When in Munnar, Kolukkumalai Sunrise point is one of those places that shouldn’t be missed. But if you are expecting the one of highest tea plantation point to look all cloudy and heavenly like the pictures on google, then you are mistaken. I am not saying that the photos are edited but it’s not always the case. When we visited Munnar in November 2022, we got a chance to visit this beautiful place but it looked something like this
A plain blue sky, no clouds and no sun. We were disappointed, we paid Rs 5000 rupees to see the wonder of the nature but were unlucky .
Kolukkumalai, a small village is home to the highest tea plantations in the world. And the tea grown here is said to have a special flavour due to the high altitude. The highest point of these hills is often frequented by travellers to experience a magical sunrise. The point is only accessible by jeep due to the condition of the road. You can book a jeep directly from your hotel or you can reach the check point in your vehicle and then book a jeep. The entry gate/check point opens at 5am and it takes about 45 minutes to teach the top.
DOS
*Check the weather before booking a jeep. We visited on a rainy day and couldn’t see the sunrise
*Reach entry gate by 5am so that you don’t miss the sunrise. Also so that your view is not crowded by other people.
* Carry your jackets/shawls/ mufflers as it gets quite cold on the top
* Carry some snacks with you
- The jeep costs Rs5000 if booked directly from the hotel. So, its better to be in a group then travelling solo or in pair.
DONTS
__*__Even the road from the village to the entry gate is rugged. Don’t attempt to reach the entry gate in a scooty. Before dawn there are chances of animal sightings too.
- The road from the entry gate to the view point is very bad. It is not good for infants , old people and anyone experiencing pain in their body. Don’t take them with you.
* There are no washrooms on top**.** Jeeps onlystop near the factory on the return journey where one can use the washrooms then**. Dont drink a lot of water** while going up.
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Wonderful post @prachichime , most sought after and ideal to have on LG Connect, I loved every bit of it 
Another tip that I would like to add based on my visit to the Munnar Tea Gardens is about the ‘tea collection back sack baskets’ that everyone loves to pose with.
We found that there were several pick-up and drop points for such baskets though they were locked in the pick-up rooms.
There was no way we could access them, so we moved on and started strolling around in the tea plantations and to our surprise found that there were several lying around in the bushes that were left over by earlier visitors who did not care to return them to the drop-points.
I would also request @TravellerG from Kerala to add any small or big helpful tip when visiting Munnar.
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Hey Tushar,
I didnt know there was such a thing. We got our pictures clicked on a hill where the photographers were standing. And they had baskets with them. We couldnt enter the plantation as everywhere it was written that ‘Trespassers are not allowed’. Was it a specific plantation that you visited? or was it organised by the hotel?
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Well, you both have covered all most all helpful tips, dear friend @TusharSuradkar & fellow LG @prachichime .
Yes, well conceived and presented post… I fully agree with our Moderator Tushar Ji.
However, we used to carry SALT as at some areas, the LEECHES are seen - this silent attacker can be dangerous also.
In any season, the climate in Munnar is totally unpredictable - just your luck works.
All the best…
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Hello, fellow LG @prachichime ,
If you don’t TAG, the other LG won’t get any “Notification” that you have responded to.
How to TAG: Simply by typing the symbol @ before the User Name of an LG (as I have done above, to you), you can send a notification (TAG) to the other member. Ex: if you need to TAG me, then type @ followed by TravellerG - then I will get a notification - for more details, click 'Here’.
Hope this will help you.
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Hi @prachichime
This is the Tea Museum about which even we did not know, but an auto driver whom we hired for local sightseeing insisted on.
You are correct in that stranders cannot enter tea gardens or plantations even when they are accessible from the roadside.
But behind this museum was a special area marked for visitors who could carry the empty tea baskets for photo-ops.
No photographers here, we are allowed to click our own photos.
Also, another tip for roadside paid photographers - it is best to bargain for digital copies be included for free alongside paid printed photos.
This is because they show a preview on the camera display which may not allow picking our best photo out of the dozens that they capture.
I got my own paper prints after returning home from the digital copied.
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@prachichime
Also, I would suggest using the @ tool to address people when replying, as I have done above.
This sends a notification to people about your message and helps keep the communication streamlined.
[EDIT] Noted that @TravellerG has already written about this which I did not notice - but we are here only to help 
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@TusharSuradkar and @TravellerG thankyou for telling me. I thought when I clicked reply under your comment, you will get a notification like on instagram.
I will remember that 
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@TusharSuradkar Actually we didnt visit the tea museum. We took a tour of tea factory and we didnt know they let you go inside the tea plantation so we didnt go to tea museum. Next time 
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Yes, as rightly mentioned by our Moderator @TusharSuradkar , Tea Museum is worth visiting once, for sure… fellow LG @prachichime .
Here is a 2019 post on Munnar - maybe you are interested to read? There are a few photos of the Museum also in the post.
Regards with greetings
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Hello @TravellerG
The link to your post was left out in your previous post.
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Extremely sorry for the error in linking; I have corrected it - kindly check when you get some free time, please -
Thanks, dear @TusharSuradkar Ji.
Regards
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Thank you @TravellerG for sharing the link.
I don’t remember this post since I was not a local guide then.
You have captured the charm of Munnar at its best
Mesmerizingly beautiful photos, I’ve been to most of these places, but they look even more amazing through your lovely photos.
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Pleasure is mine to share the link, my dear @TusharSuradkar Ji,
Thanks for inspiring compliments…
Happy that you liked the photos.
Regards…
Helpful post @prachichime
I think, only happiness you had was that biscuit rather than Kolukkumalai sunrise…
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I am sorry, I cant believe, I couldnt understand the comment earlier. Good one @SachinVijayan
