Our Destination: Nestled amidst the lush green mountains of the Western Ghats in Southern India, lies a paradise known as Munnar. With its breathtaking landscapes, cascading waterfalls, and serene tea plantations, Munnar emerges as a captivating destination that promises an escape into nature’s embrace.
Our Chariot: The mighty XUV 700 (the black stallion)
Our starting point: Bangalore, the vibrant Silicon Valley of India
Journey
Day 1: Bangalore – Munnar
After routine fluid level checks, tyre pressure checks and a refill of the first-aid medicines, we embarked on our journey. We knew that it is a long journey and is going to take more than 6 hours. So we planned our stops carefully. We started at 7 am after the planned departure at 5:30 am and had the first stop at A2B Attibelle. It was crowded and we got our food after a long wait. It was tasty though. So after our coffee refill, we started from there at around 8:30 am.
Since I was driving lightfooted to see our stallion’s mileage, the mile-munching rate was very less. After passing Hosur, the drive was a piece of cake. We passed Salem at around 11:30 and believe me, we didn’t find any good place to have food. We had to drive till Dindugal when we found Hotel Temple City. There was ample parking space and a good ambience. We have some chappatis and some suspicious-looking mushroom masala. We fuelled our chariot as well. After that break, we understood that the light-footed driving is costing us time. From there we were moving at a decent pace.
We were on our last 24 km stretch out of 523 km. The place’s name is Rajakkad. Road conditions deteriorated so fast and we had to start moving at crawling speeds. The road condition along with the high-range roads made our last 24 km a long ride. One can tell that, we had our own off-road adventure there on that roads.
We reached the resort Broad Bean Munnar by 5 pm. It is a wonderful resort with a small pond with boating, an in-house restaurant, ziplining, pool, spa and an upcoming infinity pool. We got a warm welcome from the staff and offered a welcome drink. After finishing all the formalities, we went to the room and settled down, it was a pool villa and it was wonderful. We called it a day and had dinner from the in-house restaurant.
Day 2: Munnar – Anayirangal Dam, Lockhart point
We had a lazy day and we roamed around the resort and were checking out the amenities they had to offer. It was wonderful. The resort was providing breakfast in a buffet, the staff is well-versed in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and English. The food was tasty and by afternoon we went to a place called Anayirangal Dam where we did speed boat cruising. Please note that here online method of payment might not work. Better carry cash. The next stop was Lockhart Point, the view is simply amazing. We had a couple of stops along with the side of tea estates and enjoyed the landscape.
Day 3: Munnar – Vattavada – Top Station – Mattupetty Dam
We started in the morning to visit Vattavada village where the winter fruits and vegetables are grown. The travel to Vattavada was a long one. The road construction made our drive a bit slow, but the stallion was munching miles effortlessly. We reached the vattavada village, there is a lot of strawberry/ beans/ sunflower farms which you can visit. You can buy strawberries from the farmers directly. But still, keep an eye as not to get duped. They have a range of strawberry jam to strawberry vines available.
On the way back, we stopped at the Top station, and by then we started getting hungry. We had some snacks and Maggi from nearby shops and had some coconut water. On the way back, we briefly visited the Matupetty Dam. By 6:30 we reached back at the resort and called it a day.
Day 4 Munnar – Bangalore
We started at 10:30 in the morning and realized that we might be a tad bit late. We were driving slowly on the hairpin roads and once we finished up all 21 hairpin curves, we took a break and filled the stallion with diesel. Then the mile-munching started. We drove non-stop till Dindigul and had lunch at Hotel Temple City. Post that, we got to the Dindugal – Salem highway and reached cruising speed. We had a coffee from Salem and left for Bangalore. We reached Bangalore by around 8 pm and called it a day which brought our small trip to an end.
Conclusion
On the way from Bangalore to Munnar, we saw beautiful scenery, ate delicious food, and did things that we will never forget. The winding roads and beautiful scenery made the drive an exciting journey. The Broad Bean Munnar resort was nice and comfortable, with a lot of services and friendly staff. We got to see the natural beauty of the area up close when we went to Anayirangal Dam and Lockhart Point. The trip to Vattavada village showed off the amazing farms in the area, such as strawberry and veggie farms that had fresh food. Overall, the trip was a great mix of nature, rest, and new experiences. As we drove back to Bangalore, we thought about the memories we made in Munnar, a place that really shows what it means to be in nature’s embrace.
We know that we missed the Marayoor sandal forest and that route. We kept it for the next time.
