Experience the life of an English planter here. Re- live the charm of an era that has passed into the mist of history – a classical colonial memory. Unwind engaging with a delightful range of activities on offer. Awake daily to the call of a Malabar Whistling Thrush.
A 15 acre property, set against a wooded hill slope, Tea Harvester is a stylish boutique resort for guests seeking to get away from often trodden pathways and explore authentic localized experiences. A dirt path winds through tea bushes to arrive at the Chitrapura Estate, a working tea plantation that once belonged to a local chieftain. Today it is contiguous to the Palivasal Tea Estate.
Fringed by a cardamom plantation at one end and tea bushes on the other, the white exterior of the property displays certain aspects reminiscent of colonial era architecture. Melding gracefully with sloping roofs that are an intrinsic part of vernacular design, a little fountain, its reservoir filled with lotuses, welcomes guests. The lobby is a treasure trove of colonial period memorabilia – bric-a-brac, ancient photographs on the walls and a set of golf clubs. Seventy years ago the property was a colonial era cardamom processing facility and the home of a butler who worked with English planters stood where the resort does today.
A flight of stairs lead to the accommodations set on three floors behind and above the lobby. The bay windows in the exquisitely furnished rooms look out at a forested hill slope climb towards a pair of looming mountain peaks. The continuous balconies in front of the rooms overlook a tea plantation dotted with fruit and flowering trees.
The cardamom plantation
The cardamom plantation visible from the exclusive balconies in all rooms descends a slope that leads to a lively stream. A wrought iron park bench under a natural canopy sits beside a path travelling down to the stream. The sound of rushing water in the stream is an accompaniment to the bird songs during the day and a lullaby at night.
our address
Tea Harvester Munnar
Chungath Estate
Power House Road, Dobipalam
Chithirapuram P.O., Munnar
Pin: 685 565, Kerala, India.
