More farmland and even more tea plantations and on to spice plantations

The next day, Thursday, we cycled from Pollachi for 50km through very fertile farmlands. At one point we stopped and chatted to a couple of ladies weaving screens from palm leaves. They aim to weave about 100 in a day and they will get paid 500 rupees. They looked very happy in their task.

At the border of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary we transferred to the car, where we then drove on to Munnar. This is a beautiful drive, and there looked to be huge scope for rock climbing adventures, if perhaps it wasn’t so hot.

At Munnar we took the opportunity to vet the Tea Museum, where we could see the tea making process, through the various drying stages and on to the grading.

We had two night at the Tea County hotel in Munnar, so we took the opportunity to get some watching done.

Friday was a rest day. Well, it was a rest form the bikes, and we headed into the hills via jeep on a very rough road. We were at quite a high altitude, at 2300m, so it was just a short hike, but the scenery was beautiful.

We were also fortunate enough to see the elusive blue Neelakurinji flower that only blooms once every 12 years!

Back in Munnar we explored the small town and the market.

The next day, Saturday, with fresh clean clothes, we started perhaps one of our favourite days. We cycled through 60km of tea plantations, enjoying the beautiful sights and sounds, and taking the opportunity to talk to the tea pickers, test the weight of the leaves, and to walk through the myriad of paths through the tea bushes.

From tea plantations and on to spice plantation. We transferred from the bikes back to the car and drove on to Periyar. First, a visit to an organic spice farm, where I obliged in buying some spices, although my food cupboard is already full of all the spices they had. And then on to our very luxurious hotel, the Forest Canopy.