Steeped in beauty

So we are now in Munnar surrounded by and staying on a tea plantation. It is reminding us a lot of Napa but instead of grape vines there are tea shrubs. This is Lockhart Bungalow with three rooms set aside as guest accommodations along with several common areas for tea and also a dining room. It was once the manager’s house.  Since we leave before the crack of dawn as usual for birding, we miss breakfast which they often serve in the gardens weather permitting. We also usually skip dinner (as we do at home) because it often doesn’t begin until 7:30 or 8 pm. That leaves lunch for us to relax and enjoy during the bird lull, and the inn has been graciously doing a nice job of filling us up for our one sit down meal. This is just a two-night stay here and we move on to our final stop in India. Birding has been pretty good here - several new and colorful lifers this morning and we go out again at 2:45 this afternoon. The drives have not been as far to bird from the accommodation, so although still quite curvy it’s not so bad. When we depart in the morning, we stop at a hide before continuing along birding en route to River House.

Here are some of the grounds and tea fields. The interior is quite lovely and historic, but I felt their website shows better photos than I could get, so if I need a refresher I can pull that up.