Munnar is a hilly town located in the Kannan Devan Hill ranges, the picturesque landscapes and the pleasant weather throughout the year are incomparable. The plantations in the rolling hills are an amazing sight that cannot be portrayed on a single canvas.
The area was originally occupied by the indigenous people known as Muthuvans. The British arrived here in the late 1800s and started tea plantations.
This montane forest trek provides comprehensive coverage for the high-altitude ecosystem of the region. This area has a vast number of endemic species of flora and fauna, the Strobilanthes Kunthiana locally known as Neelakurinji (which blooms once in twelve years), the mountain goat Nilgiri Tahr, and Nigiri Langur (black monkey) are a few to name that we will come across.
You will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the trek start point on a jeep, the distance is 22 km. It will be a challenging trek, you will be walking 14 KM. This trek will take you through grasslands and fern-covered valleys, crystal clear streams, and mountain ridges overlooking beautiful tea plantations and villages. Once you reach the summit (2647 meters from sea level) the view is miraculous. On a pleasant day, the plains of Tamil Nadu and the world’s highest organic tea plantation ‘Kolukkumalai’ can also be seen from here. From the endpoint of the trek, you will be transferred to Suryanelly, the drive for 01 hours.
This will be another challenging day, we have a short transfer to the start point, trek distance will be 13 km. We start with a climb to Mathikettan Shola National Park. This is one of the youngest national parks in Kerala, which was declared a national park in 2003. The name Mathikettan Shola means ‘mind confuser’ because, according to local people, chances are high to get lost in the dense evergreen forest.
This forest is home to a vast number of wildlife animals, to name a few Galaxy Frog, one of the endangered amphibians, Grey-slender Loris, and one of the rarest and endemic Nilgiri Marten. Stay at Santhanpara Camp
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