Munnar is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country which is located in the southern part of the country in the state of Kerala. Munnar is a hill station and is one of the most popular honeymoon destinations in the world. Munnar is a part of the Nilgiri Hills which is also known as the ‘Blue Mountains’ because of the blue coloured Neelakurinchi. These are flowers which are rare and blossom once in twelve years. Also, there are many endangered species in the region such as the Nilgiri Tahr which is a rare breed of mountain goat. Many wildlife sanctuaries and national parks have also been built over the years to protect and safeguard these animal species against harm.
In both the south Indian languages of Malayalam and Tamil, the name of the place ‘Munnar’ means ‘three rivers’, since it is the place where the three mountain streams merge. The Duke of Wellington was probably the first renowned and influential person to visit the hill station of Munnar.
Munnar was named as the summer capital of the British in the southern part of India. The region of Munnar was further developed by the British in order to cultivate tea plants but it was discovered originally by Scottish planters. In the early developmental period of this region only Tamilians worked and inhabited this region as well as a few Malayalis. Later on, more Malayali people were recruited to work in tea plantations and also in bungalows that were built in Munnar for British tea estate managers who mostly occupied top posts. Some of these bungalows are in good condition even today and are also in use. The local people here speak the Malayalam language, the vernacular language of Kerala. Since there are a lot of Tamilians as well, the Tamil language is also spoken.
Although the town has a very ancient history which dates back to the Stone Age civilization, the written history only dates back to the 10th century AD. In the early part of the 19th century, Kannan Thevar, who was the headman of the Anchanad villages governed these lands which are located in the north of the high ranges. This region belonged to the Rajah of Poojar. Also, the first tea sapling was planted at Parvathi which is currently a part of the Sevenmallay estate by A.H. Sharp. This consisted of 50 acres of land in the midst of jungles.
J D Munro who was a British lawyer and also a tea planter leased close to 600 square km of land in Munnar from the Poonjar Rajah who was under the Maharaja of Travancore. This region was mostly covered with thick forests which were cleared for the setting up of tea estates.
