South India. You can also see Anamudi, South India’s highest peak, from inside the park. As it is one of the most popular Munnar tourist places, you’ll want to arrive earlier rather than later. It takes about an hour by car to reach it.

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

These protected lands of the Ikkudi district are home to the Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, spotted deer, and many more species unique to Kerala. It’s often visited in conjunction with a stop at Eravikulam, in order to spot the  Chinnar wildlife.

Waterfalls

There are a variety of beautiful falls to stop at as you make your way across the places to see in Munnar. Lakkam, Attukal, and Thoovanam are a few particularly worth seeing.

Recommended Munnar Resorts + Hotels in Munnar

I didn’t hear great things about the town of Munnar itself, so I opted to search for a quieter up in the Kannan Devan Hills.

SpiceTree Munnar

Not merely a serene place to sleep…the staff has thoughtfully planned out the entire stay so that you are getting a personalized introduction to the best activities and sights in Munnar.

It turned out to be one of my absolute favorite stays ever in India. I highly recommend it — it’s one of the best hotels in Munnar and one of my favorite restaurants in Munnar as well. It seems I’m not alone in this thought; it has been named the Best Small Hotel in India. There’s a reason it has a perfect five star rating on TripAdvisor!

The best part about staying at SpiceTree Munnar was not only the peaceful and private location, but all the activities that included as a part of your room rate. From daily yoga and Ayurvedic massage to guided hikes and nature walks through the local village to cooking classes and tea tastings…it’s all expertly arranged for and provided by Spice Tree. I really got to relax there knowing everything I wanted to do in the area was offered locally (and on a small, personal scale) by the hotel.

SpiceTree Munnar is located above the Bison Valley village among the Western Ghats, meaning it’s not in Munnar itself. It is a bit of a drive to get there from the nearest train station, but once you’re there you can really immerse yourself in the stay.

The entire experience from start to finish, from the pool to the restaurant, was memorable and personable. Their focus on sustainable tourism and respect for nature is enviable. I’m not one to rave about hotel stays as I usually find them generic or “just a place to sleep,” but I can’t recommend Spice Tree enough as the top choice for your Munnar stay.

Munnar Restaurants

I personally loved the restaurant at Spice Tree so much, that it was the only place I ate at during my stay. Each meal is served with Ayurvedic herbal water, and the staff goes above and beyond to provide both Western and South Indian meals (I highly recommend the Indian meals.) You can even take a cooking class with the Spice Tree chef to learn (and eat!) all the spices and fresh ingredients of the local cuisine.

How to Reach Munnar

Munnar isn’t as well connected as some other Kerala sites, but it’s certainly worth any trouble to get there. Once you’re there, I’d recommend anywhere from 2 days to a week, depending on how relaxed you want your getaway to be and if you have time to see other Kerala sights.

Getting from Kochi to Munnar

The journey takes about 4 hours by car. You can hire a driver for the day one-way, or hire someone to take you from Kochi that will also drive you around the area while you’re there. Be sure to negotiate and choose a reputable company before you select the driver, especially if you’ll be spending a few days with them. There’s also a bus service from Kochi, but do keep in mind that private drivers are especially affordable in India and can be worth the cost for the privacy and flexibility (you can stop at places along the way!)

Getting from Bangalore to Munnar

You can fly or drive from Bangalore to Munnar, but the preferred route for most travelers is to take the train to Ernakulam station. From there you can hire a taxi to your Munnar accommodation.

The nearest railway station to Munnar: Aluva or Ernakulam. About 3-4 hours drive to reach Munnar.

The nearest airport to Munnar: Kochi (COK.) About 4 hours drive.

Munnar weather: Given Munnar’s elevation and position as a hill station, it is generally pleasant year-round. While there isn’t necessarily a best time to visit Munnar, many travelers choose to avoid June to September when monsoon season delivers heavy rains.

Other Places to Visit in Kerala

There’s so many other scenic and friendly tourist places in Kerala to see. Most of them can be easily reached from Munnar. Here are a few to consider adding to your trip:

• Alleppey (Alappuzha:) gateway to the backwaters
• Wayanad: lush, forested area known for its wildlife
• Varkala: a hippie beach town in the best possible ways
• Kumarakom: a village and cluster of islands in the backwaters
• Kovalam: the best known beach area of Kerala
• Thekkady: home to Periyar National Park, one of the largest wildlife reserves in India
• Kochi (Cochin): a small but beautiful port city with colonial influences
• Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram): the capital city of Kerala known for its temples
• Kozhikode (Calicut): the third largest city in Kerala.

I was invited to stay at Spice Tree Munnar during my self-funded trip to Kerala. All opinions are strictly my own!

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I spent a week living in a spiritual community in India. There’s a sentence I never expected to utter.

If you read this blog, you know that I practice yoga regularly and that it became a much bigger part of my life after a traumatic experience abroad (when I experienced and truly needed its healing power.) And if you didn’t know? You likely could’ve assumed given that I live in San Francisco (where yoga clothing is the mainstay on the city streets.)

First, what even is yoga? And furthermore, what is an ashram?

• Waking up early feels good.
• Single-tasking, being disciplined to your commitments (without excuses!,) and truly being present with one activity at a time…feels good.
• Having a daily routine that gets you into motion and stays fairly consistent feels good.
• Being disconnected from the Internet, media and the news, and notifications feels good.
• Not being the slightest bit concerned with your appearance, as you practice focusing on the inner, feels good.

(Are you sensing a theme here?)

A housing building at the ashram.

I could do a whole post on what I learned about food alone, but for now know that this is what I learned about eating:

 

• What you eat affects how you feel…(a seemingly simple concept that finally clicked for me here. I have an iron stomach, and I truly can eat and drink whatever I want. I’ve experienced food making me feel worse, but I didn’t realize I could feel so much better!)
• Foods have different energies, and food that is reheated, old but not spoiled, overcooked etc. loses its vital energy even when edible. Eating seasonally, locally, organically, and freshly prepared foods increases not only its nutrition but the positive energy your body absorbs.
• Eating only sattvic foods and eliminating meat, caffeine, alcohol, and even garlic and onion…all serves to enhance clarity of the mind (it may not be fully realistic, but it works.)
• The act of creating, offering, and sharing food can be a spiritual experience. As I was in Kerala, the birthplace of Ayurveda (the sister science of yoga and an ancient Indian healing practice,) this was well-ingrained into meals and principles of food.
• Eating in silence allows us to show reverence for food and the way it nourishes our bodies, as well as practice mindful eating and being very aware of what we put in our bodies.
• Eating with your hands (with some time and practice) feels good! You feel more connected to the food (really!)

  

Every individual’s experience is undoubtedly different. What follows is a summary of what I wish I had known would come from the hours of discipline, the leap to go at all. Here are some overall thoughts upon leaving the ashram, after only a week of surrendering to the schedule: 

 

Sitting with discomfort — mental, emotional, even physical (my back from all that sitting cross-legged…ouch) is important sometimes. Whether on the mat, in the middle of chanting, or during a particularly long meditation, I stretched myself (pun not intended) to just be in moments where I had the impulse to get up and leave about 100 times.

 

I travel admittedly, to experience discomfort. While I love a nice massage or beach cocktail as much as the next person, I have learned that pursuing places and activities that make us uncomfortable at first create so much room for growth. (That might be a huge part of why I love India so much.) Also, you can do anything for a week.

 

There is unity in diversity. This is literally one of the mottos of the ashram, but having the experience at the ashram is what cemented it for me. All of these people from around the world…and I mean from my Danish roommate to the group of Iranians or Japanese students undergoing teacher training, to the dozens of new friends I met from all over India…we all dressed, ate, practiced, and pursued the same common goal for the time we spent in the ashram. Spiritually you are taught that this world, our perceived reality, is all a mere projection of the mind, that underneath or beyond that we are all the same…and fortunately I got to experience this on both a surface and deeper level here.

 

There is magic in surrender, and what is surrender? Ultimately it is trust. This is something I personally needed to rebuild. Trusting the people around you, the people guiding you, the people that enter your journey, is essential. The harder part, at least for me, is trusting yourself, especially when life or interactions with others lead you to doubt this.  I had to exercise this trust way more than I exercised any joint, bone, or muscle in this “yoga vacation.”

 

There are two choices for how we feel, both on and off the mat. Love and fear. Everything else is some variation of one or the other. So many of us are choosing fear blindly and repeatedly, without even recognizing it for what it is (I know I do!) Silly as it may sound, finally learning to hold a headstand did indeed represent for me the process of moving from fear to love during the week. I will seek to do this in more places in my life now.

 

There is no substitute for experience. For most of my life I have known that things like walking, meditation, eating your vegetables, and being kind were ‘good things to do.’ Often my practice of those pursuits was limited to that widely accepted belief. But it wasn’t until I pushed past the ‘what’ or ‘how’ and into the ‘why,’ feeling the benefits through my own experience, that these ideas became understood and truly valued.

 

Balance is the key. From my yoga poses to this blog to how I live my daily life, balance is the theme that comes up again and again for me. And the thing I appreciated most about my ashram experience (besides finally nailing that headstand! :P) was that despite its strict schedule, its demands and required commitments…everything was presented with a loving, inclusive, and balanced perspective that left plenty of room for you to process, individualize, or even reject.  Balance.

The post What I Learned Living in an Ashram in India appeared first on Part-Time Traveler.

I only spent a few days passing through Pushkar while in Rajasthan last summer.  For some reason, this town has really stuck with me.  I find myself thinking about it without cause.

There is a commonly cited travel quote which says: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”  This only begins to encompass why India is my favorite country to travel in…

As traveling has made me more connected to my intuition – and more likely to listen to my own inner voice – I intend to someday return to Pushkar to explore this feeling further. For now, go there with me on a photographic journey….

 












Because you can’t have a full photo essay about India without some cows and a little bit of humor…
Pushkar is one of the oldest existing cities in India (which is saying something.)  It is located some 90 miles from Jaipur, which is also the closest airport.  Perhaps the easiest way to get there is via a driver you can trust (this is what I chose to do.)

The post Take Me To…Pushkar, India appeared first on Part-Time Traveler.