MuseumClosed Monday

KDHP Tea Museum

#4of 10 places to visit in MunnarMunnar, Kerala

Also known as Kannan Devan Tea Museum · Tata Tea Museum Munnar

Quick answer

Opening hours: 10:00 – 16:00, closed Mondays (closed Monday). Entry: ₹75 Indian · ₹150 foreign. Allow 1 hr. Best time: 10:00 – 11:30.

Updated 18 September 2026 · By Traveliac Editorial Team · 4 min read

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Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Opening hours: 10:00 – 16:00, closed Mondays; Closed Monday
Entry fee: ₹75 Indian; Ticket from
Time needed: 1 hr
Best time of day: 10:00 – 11:30
Best months: Oct – Mar
Address: Nallathanni Estate, Munnar, Idukki district, Kerala 685612

About KDHP Tea Museum

The KDHP Tea Museum charges roughly ₹75 for Indian adults and ₹35 for children as of 2026, and stands on the Nallathanni Estate about 2 kilometres from Munnar town centre, making it one of the few sights walkable from the main bazaar. Opened in 2004, it holds the claim of being the first museum in India dedicated entirely to tea, and it has drawn more than 2.5 million visitors since — a number the museum itself displays near the entrance. The collection runs from a granite sundial dated 1913 through an original 1905 tea roller and a rotor-vane processing machine still capable of running, alongside a Pelton wheel once used for hydroelectric power generation on the estate and even a wheel salvaged from the old Kundale Valley Light Railway. A working miniature tea factory attached to the museum lets visitors watch a scaled-down version of the withering, rolling, and drying process that happens at industrial scale in KDHP's operating factories nearby, ending in a tea-tasting session available for a separate fee.

Best time of day: 10:00 – 11:30. Right after opening, before tour groups combine the museum with the Photo Point stop later in the morning.

Photography

₹20 camera fee

KDHP Tea Museum timings

Opening hours: 10:00 – 16:00, closed Mondays
Closed on: Monday

Good to know: Also closed on Good Friday.

KDHP Tea Museum ticket price

Entry fees for KDHP Tea Museum
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	₹75
Foreign visitors	₹150
Children	₹35
Camera	₹20

Adult entry runs approximately ₹75, child ₹35, with a ₹20 camera fee and a separate tea-tasting session priced around ₹100. Foreign visitor rates and exact figures are not published on the official KDHP site; as of 2026, verify at the counter or by calling the museum directly.

Prices last checked 18 September 2026. Confirm on the official website before you go.

Best time to visit KDHP Tea Museum

Quiet
Moderate
Very busy

10:00 – 11:30
Opening WindowBest time to go
Quietest period right after the 10:00 opening, before mid-morning tour groups redirect from Eravikulam or Mattupetty toward town.
Quiet
11:30 – 13:30
Midday Peak
Coach parties combine the museum with lunch stops in town; the miniature factory viewing area and tasting counter get their busiest queues.
Very busy
13:30 – 15:00
Afternoon Lull
Crowd thins as groups move on to afternoon stops like Photo Point or head back toward accommodation.
Moderate
15:00 – 16:00
Closing Window
Last entries before the 16:00 close; a calmer final hour for a slower walk through the exhibits.
Quiet

History of KDHP Tea Museum

Kannan Devan Hills Plantations Company traces its documented tea cultivation on this land back to 1876, when the first British planters began clearing the high-altitude forest and shola grassland that Eravikulam's tahr still graze today. The museum's oldest artifact, however, predates the plantation itself: an iron-age burial urn dated to roughly the 2nd century BC, unearthed on the estate and displayed alongside the far more recent industrial machinery, a reminder that the Kannan Devan hills were inhabited long before tea arrived.

J. D. Munro and the other early planters who founded the High Range operation ran the estate under British ownership until Tata Group took a controlling interest in the mid-20th century; a 2005 employee buyout later converted the operating company into KDHP, jointly owned by roughly 12,000 estate workers and Tata Global Beverages. The museum opened in 2004, just ahead of that ownership transition, explicitly to document the company's own century-long history for visitors and employees alike.

Rules & etiquette at KDHP Tea Museum

The museum closes on Mondays and on Good Friday, a schedule that catches out travellers who plan a Munnar day trip around a Monday visit; checking the closed-day calendar before setting out saves a wasted stop. Photography inside the exhibit halls requires the separate camera ticket bought at the counter, and staff do check for it near the older, more fragile machinery displays.

The miniature working factory section moves through hot rollers and drying trays at close range; loose clothing and dangling bags should be kept clear of the machinery per the safety signage posted at the entrance to that section. Tea-tasting is optional and charged separately — it is not automatically included in the base entry ticket, a common point of confusion at the counter.

Tips for visiting KDHP Tea Museum

1
Visiting in the first ninety minutes after the 10:00 opening avoids the crowd that builds once Munnar's mid-morning tour buses finish Eravikulam or Mattupetty and redirect toward town. The museum pairs naturally with Photo Point, a short drive away on the Mattupetty road, since both sit on the near side of Munnar and can be combined into a single short outing without committing to a full sightseeing circuit.
2
The tea-tasting session at the end of the visit is worth the separate charge for anyone unfamiliar with how orthodox and CTC (crush-tear-curl) tea grades differ on the palate — the museum's staff walk tasters through both. Buying a tin of KDHP tea at the attached shop afterward tends to run cheaper than the same brand sold at roadside stalls elsewhere in Munnar town.

How to reach KDHP Tea Museum

The red star is KDHP Tea Museum; the numbered pins are the 6 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Nallathanni Estate, Munnar, Idukki district, Kerala 685612Directions in Google Maps

From Munnar town (bus stand)
₹80–₹150
2 km · 8–10 min
Auto-rickshaw one-way); walkable in about 30 minutes for those comfortable with a gentle uphill stretch.
From Photo Point
₹100–₹180
3 km · 10 min
Auto-rickshaw), often combined into one short outing.
From Cochin International Airport (COK)
₹2,700–₹3,600
110 km · 3.5 hours
Prepaid taxi).

Nearest airport

From Cochin International Airport (COK)

approximately 110 km, 3.5 hours by road.

Nearest railway station

From Aluva Railway Station (AWY)

approximately 105 km, 3–3.5 hours by road.

KDHP Tea Museum FAQs

Is the KDHP Tea Museum the first tea museum in India?

Yes, it opened in 2004 on the Nallathanni Estate and is documented as the first museum in the country dedicated entirely to tea. It has recorded more than 2.5 million visitors since opening.

What days is the Tea Museum closed?

The museum is closed every Monday and on Good Friday. Checking the calendar before planning a Munnar day trip avoids arriving to a locked gate.

Is tea tasting included in the entry ticket?

No. Tea tasting is a separate paid session, priced at roughly ₹100 as of 2026, on top of the base adult entry fee of around ₹75. Staff walk tasters through the difference between orthodox and CTC tea grades.

What is the oldest object in the museum's collection?

An iron-age burial urn dated to roughly the 2nd century BC, unearthed on the estate itself, predates the tea plantation by nearly two thousand years. It is displayed alongside the museum's 1905 tea roller and other early industrial machinery.

Written by Traveliac Editorial Team (Kerala Field & Heritage Desk); reviewed by Traveliac Standards Desk. Facts last checked 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places