A short, honest guide to the hill town in the Anamalais — what you must sort before the drive up, and the places locals actually send you to.
The places worth your time — not a padded list.
The valley's edge, where the tea gives way to grasslands and the Anamalai ridgeline opens up. Best at first light, before the mist lifts.
Among the deepest dams in India — still water and morning mist held under forested slopes.
Walk the rows and watch the leaf become the cup, guided by the people who actually grow it.
A roadside cascade on the climb up — a good leg-stretch and your first taste of the forest.
Elephants, gaur and the endangered lion-tailed macaque live along the estates and roads. Watch from a distance, and never feed them.