Anayirankal dam, now a major attraction at Munnar is a place that is so abundantly blessed by nature that it now ranks high among the places that are unavoidable on one’s visit to Munnar. This famous tourist destination lies not far, at a distance of about 7 km from The Wind Munnar – Munnar’s premium cliff edge cottage. The place is bordered by thick evergreen forests and tea plantations. Thus, Anayirankal dam wears the prime colour of nature all around attracting many nature lovers. Those travelling on either direction on the Munnar-Thekkady route are sure to spend some time in the place.
Since, a portion of the banks of the Anayirankal borders with the evergreen forests, the dam is also a major source of water for the wildlife living within the forests. And so, tourists can watch herds of elephants on the banks of the Anayirankal as they arrive to quench their thirst. In fact, this activity won Anayirankal its name! The place also shelters some rare species of seasonal birds and so attracts a large number of bird lovers. The tea plantations surrounding the place at one look makes one feel as if a green carpet has been spread all over. The majority of the tea plantation in the place is owned by Tata Tea group.
One other major reason that keeps tourists arriving at the Anayirankal is the different fun-filled thrilling activities organised at the place; the major activity being boating. Introducing the boating activity at Anayirankal was the visionary idea of the Kerala Hydel Tourism Centre (KHTC). The boating activity was introduced as a part of the Anayirankal Hydel Tourism project to promote the development of the place on seeing its potential to be a major tourist destination. Registered during the year 1999, the Kerala Hydel Tourism Centre (KHTC) is a unit of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) whose main objective is to ensure the effective utilization of water based tourism potential in the natural surroundings of the hydel projects while conserving the ecology of the area.
