By Arun Raisinghani.
Located just 4 hours away from the city of Kochi (Kerala) is the pristine hill-station of Munnar. Undoubtedly, one of the most serene hill-stations in India, Munnar is accessible by road from Kochi. The drive from Kochi to Munnar is scenic and beauty abounds – pineapple fields, cardamom and coffee trees line the road. The branches of trees form a canopy over the twisted road and this accentuates the greenery of the fields.


Munnar is set amid the “High Range of Travancore” and is at a height of 1524m above sea level. Though the main-town area is bustling, at the periphery of Munnar, there are various peaceful places to stay like Club Mahindra, Sterling Resorts, etc. Room rates vary as per season and facilities. These resorts offer tours in and around Munnar as also trekking and other expedition-based tours.

Munnar is home to some of the world’s highest grown tea. The tea estates in and around Munnar are owned by the Tata’s. The tea gardens are finely manicured and the first thing that you see once on the ascent to Munnar is a thick carpet of tea gardens. The sight is overwhelming and breathtaking beauty envelops you. Evening walks around Munnar offer spectacular views. A distinguishing factor about Munnar is that there are no hoardings and no advertising on the mountain faces that have defaced many a beautiful spot. This is probably because a majority of the mountain estates are privately owned.

Close to Munnar is the Mudapetty Dam, where visitors can take speedboat rides (Rates are reasonable at Rs. 200 per boat which accommodates 4 persons and lasts 20 min). From many places in Munnar, you can see South-India’s highest peak – Anamudi, located at 2695m above sea level.

A must-visit for those going to Munnar is the Kolukkumalai Tea factory. It is the world’s highest grown tea. The Kolukkumalai tea factory is actually located in Tamil Nadu (on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala). Getting there is an experience in itself. Resorts like Club Mahindra arrange for tours to this factory, but their rates are much higher and it is better to employ the services of a local Jeep-wallah to reach the factory (no other vehicle can go upto that height – the road is really bumpy and actually rocky and will wreck any other vehicle). At a cost of Rs. 700 per jeep (local), it is much more economical compared to the Rs. 400/head charged by resorts; and much more comfortable too.

The uniqueness of the Kolukkumalai tea compared to the Tata variety is that the workers in these tea gardens use their hands to pick tea leaves whereas in the Tata variety, shears are used. As a result, a worker in the Kolukkumalai tea gardens collects 14-15 kgs/day while his counterpart in the Tata gardens collects 50-60kg/day (a Tata worker gets paid on weight basis). The Kolukkumalai factory is really old, but still producing and is a 100% EOU, with tea being available only at a few places in the town. Visitors can take a tour of the factory for Rs. 75 per head. An English speaking guide explains the processes in detail right from the plucking of the leaves to the time when it lands up in your cup. You can even sample the various grades of tea at the factory (all included in the tour). At the end you have an option of buying packets of tea. The Orange Pekoe (OP) variety used for making lemon tea is especially famous – at Rs. 35 for a 200gm pack, it makes for an excellent gift. OP tea is not supposed to be mixed with milk and can be had warm or can be made into iced tea. Instructions for making that perfect cup of tea are given with every pack that you buy.
Sightseeing in and around Munnar can be finished within a day or two. But be sure to visit the tea-factory. It’s an experience not to be missed.

Distance between Shimla & other major cities in the country like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata & Delhi.
Bangalore - Shimla 2403
Hyderabad - Shimla 1841
Mumbai - Shimla 1742
Chennai - Shimla 2437
Kolkata - Shimla 1751
Delhi - Shimla 343

Labels: bangalore, chennai, Distance between mumbai and shimla, hyderabad, kolkata, shimla and bangalore

Here are some of the Hill stations listed below with respective distances from Delhi, the capital city of India.
Distance between Delhi and Shimla 343
Distance between Delhi and Dehradun 235
Distance between Delhi and Mussoorie 278
Distance between Delhi and Nainital 322
Distance between Delhi and Bhimtal 300
Distance between Delhi and Jammu 583
Distance between Delhi and Shillong 2059
Distance between Delhi and Srinagar 876
Distance between Delhi and Araku 1980

Labels: bhimtal, dehradun, distance ebtween delhi and shimla, jammu kashmir, mussoorie, nainital, shillong, srinagar

After so many days i am back to blog!
A super luxury train, meant to run on the Kalka- Shimla heritage rail section, will finally become operational by the beginning of next month.

This was disclosed by Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Dr P K Goel, during an interaction with The Tribune here today. He said that the trail run of the train is complete and it had already met the safety requirements for running on the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge section. “We are now looking at the coming holiday season in April, and hope to make a clean profit by starting this train,” he said.

The train, which has two coaches (one 10-seater and other 12-seater coach) has been manufactured at the Kalka workshop of the Railways.

Though the two coaches were manufactured in December, 2004, it is only now that the train is ready for operation, after its trial runs for safety.

The Railways is planning to not just attach these coaches to the other trains, running on the route, but also as a special charter train.

Dr Goel informed TNS that the 10-seater coach could be chartered for Rs 7500, the 12-seater coach for Rs 10,000.
For more details click here

Labels: kalka, shimla photos, toy train