[17-05] Kolukkumalai Tea Estate Trek

A "moderate DIY" trek in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, from Kurangini Village (745m above msl) to the world's highest Organic Tea Garden, Kolukkumalai Tea Plantation (highest point is 2036m above msl).

The path traverses through Kurangini village from behind the primary school and water tank and is moderately steep. It continues to be steep for an hour or so and transforms into a gradual climb with intermittent steep climbs beyond the 1st hill.

The Lone Tree on the path (1320m above msl), which is visible from Kurangini village, marks the halfway (in terms of trekking time) point. After which it follows a zig-zag trail up the hill and enters into the mountain forest.

The trail through the forest is thick at places but manageable. In here, cool gusts of wind relieves one temporarily of the morning sun's heat. The forest trail continues for around 2.5 hours and is mostly shaded with thorny bushes and grass on either side of the trail. If lucky Malabar Giant Squirrels can be sighted here, we were lucky 😊.

The forest trail ends abruptly into the tea plantation, with the forest foliage giving way to mist covered mountains dressed in tea plants and the sight of workers collecting tea leaves. ₹10 can get one a piping hot tea to rejuvenate oneself. Tea powder from plants grown in the plantation are available for purchase here.

Jeeps can be hired to Suryanelli from the estate @ ₹200/head, from where autorikshaws will take one to Power House bus stop for buses to Munnar.

An early morning start (0630hrs) will help to evade the heat and also give you ample time at the tea estate if one is interested in learning about the stages involved in converting tea leaves into tea power and interact with the locals. 2L of water would suffice for the trek.

There is a trail to Meesapulimala from Kolukkumalai Tea Plantation. If everything goes as planned I'll upload it by end of this month.