Valparai Tea Estates
வால்பாறை தேயிலைத் தோட்டங்கள்
Rolling tea and coffee estates surrounding the town. This is Valparai’s signature scenery, where you may spot wild gaur and lion-tailed macaques.
Valparai grew out of tea estates established during the British colonial period. Dozens of tea estates spread across the hillsides around the town, with neatly trimmed tea rows and shade trees forming layers of green. You can stroll along the estate paths, watch tea pickers at work, and, at some tea factories and guesthouses, take a factory tour and tea tasting (by reservation). Tea estates and rainforest patches are interwoven, and in the evening Indian gaur and wild elephants often roam through. Lion-tailed macaques are most easily seen near Puthuthottam Estate. Avoid walking through the tea estates after dark.
Opening hours
Open all day (tea factory visits by reservation)
Nearby sights
- Balaji Temple, Valparai
- Nallamudi Poonjolai View Point
- Chinnakallar Falls
- Upper Sholayar Dam
- Malakkappara
- Loam's View Point
- Monkey Falls
- 40 Hairpin Bends (Aliyar–Valparai Ghat Road)