Unknown to a lot of people, Marayoor or Marayur is a very less touristy place. Being crazy travellers, we were aware of the place but there was never adequate information on the internet since it is not a popular tourist destination even though it just lies on one side of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary.We left Munnar a day before the usual plan as it was raining all the time. 

Marayoor is at a distance of 42 km from Munnar and the drive from Munnar to Marayoor is one of the best drives we have done so far. The Road SH17 passes by Eravikulam National Park and the magical Kanan Devan Hills. So in case if you are visiting Eravikulam NP from Munnar, you will be travelling a part of the scenic road and get to enjoy a good part of the beauty, but that is only 40% of the whole show.

We left our Hotel at around 11 am. First we stopped by a bakery to grab some tea and biscuits. There are plenty of bakeries in Munnar  just like in Bangalore and it is a very known thing that in Bangalore the majority of the bakeries are either run or owned by Keralites. But it seemed to us that bakeries in Munnar add less sugar in the tea compared to bakeries in Bangalore! ( at least in the ones we have tried).

Next we went to a spice shop. We got bags full of cardamon, cinnamon and tea. Cardamon is very fresh and less priced in Munnar. In Munnar we saw shops were selling Sri Lankan cinnamon as well as our Indian ones.

We left Munnar and started to follow SH17. Inspite of the rain for the last few days, the roads were good. As the road approaches Eravikulam NP, the scenic beauty increases. Till Eraikulam National Park there was a good number of cars on the road. The entrance to the National Park is on the highway and so there was a traffic congestion but after we crossed the gate, traffic got reduced. We got the road all for us, except for some cars and bikers which was rare and few.

After crossing Eravikulam, the road starts getting more scenic. We really could not find adequate words to describe how magical it looks and feels.Just image that from the road, you are looking far and what all you see is different layers of mountains all covered in so many shades of green. There is the strong wind blowing on your face and the sun playing hide and seek with you because of the clouds that are moving so very fast. At some places on the far away mountains you see the sun peeking through the clouds and that part of the mountain looks bright green while the other parts of the same mountain looks bottle green.You notice some tiny waterfalls in some faraway mountain - waterfall that has formed because of the heavy rain for the last two days and which might vanish if the Sun shines bright for the next two days. You see all these while breathing the mountain fresh oxygen saturated air, listening to the birds chirping away and standing on the side of a road which is done on a stepped mountain where one side is high and the other side is low and both the sides have tea gardens that are in your reach. Indeed magical is the only word I find to describe such a place! We took some time lapses and will share the videos here, once its uploaded in youtube.

There are a few designated viewpoints that will fall on the road, one is the Anaimudi view point. Although there are no signboards as such, but many people do stop for a view.The road passes through the very famous Kanan Devan estates. We also stopped to take a few pictures and enjoy the scenic beauty of the very very beautiful Kanan Devan Hills.The name Kanan Devan has an interesting story.When the first British men came to Munnar, they took the help of two local Madhuvan tribal mean as their local guide who would help them to survey the land. The madhuvans were the early tribal people living in the area.Modern history describe them as descendants of a group of people who migrated from the Africa about 55,000 years ago.They are considered to be the earliest inhabitants of the Western Ghats. The two local Madhuban men's names were Kanan and Devan and hence the British named the hills as Kanan Devan.

As we crossed Kanan Devan and moved further, the vegetation of the land changed. So far it was tea gardens all around, now tea gardens started getting replaced by huge stretches of shola forests.Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu.The Shola forests of South India derive their name from the Tamil word solai, which means a 'tropical rain forest'.

As we approached more towards Marayoor, we entered the Marayoor Reserved Forest. An attendant at the checkpost took our details and allowed us to enter the reserved forest. Just a few metres inside the forest, we noticed that both the sides of the road are bounded by barb wires so that no one can enter the forest. As we were discussing amongst ourselves as what could be the reason, we saw a big banner in green which states 'Sandalwood Reserved Forest'. It made sense then, as why there were barbs on either side of the road.We also saw a Government nursery who had sandalwood saplings for sale in case anyone is interested. Later when came to know that this is the only place in Kerala that has natural sandalwood forest and every tall tree that we saw in the sandalwood Reserved Forest was a sandalwood tree.

We stayed at a heritage hotel Chandana Royal. The interiors of the hotel is outstanding. It is done on traditional Marayoor styled royal homes. Inside the hotel there is an abundance use of wood furnitures, railings, ceilings and lots of antique things. Apart from the interiors the location of the hotel is excellent. It is just adjacent to the Karimutty waterfalls, if I am not wrong with the name. The food is average except for the daal ( lentil soup) but the restaurant staffs are extremely courteous Marayoor does not have too many hotels as the tourist inflow is  less, but its still a good idea to book a hotel before going. The hotel industry is not so organised so whenever we called any hotel, they would give a rate, when we reached there they had a different rate and if your negotiation skill is good you will get another rate. 

Entry to the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary was just a few metres away from our hotel. There are jeep rides inside Chinnar WLS although we did not do it. From the hotel balcony we got some of the spectacular view of the far away mountains and the Thoovanam Waterfalls. The icing on the cake was on the next day when we saw double rainbow in the sky. The rooftop is also accessible to guests from where we got a 270 degree view. It was a view we will never forget...so vast and so beautiful.If you are staying in Marayoor this hotel is a recommended.

Apart from sandalwood, Marayoor is also famous for its sugarcanes. We searched locally if we can get to buy some sandalwood pieces but we did not get much luck, maybe a good search in the nearby Marayoor main market would have been more fruitful.However the commodity that is found easily in Marayoor is fresh jaggery made from the locally grown sugarcane plants.

The next day after the normal checkout time we started heading back for Namma Bengaluru. We had to go through the Chinnar WLS. We spotted some birds such as the hoopoe and Indian roller and a mongoose.Some of the views were stunning.Marayoor was really rewarding for us in this trip, the weather stayed good, the stay was good and the scenic beauty was mesmerising. We never had much expectations but were amply rewarded.

In the last concluding blog, I will write about the trip itinerary and all related details. Till then...Byee.