[darklord]

It was only February, but the sun was already merciless. The days were endless and melted the body and mind alike. On top of it, waves after waves of Covid meant we had not had a vacation in months. So, when the brother-in-law proposed staying two nights at Munnar, the decision to go was made almost instantaneously. Since a cousin and family were joining, we decided to take two cars, my Safari 2.2 and BIL's Ciaz.

The route we took both ways:


On a Sunday morning, around 11:30, we started our drive. The first order of business:


MC Road continues to be smooth and well demarcated, thanks to the World Bank standards:


Thiruvalla Bypass:


By lunchtime, we were near Kottayam, and searching for lunch options, we saw that the famous Karimpumkala Restaurant was nearby and right en route:


We had a hearty lunch of;
Porotta, appam, and duck:


Chicken, fish:


Prawns:


Karimeen pollichathu:


All this time the Safari was waiting patiently:


We continued our journey and en route, I saw this delicious Supra:


We reached Kothamangalam by 5:


While we took a tea break:


The above two pictures demonstrate how dissimilar our rides were.

The road continued to be smooth and since it was a Sunday, there were more vehicles returning from Munnar:




Cheeyappara waterfalls was bone dry:


But a little further we noticed the signboard for Valara waterfalls and stopped:






By then, it was dusk and we drove on to Munnar. Taking two different routes and waiting for one car to catch up meant we finally sat down for our dinner in Munnar town by 8:45:




We still had to go 25 km more to our resort in Chinnakkanal, but due to ongoing roadworks and fog, the going was difficult with roads in various stages of construct from smooth to gravelly. The Safari took the lead in this section so that the Ciaz can avoid surprises. Even though Google mislead us slightly, we were in our resort by 10. The first thing we realized stepping out of our cars was how lightly we were dressed for the cold. Starting the day at mid-30 degree Celsius, we were now in the mid-teens.

Resting after a long day:


We were quickly allotted our cottages and lead to those:


It was a duplex type cottage:


The night view from the balcony:


My son appropriated the pillows and declared his intention to sleep:


We quickly fell off to sleep, the full moon watching over us.

[darklord]

We woke up in the morning to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96KHQGUM5h8

We went for breakfast in the restaurant, which was poolside:




View from the area:


Some flowers:




We walked back to the room, sat in the balcony for sometime, just quietly enjoying the view. The reservoir is of Anayirangal Dam:


After sometime, we decided to go for a drive and explore some of Munnar's tourist spots. We had no fixed itinerary, but ad lib as we drove on. Since it was a local drive, we decided to leave the Ciaz parked and take the Safari.

Just a couple of minutes out of our resort, we saw the view which the night had concealed yesterday:


This section of road to Munnar was freshly laid:


The road bisected through this:


We stopped to click a few pictures:




The clouds appeared to romance the hills:




This section of road approaching the Gap was gravelly and vehicles left a tail of dust as they moved:


This was what awaited us at the other side of the Gap:


The entire stretch was full of photo opportunities like this:


We stopped for a few minutes when Munnar began to appear in the horizon and contemplated which place to visit first:

[darklord]

What is a Munnar visit without a visit to the tea factory? We decided to visit tea factory of KDHP at Mattupetty, drive a little further to Mattupetty and Kundala Dams and return.

We crossed Munnar town without much delay and soon we were parked in front of the factory:


Their visit program was closed, but the tea powder outlet was open, and we went ahead and purchased different types of tea powders.

Seeing this for the first time:


Next stop was at Mattupetty Dam, just a couple of minutes away. Though the area was crowded, we got a parking spot. Nobody wanted to go boating or horse riding or anything of the sort. So our activity there was limited to shopping for trinkets, getting our photos taken by the photographers there, and shooting some photos ourselves.

The reservoir:




Zoomed to the other bank:


People were enjoying jetskis:




Some sort of an amusement park at a distance:


By then it was approaching lunch time. We thought about having a dekko of Kundala Dam too before having lunch. We set out:


Monkeys:


En route, we saw a signboard for a farm visit of Kundalay Naturals. We decided to visit it while coming back from Kundala Dam.

The first view of the dam and reservoir:


The shutters were open slightly:



The background was all green:


The serene waters of the reservoir:


There was boating facility available to the tourists, but we were not interested. After spending some time, we decided to go back and have lunch and then, check out the farm visit that we had noted earlier. Time was past noon and we were famished. First priority was lunch.

[darklord]

Just as we came out of the dam premises, we saw a smallish restaurant and stopped for lunch. It was staffed by a few ladies and the lunch with chicken curry was thoroughly enjoyable:


Safari parked out front:


Post lunch, we drove off to visit the farm of Kundalay Naturals. After turning off from the main road onto the estate road, this is what greeted us:


We purchased the entry ticket and entered the premises:


This small stream was flowing beside the factory:


Their main activity was distillation of flowers and production of aromatic oils. They were also experimenting with farming of organic vegetables and honey, but it appeared to be at a nascent stage. There were a variety of flowers being farmed for the purpose of distillation, mostly jasmine. They also had an outlet selling their own products.

Some flowers from the factory premises:








Bee farming:


Plum tree:


Vegetables:


Jasmine flowers being cultivated for distillation:




Tomatoes:


A staff member accompanied us as a guide and was extremely helpful and explained things in detail to our group:


Cabbage:


Broccoli:


Cauliflower:


Red cabbage:


The background of the farm was spectacular. The kids enjoyed walking around:


I managed to shoot a few birds as well:




Can you spot the myna:


With that, we reached the last part of the cultivated land of the farm.

Raspberries:




Chillies:


Strawberries:


The guide suggested visiting a cave-like rock formation and a brook before wrapping up the visit.

[darklord]

We followed the guide down this steep path:


We have to maneuver ourselves through this opening:


From the other side:


There were some inscriptions on the rock:


A distal view of the cave:


There was this wooden bridge adjacent to the rock formation and over the brook:




The brook:


With the bridge in the background:


We reached the parking area and the hills bordering the farm were visible:


The Safari was waiting for us:


We started off, but not before clicking a couple more birds:




The sun had begun to set by now:


We turned a corner and a spectacular sunset awaited us:


We clicked a few pictures and turned another corner and voila, a spectacular-er sunset:


With this last shot, we bid goodbye to the estate:


We reached Munnar town by nightfall:


We had a quick dinner from the town itself and returned to the resort. Tomorrow, we start our return drive, albeit a relaxed start in the morning.

[darklord]

The morning started off with a sumptuous breakfast.

Puttu:


Egg curry:


Cherupayar (green gram):


Omelette:


I took a walk inside the property, clicking a few pictures:














A couple more avian friends:




Parting shots from the balcony:




We bid our goodbye to Mountain Club, Chinnakkanal:




Starting to drive back home, I stopped at a vantage point and clicked the parting shorts of Munnar tea plantations, till we return next time:






By the time we reached Adimali, it was lunch time, and we stopped to have lunch:




Approaching Neriamangalam:


While stopped for a fuel break after Muvattupuzha:


Light drizzle accompanied us all the way till home, where we reached a little after 9:


I clicked this picture the next day:


All my passengers were a happy lot at the end of the trip.

Safari did flawlessly what it was designed for; to "Reclaim your life."

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[aveoman19]

Always good to see the original Safari. Does Kerala have the 10 year old rule for Diesel vehicles? If not, my heart yearns for a well maintained Safari VTT 4x4 VX of 2010 vintage. The comfiest ride I have ever experienced any where in the world. Speeds of 70 - 100 Kmph is the sweet spot for this beast. I miss her a lot. It must be a pain to maintain the black colour though. Kudos to you for keeping her shiny after all these years! Thank you for an interesting travelogue. Wish you and the Safari many more safe and happy miles!

[darklord]

Originally Posted by aveoman19

Always good to see the original Safari. Does Kerala have the 10 year old rule for Diesel vehicles?

It must be a pain to maintain the black colour though. Kudos to you for keeping her shiny after all these years! Thank you for an interesting travelogue. Wish you and the Safari many more safe and happy miles!

Thank you for your kind words.

NGT did attempt a ban, but it has since been stayed by HC. No movement since then:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...stays-ban.html (NGT bans 10+ year old diesel vehicles in Kerala. EDIT: High Court stays ban)

As of now, my Safari is approaching the re-test date in a few months, and I am planning to get it done after a new coat of paint. Hoping the laws doesn't get changed before then.

[aveoman19]

Wonderful to hear that. May I suggest stock Alloy wheels during the re-paint? Looking forward to your thread on rejuvenating the already well maintained beast!

[John P Daniel]

Awesome trip and photos. I'd say you have the perfect vehicle for this trip. How was the overall comfort level on this trip? Could you please share your camera+lens details used in this trip?

[darklord]

Originally Posted by John P Daniel

Awesome trip and photos. I'd say you have the perfect vehicle for this trip. How was the overall comfort level on this trip? Could you please share your camera+lens details used in this trip?

Thank you.

A co-traveller with back pain said after the trip, "this had been a very comfortable ride."

Most of the photos are using Samsung S21+. Birds were shot using Canon D1300 with 55-250 mm lens.