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Top Station @Munnar

Had been to Munnar multiple times but never visited “Top station” all these years. It was this July that I drove up to the top-station with family. Beautiful roads all the way from Munnar town. Its around 30 odd kilometers from Munnar town. It was slightly drizzling and not so great for photography.

It was around 5.00 pm or so if I remember correctly, when we reached top station. The relaxed uphill climb ended with stunning views of Theni valley across the Kerala boarder. It was getting dark by then. I parked my Scorpy quickly and ran down to the view point, to try and capture the stunning views in the available light.

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Majestic "Mandu" :

Mandav, better known amongst locals as “Mandu”, is a ruined city of Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

It was in July/2015 that I drove with family to Indore from Kerala. My brother had just moved to Indore from Mumbai. In Indore, we had reserved a day for a quick escape from the hassle of city and work. “Mandu” was an immediate choice and it was more of a get-together/family drive rather than a serious exploration at the destination.



Getting there:

Mandu is about 100 km from Indore via NH-3 and then the Dhar-Mandav road. On the NH-3 at Manpur, we took a right turn towards Mandu. Soon we were driving along some beautiful village roads. The entire area was pleasantly green and thinly forested. We loved the setting. It would have been nicer, had our visit been a bit later after some more downpour. Though it was not a great day for photography being dark and cloudy, we had a great time being together in such a lovely natural setting.





Know more about Mandu here
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

[M35]

The Darwazas:


The wall encompassing Mandu has 12 major gates or darwazas. The present road, through which Mandu is reached passes through many of these.

Since we started late, by the time we reached Mandu, we were hungry and had an early lunch in an MPTDC restaurant just before the town.

Roopmati's Pavilion:


Mandu has a number of palaces, tombs, monuments and mosques, of which we thought of spending more time around Rani Roopmati Palace. The town, as I was told, is testament to the love and romance between Prince Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati. As soon as we reached, we were greeted with some stunning architectural beauty in original form.

According to Malwa legends, the music-loving Baz Bahadur built it to persuade a beautiful Hindu singer, Rupmati, to move here from her home on the plains. The love story is a subject of Malwa folk songs – not least because of its tragic ending. Lured by tales of Rupmati’s beauty, Akbar marched on the fort and Baz Bahadur fled, leaving his lover to poison herself.

We drove back from Rupmati Palace and parked our cars in front of
Ashrafi Mahal.

Ashrafi Mahal:

The Ashrafi mahal is located opposite of Jami masjid, in the main market. Know more about Ashrafi Mahal here and here


Jami Masjid is seen opposite to Ashrafi Mahal with the market in between.


Jami Masjid:

Jami Masjid is situated at the tableland of the Mandu and hold a prosperous history of the place and of the Islam in the prior days. Jami Masjid was built by the rulers of Ghauri dynasty. The complicated marble work and its huge size will definitely give you the scope to uncover the mysterious past. Jami Masjid remains quiet and restful as it is not a historical monument only. It was once a place for thousands of worshipers is now nothing but bears history. The large area depicts the capacity of accommodating a hefty amount of worshipers. In Jami Masjid there are small chambers which were used for various reasons. The domes that are place are the hallmark of Afghan architecture.

Know more about Jami Masjid here and here.

Jahaz Mahal:

The Jahaz Mahal was a palace that was built between man-made lakes. It gave the illusion of a floating palace and hence the name was given. Built by Sultan Ghiyathuddin Khilji, it was meant for all the women, including his queens, their staff and the concubines. Memoirs recovered mention that there were roughly 15,000 women who were kept here!

It was already dark by the time we were out of Jahaz Mahal. Drove back home in Indore. Another trip down memory lane comes to an end here.

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Update:
Drove along the Poopara-Munnar stretch a couple of months ago. There is boating facility at Anayinrangal area now !