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 Sight seeing is a part of a holiday that everyone looks forward to, so naturally there is disappointment if the elements decide your programme differently. The first day in Munnar was literally a wash out, with even the most intrepid tourist operators refusing to set out in the deluge. It was down to watching TV - the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup final. Fortunately, the next day was much brighter and a group of four enthusiastic youngsters from the District Tourism Promotion Board took on the task of taking us around. The vehicle, a Tempo
Traveller, was large enough to accommodate the four of us, plus the four guides and the driver comfortably. Apart from sundry friends of the locals who embarked and disembarked at various points, that is. The fee was
Rs. 250 per head.
The first stop was a cattle-breeding farm under an Indo-Swiss project, where we saw some healthy cattle and some pretty flowers. Next came Madupetti Dam. The waters of the River Madupetti were beginning to rise and the guides told us that as the monsoon progressed, they would come up to the level of the road. The dam had inundated several dwellings, which could be spotted along with the gopuram of an ancient Siva temple. As the road wound higher and higher, a passing tourist vehicle shouted out that an elephant had been sighted! The guides got all excited, especially when we spotted the tracks the elephant had made while coming down the slopes. But despite a half-hour search, we could not see the wild elephant. Ironically, we did see a huge tamed tusker being used for logging.
The road became even steeper and the turns sharper as we headed for Top Station, the highest point this side of the hills. Cups of hot tea refreshed us and beat out the cold, and we reached Top Station just as the sun broke out. From this marvellous viewpoint, we could see right down to Bodinayakanur and Theni in Tamil
Nadu. The road, with the Tata Tea Estates spilling over on either side, in fact enters Tamil Nadu for a while. On the return we had a glimpse of another reservoir, named after Sethu Parvathi
Bai. After a brief lunch break to give the driver some respite, we set off on the road leading west out of
Munnar.
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The destination was Eravikulam National Park, famed for the Nilgiri
Tahr. On the way we saw the Neimakadu waterfalls.
The mist came in as we climbed the Rajamala hills. We wondered whether we were making a terrible mistake, as the all-enveloping white cold made visibility zero. But the driver seemed to be wearing mist vision goggles! By the time we reached Eravikulam it had cleared. The first stupendous sight was the Rajamala Falls, which drop from an immense height in the shorn boulders of the Western
Ghats. Coming down in steps, it made a pretty picture. And yes, we did see the Nilgiri
Tahr, a whole herd of them. Called Varai Adu, there are only around 2500 members of this endangered species in the whole world. Half of that number is concentrated in
Eravikulam. Most of the herd was sticking together. But there was this huge male standing off to one side, grazing in solitary majesty. And on another side, there was a young
Tahr, also by itself, skipping from rock to rock. We wanted to stay longer in
Eravikulam, but it was getting on to late afternoon and dusk would soon fall. It had begun to rain too. In the right season, the tourist can trek to
Anamudi, the highest peak in the Western Ghats.
On the way back, we stopped at the Neimakadu falls and undertook a slippery slide down the slope for a better view. We did get a magnificent view, but reaped as reward horrid-looking leeches clinging to our feet. The guides - they were quite cool about it -- told us how to get them off. A lovely day comes to an end and the next day, it is back on the road to
Ernakulam. What strikes us first is that there are now scores of waterfalls running down the hillsides. And the perennial falls we had seen on the way up are all now swollen. This time we take the green Muvattupuzha route back to dusty
Ernakulam.
A little more on Munnar: Literally translating to "three rivers", Munnar is an old English town set amidst the rivers, Madupetti, Nallathanni and Periavaru. Many sight-seeing trips can be undertaken from there, including Thekkadi on the Periyar River. Shopping includes several varieties of tea, spices and delicious strawberry preserve. And what the people of Munnar are most proud of is that from their town centre, one can see three things at once - a temple, a church and a mosque.
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