Top Station, Munnar

Top Station is the end point of Munnar's most scenic drive, with views over the Tamil Nadu plains. Go early for the clearest skies.

Top Station sits on the edge of the Western Ghats about 32 km east of Munnar, where the road climbs past Mattupetty, Echo Point and Kundala to the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border. Kerala Tourism puts it at about 1,700 metres above sea level, the highest point on the old Munnar–Kodaikanal road. From the viewpoints the land falls away steeply to the plains of Tamil Nadu, with ridge after ridge of the Ghats on either side. The name comes from the plantation era.

From around 1900 planters used ropeways and monorails to move goods from the Kannan Devan estates down to the plains. A light railway with stations at Mattupetty and Palaar later ended at Top Station; a flood in 1924 destroyed the track, and a wheel from this Kundala Valley Railway is displayed at the KDHP Tea Museum. Today visitors walk down short paths to viewpoints and watchtowers.

The area is known for Neelakurinji, which covers the slopes in blue during its rare mass flowerings. Mornings are usually clearest; cloud often rolls up from the valley by late morning. The road is narrow and winding, and it is sensible to start back to Munnar by mid-afternoon. A trek of about 9 km climbs to the area from Kurangani on the Tamil Nadu side, and trails through the adjoining Pambadum Shola need permission at the forest check post (per travel sources).