I was expecting a larger Colonial presence in Munnar since it was essentially created by the British. But since it was a small town to begin with, consisting mainly of a few planters and their Indian workers. Besides it wasn’t a garrison town nor was it a British administrative summer capital. So essentially, the buildings were bungalows belonging to the planters ( many of which are now converted into Hotels) ,The Top Station, The Tea Museum, which is housed in a former colonial era tea factory and of course the High Range Club where we stayed.

Most colonial towns have two quintessential British footprints – a Church and a Botanical Garden.

Christ Church, a stone structure, typically made of stone as were most British colonial buildings, is perched on a hill. It is just over a 100 years old.

There were some repairs work going on while we were there so I couldn’t get proper photo of the church from the outside.

Once inside, you could feel the peace and quiet. As always, there is an air of poignancy as one imagines the people who worshiped there , in an alien land, far away from home, trying to recreate a bit of the world they left behind.

The Flying Spider Monkey Fern Tree

Since our local driver was our guide, I’m not too sure whether what we saw was the Botanical Garden, the Rose Garden or just a plant Nursery. On the map there are two marked gardens: The Government Botanical Garden and the KFDC Flower Garden. In addition, we also visited the Carmelgiri Spice Garden.

It seems that we saw the KFDC Garden which was also known as the rose garden. Sadly we didn’t see many roses and the whole garden had more of a plant nursery feel to it with potted plants placed terraced steps.

We spotted some really exotic plants like the Flying Spider Monkey Fern Tree and creepy looking cacti called Monkey’s Tails at the KFDC Flower garden.

We also spotted some Love Shoots going on and we had to be careful not to photo bomb these ardent young couples.

Similarly, the Carmelgiri Garden which was supposed to house exotic cacti, also looked like a plant nursery. We just went through quickly, bought some genuine Kerala Cloves and Cinnamon and made our way to the last must-see for the day – the Kathakali Dance and Kalaripayattu.

Kathakalli & Kalaripatatu

Though we had decided to cut short our stay at Munnar, we thought we must see a dance performance and a demonstration of the Martial Art form that is supposed to be the precursor to Karate.

The receptionist at the HIgh Range Cluyb directed us to Punarjani, a totally show and tell experience for the tourist. Expecting to see a full fledged dramatic Kathakali dance, we were a bit disappointed to find out that we had signed up for the Fusion performance which showcase all the South Indian dances. It was enjoyable with a mix of modern music, special effects on the stage and was well received by the audience.

But we were not prepared for the packed performance for the later show of Kalaripayatu where the audiences kept coming in. We cut short our show because by this time it had already become dark and we had an early start the next day to drive down to Kochi for our return flight. Besides, the HRC stopped its dinner service by 9 pm and we didn’t want to sleep hungry that night.

So we missed the dramatic fire scenes and we will have to visit Munnar at a better time when the road work is over, when there is no rain in sight and the accommodation lives up to its promise of a truly colonial experience.

A lesson learnt: with climate change being the norm, check out weather before going to any place. Also, identify the reason for choosing your destination – Do you want to chill, hike, trek, see historic sights, observe traditional culture, or eat local cuisine.

Ciao,