Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor

Munnar is a popular tourist destination in Kerala, attracting many people mesmerized by its manicured tea gardens and unique biodiversity. The region holds the largest tea plantations in India. In the nineteenth century, the British Resident of the Travancore Kingdom, John Daniel Munro, visited Munnar and had a great interest in the plantations.

In 1877 Poonjar royal families leased out about 136,600 acres of Munnar hills to Munro for an annual lease. Actual tea cultivation started in 1880 at Munnar.