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| Munnar |
| MUNNAR - A HEAVEN ON EARTH
Munnar is located in Idduki district of Kerala state. It is an incredibly beautiful hill station surrounded with falling lakes, sloping mountains, ever green forests and refreshing tea gardens.Munnar derived its name from Tamil word ‘moonu’ which means three and ‘aar’ means river. It is a convergence of three rivers- Muthirappuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly. Munnar is the tea house of Kerala. Some of the highest tea estates are located here.Munnar is known for its cosmopolitan culture. The people of Munnar accept the culture of both Kerala and Tamilnadu, its neighbouring state. People with different cultural background contributed to the culture of Munnar and made it rich. The main religion followed in Munnar is Hinduism but a small percentage of Muslims and Christians also live here. The main language of Munnar is Malayalam, which is spoken by about 95% of the total population. The second most commonly used language is Tamil which is used by 2.37% people. Besides this, some other languages like Tullu, Konkani, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi ,Urdu, Hindi and Gujarati are also spoken in a little proportion. The best part with the culture of Kerala is the absence of social discriminations. The dressing style of Munnar people is simple and elegant. Most of the males wear a white cloth or lungi wrapped around their waist which is known as mundu. A small cloth is worn over the shoulders called as torthu.
How to reach Munnar
By Air
The nearest airport to Munnar is Kochi airport, which is at a distance of 130 km from Munnar.
By Rail
The nearest railway station is Kochi railway station. From Kochi, there are trains to all the major cities of India.
By Road
It is well connected with the road to all the major cities of Kerala like Madurai and Coimbatore. Buses and cars are also available to Munnar from various parts of Kerala. If you are driving by your own, then Munnar is just 3.5 hours away from Cochin.
Fairs and Festivals in Munnar
Munnar is rich in its cultural heritage. There are various festivals in Munnar which are celebrated with tremendous zeal and enthusiasm. The common festivals of Munnar are
Attukal Pongala
It is celebrated in the month of February. In this festival, all the women assemble together and offer a special type of pudding to the Goddess of Attukal Temple. The main priest of the temple then showers water and flowers on the goddess and the offerings are taken home by the devotees.
The Pongala Festival
It is celebrated in the month of Feb.-March. In Malayalam, it is known as “Kumbha”in Makram Nakshatram. This festival is celebrated for 10 days.
Thirussur Pooram Festival
It is celebrated in the month of May. It is an elephant festival where huge elephants are colorfully decorated with gold and are driven by mahouts.
Onam
Onam is the most famous and joyful festival of Kerala. The harvest festival is the other name to it. It is a festival of singing and dancing which lasts for 10 days. This festival is organized to welcome the King Mahabali. One of the exciting events held during this festival is the snake boat race.
Nehru Trophy Boat Race
It is organized in the month of August. It is held in the Punnamada lake. The colorfully decorated boats perform floating arts and this colorful procession goes on till late at night.
Places of interest in Munnar
Munnar is a beautiful tourist destination of Kerala. It has a wide range of attractive and enchanting places which provides a spectacular view of its natural beauty and heritage. The common places of tourist attraction are as follow
Pothamedu
It is about 6 km away from Munnar. It is the major plantation destination of Munnar. There is a rich variety of tea, coffee and cardamom plantations which is worth-seeing. This place is ideal for trekking and hiking because of lush mountains and hills.
Devikulam
It is an excellent hill station which is about 7 km away from Munnar. Devikulam is known for its scenic beauty flora and fauna. The Sita Devi Lake is also located here which is ideal for trout fishing and picnic.
Mattupetty
This is at a distance of 13 km from Munnar and is situated at a height of 1700 meter. This place is famous for its dairy farm where almost 100 varieties of cattle are found. You can also visit Mattupetty Lake and Dam which is near by the farm and is a beautiful picnic spot.
Eravikulam National Park
It is at a distance of 15 kms from Munnar. It provides a home to over 3,000 animal species, especially the Nilgiri Tahr. Nilgiri Tahr is an endangered mountain goat also known as Nilgiri Ibex .
Nyayamakad
It is at a distance of 10 km from Munnar. It is an excellent picnic spot and trekking point. It is famous for its incredible water-falls, cascading down from a height of about 16,000 meters.
Marayoor
It is 40 km away from Munnar and famous for its growth of sandal wood trees. The sandal wood factory, the caves with murals and relics from Stone Age civilization are places of great interest for tourists.
Chithirapuram
This place is at a distance of 10 km from the town. It attracts the visitors with an old world charm of beautiful bungalows, cottages and old playgrounds. The Pallivasal Hydel Power Station is also located here.
Anaimudi
It is the highest peak of southern India and is situated at a height of around 2,695 meters.
Nadukani
It is at an altitude of 3,000 ft above sea level. It is a heavenly place laden with green field, valleys, mountains and lakes. Many rare species such as horn bill, wild rabbits, jungle mainah etc are found here.
As a tourist destination, Munnar provides a heavenly view of natural beauty with its green lashed forests, dew dropped mountains, silver streams, sculptural rocks and wide spread plantations. The beauty and charm of this hill station attracts people from all over the world. Undoubtedly, Munnar is a heavenly place surrounding of beauty, peace and tranquility.
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