Onward to the Kerala tea plantations

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A seven and a half hour journey from the lush and fertile plains of Tamil Nadu through the verdant jungle clad hills known as the Cardamic Hills or Western Ghats. After winding our way through the narrow and steep roads the scenery started to change as we approached Munnar. The sweeping hills are almost covered in their entirety with tea plantations stretching for miles.

Munnar, being about six thousand feet above sea level and located in just under sixty thousand acres of sprawling tea plantations, was first established by the British in 1878. The town was also a summer resort for the British government in South India, no doubt due to its pleasant yet not overbearing temperature.

Many of the tea plantations are owned by a company known as TaTa which seems to have its fingers in many pies. For example, it manufactures cars and lorries not only for India but also Europe and one of its collection is Jaguar and Land Rover. Good old Tetley tea comes from the Munnar area and is also part of the TaTa empire.

The other important crops in the area are spices and, in particular, cardamom which is grown at the edges of the tea plantations.

In amongst all this we stayed on the Windermere Estate which had Swiss chalet style buldings and magnificent views over the plantations.

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Photos

Tea plants galore
The tea plantations spread across mile upon mile of the Western Ghats.

Enjoying the view
Picture taken by our driver on the Western Ghats during a photo opportunity stop.

Our wonderful driver
Senthil, our driver, met us at the airport at Chennai with a Toyota Innova and manouvered hundreds of miles of chaotic roads with great care over the next ten days.

The hand made brick industry
On the road to Munnar we came across a small community of brickmakers. The bricks are handmade in moulds by the women, left to bake in the sun and then stored in large thatched buldings.

Brickmakers' children
Whilst we were at the brickyard the children were clamouring to have their photos taken.

Comments

[Sally and John]

Very impressed with the change in pictures and commentary. From temples to tea !!! (and bricks) Hope you're both travelling well. Off to Invercargill tomorrow to see my Orth. surgeon for a 1 year check up. Looking forward to being in Brisbane next month. They've had a lot of rain (!!) there. Love to you both.

[george]

We Like!
Emma and I like the look of kerala. Nice contrast to the north. Those massages are making you look very mellow.xxx