Tuesday, 12 November 2013

India - Hill station - Munnar 13.11.2013

Munnar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Munnar
മുന്നാർ
Hill station
Munnar Hill station
Munnar is located in Kerala
Munnar
Coordinates: 10°05′21″N 77°03′35″ECoordinates10°05′21″N 77°03′35″E
CountryIndia
StateKerala
District • Idukki
Area
 • Hill station557 km2 (215 sq mi)
Elevation[1]1,700 m (5,600 ft)
Population
 • Metro68,205
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalamEnglish
Time zoneIST (UTC+5:30)
PIN685 612
Telephone code04865-
Vehicle registrationKL-06
Websitekeralatourism.org/destination
Munnar (Malayalamമുന്നാർ) is a town in the southwestern state of KeralaIndia. Munnar is situated around 1600 m above sea level, [2] in the Western Ghats range of mountains and is a hill station
The name Munnar is believed to mean "three rivers",[3] referring to the location at the confluence of the Madhurapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers.[4]
Munnar town is situated on the Kannan Devan Hills village in Devikulam taluk and is the largest panchayat in the Idukki district in Kerala having an area measuring nearly 557 km².[citation needed]
The nearest major railway stations are at Ernakulam and Aluva (approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) by road). The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, which is 105 kilometres (65 mi) away.
Tea Gardens at Munnar

Geography and climate

The region in and around Munnar varies in height from 1,450 meters (4,760 ft) to 2,695 meters (8,842 ft) above mean sea level. The temperature ranges between 5 °C (41 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in winter and 15 °C(59 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in summer.[5] Temperatures as low as −4 °C (25 °F) have been recorded in the Sevenmallay region of Munnar.[6][not in citation given] The mean maximum daily temperature is at its lowest during the monsoon months with the highest temperature being 19 °C (66 °F).
[hide]Climate data for Munnar
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average high °C (°F)22.4
(72.3)
23.7
(74.7)
25.3
(77.5)
25.6
(78.1)
25.6
(78.1)
23.7
(74.7)
22.4
(72.3)
22.8
(73)
23.2
(73.8)
22.7
(72.9)
21.8
(71.2)
21.9
(71.4)
23.42
(74.17)
Daily mean °C (°F)17.6
(63.7)
18.7
(65.7)
20.2
(68.4)
21
(70)
21.4
(70.5)
20.3
(68.5)
19.3
(66.7)
19.5
(67.1)
19.6
(67.3)
19.2
(66.6)
18.3
(64.9)
17.7
(63.9)
19.4
(66.94)
Average low °C (°F)12.9
(55.2)
13.7
(56.7)
15.1
(59.2)
16.5
(61.7)
17.3
(63.1)
16.9
(62.4)
16.3
(61.3)
16.3
(61.3)
16
(61)
15.7
(60.3)
14.8
(58.6)
13.5
(56.3)
15.42
(59.76)
Precipitationmm (inches)18
(0.71)
29
(1.14)
47
(1.85)
129
(5.08)
189
(7.44)
420
(16.54)
583
(22.95)
364
(14.33)
210
(8.27)
253
(9.96)
164
(6.46)
64
(2.52)
2,470
(97.25)
Avg. rainy days22368910910128584
Mean monthlysunshine hours2482322482402171201241241501551802172,255
Source #1: Climate-Data.org, altitude: 1461m[7]
Source #2: Weather2Travel for sunshine and rainy days[8]

Flora and fauna

Most of the native flora and fauna of Munnar have disappeared due to severe habitat fragmentation resultant from the creation of the plantations. However, some species continue to survive and thrive in several protected areas nearby, including the new Kurinjimala Sanctuary to the east, the Chinnar Wildlife SanctuaryManjampatti Valley and the Amaravati reserve forest of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary to the north east, the Eravikulam National Park and Anamudi Shola National Park to the north, the Pampadum Shola National Park to the south and the proposed Palani Hills National Park to the east. These protected areas are especially known for several threatened and endemic species including Nilgiri Thar, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel, the Nilgiri Wood-pigeonElephant, the Gaur, the Nilgiri langur, the Sambar, and the Neelakurinji (that blossoms only once in twelve years). [9][10]

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