High Tea in Kerala and Tamil Nadu – the Kolukkumalai Tea Estate, India

Everlastings, Tea, and Mountains Forever …
The world’s highest tea plantation sits at 2400 m (7900 ft) in the Western Ghats of South India. This is the Kolukkumalai Tea Estate, which straddles the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. At top of the estate – only accessible by 4×4 jeep – the views go on forever.

Scenes From A Jeep: Heading into the Plantation
The entry to the tea plantation is manicured and tidy.

Tall Eucalyptus
I was surprised to see Australian gum trees along the boundary of the tea plantation – but apparently eucalyptus forests are often planted in these mountainous regions.

A Sea of Green
As we drive up into the tea plantation itself, the tea plants (Camellia sinensis) stretch out in tidy rows.

Tea Leaves
The pickers are skilled labourers who hand-select “two leaves and a bud” from each plant to ensure the best flavor.

Tea Picker
Picking tea is a meticulous, highly skilled, and hard process – but the workers have ready smiles for visitors.

At the Tea Plantation
The work doesn’t end when you have filled your basket: the tea has to get back to the factory somehow! I spent a summer in my youth picking strawberries (badly), so I have great admiration for and empathy with these workers.

Large Loads

The Road to High Tea
The upper plantation is only accessible by jeep. We had swapped our sedan for a 4WD with a designated driver who warned me to sit up straight and hold on. Even with my phone, it was almost impossible to take pictures as I bounced and jolted around the back seat. The road – if you can call it that – is a series of rocks, ruts, cracks, and potholes. And it got continually worse!

Winding Roads
But the views! Looking back down the hill, you can see the dirt roads zig-zagging their way up through the tea bushes.

Rhododendrons over the Jagged Peaks
At the top of the mountain, rhododendron bushes cling to the rocks and Tamil Nadu stretches out into the mists before us.

Mysore St. John’s Wort – Hypericum Mysurense
These shrubs are native to the higher elevations of South India and Sri Lanka.

Taking in the View
The jeep driver might have done this hundreds of times, but he still took the time to appreciate the view back down to the rivers entering Munnar far below.

Nilgiri Rhododendron – Rhododendron Arboreum subsp. Nilagiricum

Flowers on the Edge
The rhododendron bushes cling to the most improbable places!

Lion Rock

People along the Way
Other visitors to the mountaintop want to have their pictures taken with me.

Nilgiri Tahr
High on a neighbouring peak – out of range of my eyes and camera – a number of the endangered endemic mountain goats clamber over the rocks.

Over the Tea and Foothills

Two Drivers : One Mahindra Jeep
The jeep driver and Rajesh, my regular driver, pose next to the Indian-made vehicle that got us up the mountainside.

Kolukkumalai Tea House
The tea house is quiet – but I do manage to get a cup of coffee.

Making Tea
The green-roofed building on the mountainside opposite us is the historic Kolukkumalai Tea Factory. It was built by the British in the 1930s and still produces organic tea in the traditional manner.

Strawflowers – Xerochrysum Bracteatum
I love strawflowers – also known as paper daisies or everlastings.

Everlasting Views
Although strawflowers are native to Australia, they have become common in high-altitude regions of the Western Ghats, particularly around the hill stations.

Over the Kolukkumalai Tea and Silver Oak
Silver oak (Grevillea robusta) is planted among the tea bushes to anchor the soil and provide some sun protection to the precious tea leaves. It is another Australian import.