Munnar, Kerala, that is where the tea comes from. To get there it was a tough day of cycling. A climb of 2000 meter, and still no tea plantations in sight, I was exhausted and just looking for a bed and some food. Then I passed a curve and what I saw was breathtaking. A valley of a thousand shades of green. Tee trees everywhere and I stopped every few meters to take a picture.

The city of Munnar itself lies on 1500 meter, and not only the surrounding hills and tea plantations make it a famous tourist destination, also the cool climate. The rest is not so different from another indian town. Noisy, dusty, full of hotels and tourist shops and travel agencies, and after searching for almost one hour I found the cheapest and smallest hotel room in town.

Next day I cycled through this amazing landscape up to the so called “Top Station” and back to Munnar. On the way I met some people harvesting the tea.

When you now think the local people must been drinking the best tea selection ever, you are wrong. What you get at the small tea stalls in town, is actually very bad quality. They use the tea leaves which fall down on the ground while harvesting, or so called tea dust.
The best quality, ready processed and packed , is only for export, the local people can´t afford it.
I bought some good coffee and chocolate, which is also produced around Munnar and continued my journey to Tamil Nadu.

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