Kolukkumalai - Theni District,Tamilnadu

Nowadays Instagram is keeping me away from blogging..Moreover you guys know me,always too lazy to write :) But I have a lot many travel tales..experienced to the heart's content but sadly untold..This year is full of leisure trips for us,no doubt our Kerala days left us completely lazy..This time we visited Kolukkumalai,one of the popular destinations near Munnar..8,000 feet above sea level,this is known to be the highest tea estate in the world..Most of the tea estates are owned by the well-known Harrrisons Malayalam Ltd.,India's most diversified agri-business..It is India's largest producer of rubber and pepper and also South India's largest producer of tea..Our initial plan was to visit the Neela Kurinji bloom but Munnar was one of the worst hit places during Kerala floods this year..As usual we had a backup plan and Kolukkumalai was the immediate name in our plan..This place is  around 34 km from Munnar and 30 km from Suryanelli(Kerala)..Our pre-booked stay was at 'Lake zone holiday resort' in Suryanelli road in Kerala which is very comfortable.

As personal vehicles are not allowed in Kolukkumalai,you have to take a Jeep safari from there..The early morning jeep ride at 4 am from Suryanelli to Kolukkumalai was absolutely pathetic..Despite of the scenic beauty all around,the bumpy off road (17 km) leaves you exhausted..But after one and half hour drive you feel the pain is really worth it..It's safe to avoid taking elders and kids on this trip.

Now,here we go with the pics.

Shades of dawn..

Camping

The mighty mountains...

Anai-Irangal or Anaiyirankal dam reservoir

Lake Zone holiday resort