Astonishing Munnar - Mesmerizing Tea Gardens

Munnar has large expanses of tea gardens.They look like huge green carpets rolling down every hill or mountain that you look at in Munnar. It is really a marvel as to how they cultivate and maintain tea plantations on such precipitous slopes.The tea gardens look beautiful in rain and even more captivating in bright sunshine. Seeing such lush greenery all around really fills our hearts with bliss and boundless joy,peace & serenity and tranquility.The tea plants require meticulous maintenance and the leaves must be plucked when they are dainty to ensure the right flavor of the tea.The Silver Oaks stand tall like sentinels as if they guard the tea gardens. Actually they do guard-  the silver oaks prevent soil erosion and also capture the moisture in the air which then dew drops gently onto the tea plantation.

Mesmerizing Munnar - More magical pictures.

Here are some more amazing and exotic images from Munnar clicked during a morning walk.There was a cool crisp breeze and a mild mist had descended on the hills. The sun was slowly rising spreading glorious illumination.The landscape was so tranquil & serene and the walk refreshing & energizing 

Cardamom Berries

Exotic Munnar - More Amazing Plants from Spice Garden

Here are more species of exotic plants of amazing beauty that we found in the Spice Garden Munnar:(Could not identify a couple of them)

Green Pepper

Chinese Bamboo

Cardamom Plant

Plant with Copper colored leaves - Identify ?

Balloon Plant

Peppermint Plant

Ginger Plant

Turmeric Plant

Lemon Grass

Cardamom Plant

Keshavardhini (for hair growth)

Alovera Plant

Pineapple Plant

Yellow Swiss Plant

Azelia (Japanese)

Can you identify this ?

Amazing Munnar: The Rudraksha Tree

We were amazed to see a Rudraksha Tree at the Spice Garden at Munnar.
Rudr+aksha meaning—the eye of Lord Rudra [Shiva] is considered to be the most potent manifestation of the Cosmic Force. Hence Rudraksha is the object of veneration and also the source to reach the higher self. Rudraksha is often believed to symbolize the link between the earth and the heaven. These beads are the seeds of the Rudraksha fruit obtained from Rudraksha trees. The Rudraksha tree is botanically known as Elaeocarpus Ganitrus ROXB. Its English name is Utrasum bead tree.

There are clefts called Mukhis on the surface of the beads. The number of Mukhis on the surface of a Rudraksha bead helps in determining its quality. According to the number of Mukhis the Rudraksha bead ranges from single face to a several faced bead. Asians have used Rudraksha beads traditionally. Asian Yogis and Monks found that merely wearing the Rudraksha beads gave them astonishingly tremendous amount of tranquility, concentration that helped them meditate for a long period of time with spectacular control over their mind.

Here are some pictures of the beads and the tree we saw there.

Amazing Munnar: Touch Me Not

"Touch Me Not" : Before and after touching !My grand daughter was simply amazed by the magic. When the leaves folded up she first felt a sense of shock.She thought the plant had died. Touch me not used to be commonly found plant when I was a little boy.Now they are seen very rarely. I have been living in Coimbatore for close to 11 years but am yet to sight a "touch me not" plant here. I had to travel all the to Munnar to see one :)

Before Touching

After Touching

Amazing Munnar: Spice Garden Visit Part 2

The variety of exotic plants we saw here was mind boggling. Here are are several more exotic plants for which I cant quite remember the names. These plants produce spices as well as provide raw material for ayurvedic preparations.Simple see and enjoy the beauty.

Amazing Munnar: Spice Garden Visit Part 1

The spice garden offers a variety of spice plants and endless range of exotic plants.The visit was amazing and highly informative.

Entrance and car park

Coffee Plant

Coffee berries-above & below

Coffee plant & berries

Passion Flower

Nutmeg fruit & tree below

The red mace covering the nutmeg

A banyan tree

The ripe cocoa fruit split into two halves

The Cocoa Tree & Fruit - above & below

The Fig Tree - the fig fruit at the base of the tree

Fig Tree canopy