Travel guide · 10 min read

Munnar's Essential Sights: A Local's Guide

Peaks, lakes, waterfalls and viewpoints: what to see in and around Munnar, how to group them, and when to go.

By GK Global, Adimali, Munnar · Trails & Tales by GK

Munnar is not one sight but a cluster of them, spread along three or four mountain roads that leave town in different directions. The easiest way to plan is by route. Each route below fills a half day or a full day by jeep. We have added honest local notes, written from our base in Adimali at the gateway to the hills.

Route 1: North to Rajamalai and Marayoor

Eravikulam National Park (Rajamalai)

Munnar's crown. The park protects a high plateau of rolling grassland and shola forest and holds the world's largest population of the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the southern Western Ghats. The 2025 census counted 841 tahr in the park. Visitors are taken by forest department bus from the Fifth Mile entry to the Rajamalai tourism zone, where the tahr graze close to the road.

Lakkam Waterfalls

Further along the Marayoor road, this small, family-friendly cascade sits in forest beside the highway. It is a good stop on the way north.

Marayoor and Kanthalloor

Over the hills the land turns dry, warm and sunny. Marayoor has Kerala's only natural sandalwood forest, protected by the forest department, plus ancient dolmens and the famous Marayoor jaggery, which received a Geographical Indication tag in 2019. Kanthalloor next door grows temperate fruit and vegetables: apples, plums, passion fruit and garlic.

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

In the rain shadow, with as little as about 500 mm of rain a year in places, Chinnar has thorny scrub and dry forest unlike anything else in Kerala. It is the place to look for the rare grizzled giant squirrel. Read more in our wildlife article.

Route 2: East to Top Station

Mattupetty Dam and Lake

About 13 km from town, this reservoir is lined with tea and forest. Mattupetty is also known for the Indo-Swiss dairy farm, a cattle-breeding project begun with Swiss cooperation, and wild elephants are sometimes seen grazing on the lake shore.

Echo Point

A lakeside spot where shouts return across the water. It is busy, cheerful and good for a tea-and-snack stop.

Kundala Lake

A smaller, quieter reservoir with pedal boats and shikara-style boats, surrounded by eucalyptus and tea. The old Kundala Valley Railway once ran through this valley. See our history article.

Top Station

At around 1,700 m on the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border, Top Station looks over a sudden drop into the plains of Theni district. On clear mornings the valley fills with cloud below you. Its name comes from the old tea railway, which ended here. Go early: mist often closes in by late morning.

Route 3: South and west: tea, falls and viewpoints

Tea Museum, Nallathanni

Run by KDHP, the museum traces Munnar's tea story through old machinery and photographs and ends with a working factory demonstration and tasting. It is the best one-hour introduction to the hills. Read our tea guide first.

Attukad Waterfalls

Between Munnar and Pallivasal, the falls are at their fullest just after the monsoon. Paths can be slippery, so wear proper shoes.

Pothamedu Viewpoint

About 6 km from town, with sweeping views over tea, coffee and cardamom plantations and the hills beyond.

Cheeyappara and Valara Waterfalls

On the Kochi–Munnar highway near our home town of Adimali, about 42 km before Munnar. Cheeyappara tumbles down in seven tiers beside the road, and Valara falls into a forested gorge nearby. Most travellers pass them on the drive up. They are worth a proper stop.

Route 4: The Gap Road and Chinnakanal

The road towards Bodimettu climbs through Lockhart Gap and the Gap Road, one of the most dramatic drives in Kerala, with cliffs on one side and valleys on the other. Beyond lie the tea and lake country of Chinnakanal and the Anayirangal Dam. Note: the Gap Road has a history of landslides, and sections are sometimes closed in heavy rain.

Jeep-only country

Kolukkumalai

Reached from Suryanelli by four-wheel-drive jeep on a rough estate track, Kolukkumalai is a tea estate at around 2,400 m. It is often described as the highest tea estate in the world, a popular claim that has not been independently verified. Technically it lies just inside Tamil Nadu. Its factory still makes orthodox tea using old methods, and the sunrise over the clouds of the Western Ghats is extraordinary. Ordinary cars cannot make the trip.

Anakkulam

Past Mankulam, at Anakkulam ("elephant pond"), wild elephants come down to drink at a spot in the river where mineral-rich water bubbles up from the riverbed. Late afternoon is the best time. It is one of the most reliable places in Kerala to see wild elephants without entering a reserve.

When to go

And every twelve years the slopes of Eravikulam turn blue with Neelakurinji. The last mass bloom there was in 2018 and the next is expected around 2030. Other colonies, like Chokramudi, flower on their own cycles.