Last night we were treated to an amazing display of kalarippayattu at the Kadathanadan Kalari Centre. Originating in Kerala, kalarippayattu is believed to be the oldest surviving martial art in India. Watching high-energy fighters leap several feet into the air with a range of spears and swords is a thrilling sight.
This morning the road climbed higher into the hills as we left Thekkady and travelled to Munnar. I’m not sure there was a straight section on the whole trip, we twisted left, right, up and down, almost like being on a never ending rollercoaster. We stopped to checkout a coffee plantation along the way. The moment we stepped out of the vehicle, we all sighed in relief – cooler mountain air!
We joined a local tea expert who walked us through the life cycle of the leaf – from plucking to processing to pouring, well okay it was our guide Thilip who took us for a stroll through a tea plantation. Helen couldn’t resist picking a few leaves herself (we were told it’s allowed – barely). At 1,525 metres above sea level, the temperature dropped and the tea fields rolled out before us like a green patchwork quilt. We also saw some local boys off for a spot of fishing in the lake.
After lunch we visited a tea museum to learn about the history of tea production in this region. Then we saw a scaled back version of the production process including crush, tear, curl process, then the heat driven fermentation and all through to the sifting into different grades. Following this we sipped freshly brewed varieties wondering if there was a job application for tea tasters-in-residence.
Then it was onto to our hotel over a series of bone shaking tracks, the new bridge is not yet completed. Out hotel, the Fragrant Nature, clings to the side of a mountain high up above the village of Munnar. Sadly at present the view is somewhat restricted due the low cloud, hopefully tomorrow will be better.
