Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Meghamalai Trip

Location: on the Western Ghats Hills and around 5000 Ft above sea level

Climate: Very heavy monsoons from June to September. Annual rainfall 270cm.

When to go: Meghamalai is a pleasantly cool and refreshing place to visit at most times of year except monsoon season. During mansoon heavy rains and drizzles and leaches will lock you in the room Winters are cooooooooooold! And during monsoon days the downpour is steady

Dress sense: Take plenty of warm clothes.
Getting there: By road. Theni around 70 KM away. The nearest airport is at Madurai. Or get down at Dindigul railway station and catch bus from dindigul it will take 2 hours to reach theni from dindigul and around the same time from madurai too and not less than 3 hours to meghamalai from Theni.

Stay: You have to book your at any of the Estate Bungalows or Panchayat/Forest Rest house in advance. Another option is to stay in Theni and catch bus from Theni/from Chinnamannur. But frequency of buses are very less. Couple of buses to reach there and couple of buses in the evening also available, but you have to enquire timing of buses in advance and travel your plan.

Road. Condition of the road is very pathetic. Car driver was crying throughout our journey from Chinnamannur to Meghamalai. You will find gutters in every 2 meters of the road. Iit is always better to travel by a Jeep Or an SUV.

Area: Meghamalai is an isolated place on the boarder of Kerala / Tamilnadu state. Periyar Tiger reserve area is the boundary of kerala state boarder and Tea estate on the tamilnadu side. Meghamalai also known as the CloudMountain is a peaceful hill station with its impeccable beauty has become the most sought after destination for a holiday. It is the luxuriant gift of nature to the Western Ghats, the eastern border of Kerala and an adjoining parts of Tamilnadu.

Meghamalai consists of sloping areas of tea, most of which mostly are owned by WoodBriar group. Coffee and cardamom plantations give it a simplistic and smooth appearance.You will find Dense forests on the Kerala side, You will find exotic flora found in the forests and grasslands. It is an ideal spot for trekking. Meghamalai abounds in animals like elephants, Monkeys, Deere,Tigers and Bison
Places to Visit:

There are no places to name like in Munnar.but still you can trael to nearby forest in the morning (ideally by 6.00 am ) and roam around, if you want to photograph wild animals and another area is view point. It’s the right place where you can see Cumbum town in tamilnadu and water reservoir in thekkadi. It is not exposed/exploited (not sure which is correct, but both ways it is correct) hill station with less tourists, You will not find much tourists over there, its mainly because of inadequate travel facility and condition of the road.but it offers an excellent view of the tea, plantations. The rolling hills, the cool mountain and the breathtaking scenery here is ideal for trekking and long mountain walks. We selected this place. Just because of we do not want to travel to any crowded hill stations for summer holidays.