Scenic Manjur will give Ooty a run for its money

Travel junkies who are in love with the popular hill station of Ooty should definitely visit Manjur tucked away in the Nilgiri hills. Manjur, which could be loosely translated as ‘home of the mist’, is endowed with impressive natural scenery, and one has to manoeuvre 34 hair pin curves to reach this captivating destination. It is noteworthy that one could get a bird’s eye view of the Kundah Dam on the way to Manjur.

As you go up the ghat road, you could see patches of land under carrot cultivation in the valley on the left side. You have to head to Manjur if you want to enjoy the pristine beauty of the Nilgiri hills. The serene atmosphere, good facilities for accommodation and traditional food make Manjur a go-to place for travel aficionados. If you are a tea lover, Manjur is the right place for you as you could buy quality tea, that too at lower price, from the Kundah Indco Tea Factory, which is the first co-operative tea factory. People belonging to the Badaga community started the factory, which is celebrating its golden jubilee.

Manjur is 34km away from Ooty. The road to Mulli on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border from Manjur is pretty narrow. While descending to Attappady in Palakkad district, one has to pass through 43 tough hair pin curves. You have to be cautious while travelling on this stretch as there are deep gorges on one side of the road. The hills in the region are replete with lush green verdant forest and though a drive through the area in the evening is exciting, danger lurks in the form of elephants and thick mist.

You have the opportunity to see Geddai Dam, penstock pipes and power house on the Mulli-Manjur stretch.

The journey to Manjur is through the Tamil Nadu forest, which is abutting the Attappady reserve forest and the drive has its own share of adventure as the region is known for spotting wild elephants roaming through the road and the road is so narrow that it is very difficult to make way for vehicles coming from opposite direction.