Scenic drive
Manjur–Geddai–Korakundah Backroad
A near-empty backroad into the Kundah high country — steep hairpin climbs past Manjur, the Geddai valley and dam, and Korakundah, billed as the highest tea estate in the world, before joining the Avalanche and Upper Bhavani country.
Highlights
- The Geddai dam and valley viewpoint, deep in the quiet Kundah hills
- Korakundah's organic estate, claimed as the world's highest tea garden at around 2,400 m
- A steep, scenic hairpin climb on the Manjur stretch with almost no traffic
- Onward links to Avalanche, Upper Bhavani and Emerald for a full Kundah loop
South-west of Ooty the plateau folds into the Kundah hills, drained by the upper Bhavani. The backroad through Manjur and Geddai is one of the least-used ways across it — narrow, steep in places, and gloriously empty.
From the Coimbatore side the Karamadai–Mulli–Geddai–Manjur approach climbs a slew of hairpin bends; from Ooty you come in via Emerald and Avalanche. Either way the reward is mile after mile of tea, grassland and layered ridgelines.
Korakundah and Thiashola estates near the top sit among the highest in India; the road threads their slopes before dropping toward the Bhavani reservoirs.
- Korakundah estate
- ≈2,400 m
- Manjur climb
- Steep, ~7 km
- Surface
- Narrow, paved
- Traffic
- Very light
On the map
Good to know
- Getting there
- From Ooty via Emerald and Avalanche into Kundah, or up the Coimbatore–Karamadai–Mulli–Geddai–Manjur road.
- Access
- Remote; some single-lane sections and estate roads
- Best time
- October to March, clear and dry days
Plan your visit