Meghamalai Tea Estate Cloud Walk

The High Wavys

Meghamalai, the cloud mountain, is a range of the Western Ghats in Theni district, also called the High Wavy Mountains. Since the early 20th century its slopes have been planted with tea and cardamom by a handful of large estates, and the narrow ghat road from Chinnamanur still has a forest check-post that keeps hours. The hills are now part of a tiger reserve, so the estates feel remote and quiet.

On the estate

Your host, who manages a tea division, walks you along the estate's own roads between the tea fields, never into the reserve forest. You see a morning muster of pluckers, how two leaves and a bud are picked and weighed, and how pruning and shade trees keep the bushes healthy at around 1,500 metres. On clear mornings the reservoirs of the estate shine below; on most others the clouds roll straight through the tea, which is how the range got its name.

Tasting

The walk ends at the division bungalow with a tasting of the estate's teas, from a bright first-flush style to a strong CTC brew, with a simple breakfast. Bring a warm layer and rain protection: weather changes fast up here.