Thekkady Tribal Dance : Art Forms from a Forgotten Era
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About a three hour drive from Kumily lies Meghamalai. Popularly called the High Wavy Mountains, Meghamalai is a cool and misty mountain range situated in the Western Ghats in Theni district of Tamil Nadu.
Perched 1500 metres above sea level, Megahamalai with its cool and misty climate is dotted with cardamom plantations and tea estates. For honeymooners this region provides a perfect escape. This area, now mostly planted with tea, includes is home to the Cloudlands, Highwavys and Manalaar estates.
Guests can take a tour of these estates and plantations and indulge themselves in the cool locales of Meghamalai. A highly diverse system of flora and fauna exists in the eco system of Meghamalai. The various animals that are often sighted include, the wild gaur, spotted deer, wild boar, lion-tailed macaque, sloth bear, grey jungle fowl, smooth-coated otter and the flying squirrel. It also is home to over 100 species of birds like the red-whiskered bulbul, common iora, white-browed wagtail, grey wagtail, pied bush chat, Blyth’s reed warbler, barn swallow, spotted dove, Asian paradise flycatcher, brahminy kite and long-tailed shrike.
The cool misty mountains with its cool breeze and scenic views will definitely bring out the hopeless romantic in you. The entire trip to Meghamalai is straight out of a picture postcard with breath taking views at every corner. Guests will definitely love this romantic adv enture of sorts and willkeep coming back for more!
Getting to Meghamalai (Visitor Information) :
The Meghamalai mountain range can be approached two ways, one from Theni via Chinnamanur and the other from Andipatti via Kandamanayakkanur. Both Theni and Andipatti can be easily accessed by road from Madurai and Dindigul. Theni, which is 76 km from Madurai. Only forest lodges and panchayath rest house are available at the hill top. Prior reservation and permission is an absolute must. If looking for a night stay here, one can make room reservation from the forest check-post located 3 km from Chinnamannur on way to Meghamalai. One must reach the check-post at least before 5 PM, if seeking a night’s stay in Meghamalai. Day-trippers may stay in a number of moderately priced hotels in Theni, Chinnamanur and Andipatti.
