Marayoor Sandalwood Forest Kerala

This beautiful destination is the only place in Kerala that has natural sandalwood forests and the vast sugarcane farms, known for the best variety of solid molasses (Jaggery in Malayalam). If you want to explore this heavenly place and enjoy the sight of aromatic sandalwood trees, then Marayoor is not very far away from Munnar. This densely jungle is located around 40 kms from Munnar, on the eastern side of the Western Ghats and is bordered by the neighbouring state Tamil Nadu. Tourists can visit the famous sandalwood factory here, which is run by the Forest Department.

Highlights

Kerala has less acres of sandalwood forests than its neighbouring states like Tamilnadu and Karnataka, that possesses the best types of sandalwood trees owing to a reduced rainfall, which favours its abundant growth. Marayoor is a pristine forest, which is visited by a large number of tourists every day. It is a best place for trekking and for adventure seekers, who can catch a glimpse of the natural sights here while exploring the jungle. The lush green tea plantation and rain shadow trees, makes the atmosphere of Marayoor cool and refreshing.

Prime Attractions

A lot of things make Marayoor a wonderful destination, which is worth a visit and Muniyara, a prehistoric site inside the Marayoor Forest Range is one such attraction, which makes this place even more intriguing and interesting. People with great interest in history, archaeology or anthropology, should definitely visit this 2000-year-old megalithic monument, which has some large burial chambers belonging to the megalithic age.

Ezhuthupara is a pre-historic site where cave paintings can be seen. It is another famous attraction at Marayoor, which displays two different types of paintings-those drawn with reddish brown soil having iron minerals in different colours and those drawn with white clay soil. These paintings depict the legendary wandering of 'Rama and Sita' and the 'Pandavas' inside the caves.

There are around 65,000 trees in the Sandalwood Forest of Marayoor and these are said to be of high quality. One can gain more knowledge about these trees at 'Sandalwood Regeneration Experimental Plot,' which is run by the State Forest Department. The tourists can also see the processing of sandalwood in this forest and take a stroll in the jungle, only after taking permission from the Forest Department.

Marayoor Sarkara is another interesting thing that makes this place a popular spot. The famous variety of solid molasses produced as 'Marayoor Sarkara' is known to be the best sarkara (jaggery) in the market with 97 percent sugar content. The production of sugarcane is high in this region as it falls in the rain shadow area, which helps in maintaining the temperature and the ph value of the Earth. The sugarcane is cultivated in around 1,500 acres under Molasses production.

Pamber River is a scenic river, which flows between the villages of Marayoor and Kanthalloor and originates in the Anamudi hills. This stunning river enhances the beauty of Marayoor forest and offers a very attractive sight to the visitors.