Munnar was once the summer capital of the British in southern India. Munnar was urbanized to cultivate tea plants by British though it was first discovered by Scottish planters. In the early on developmental stages only Tamilians worked ther as few Malayalis occupied in that area Munnar.
But later more and more Malayalis were recruited as employees to work in plantations and bungalows, that were build for estate managers of British origin. They occupied most of the top posts. Some of the bungalows that were construct for them is still in good condition and being used.The local people here speak Malayalam, the official language of Kerala and since there are a lot of Tamilians, the second language is Tamil.
Munnar has an ancient history and prehistoric relics that can be dated back to Stone Age civilization. The printed history begins only from 10th century. In the early on 19th century, the headman of the villages of Anchanad, Kannan Thevar, held lands to the north of the high ranges, which belonged to the local Rajah of Poojar.