Udhagamandalam

Ooty, is also known as "Udhagamandalam" which means a place surrounded by water, It’s also called Queen of Hills. Ooty, the headquarters of The Nilgiris district is one of the famous hill stations in India. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 meters above mean sea level. The word Nilgiris means Blue Mountains. It is a land of picturesque picnic spots and had been a popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days. There are plenty of interesting tourist spots like Botanical Gardens, Lakes, Boat houses, water falls, shooting spots, Wildlife Sanctuary, Tea estates and many more.

 

There are lots of things to do and visit in Ooty, you can Travel in the toy train enjoying the heavenly beauty splashed abundantly all over the place. If u were lucky enough u could spot deers, wild buffaloes, rabbits and rare bird species…

 

Go for long walks in the chilled weather with your loved ones, hand in hand. Enjoy the fresh carrots being sold on the road sides. Sip some hot tea.

Visit the country side and get to know the rich tradition and culture of the tribes like Todas and Kothas. You could also get to know another community by name Badagas.

Visit the Tea estates in and around Ooty. Get to know how tea leaves are plucked. Visit a tea factory to understand how the tea leaves are processed to produce tea dust that we use in our kitchen.

Visit the Mudumalai forest sanctuary. (It takes around 2 hours from Ooty).

 

Can enjoy trekking to various places in and around the hill city, followed by taking educational tours in Museums, coffee/ tea-testing, wildlife viewing, boating and fishing opportunities in various lakes along with enjoying with picnics with friends and family.

 

For adventure lovers cycling, biking or mountain biking is one of the options they can feel the jerks of mountainous terrain. Moreover, there is a site for hand gliding for a true adrenaline rush etc.etc. the list never ends.

 

What To See

 

Beautiful Lakes of Ooty

 

Ooty Lake - Word 'artificial' comes nowhere near in the appearance of the lake formed by John Sullivan as it stretches to 2.75 Km in L-shape and surrounding Eucalyptus only add to the setting. Boating can also be enjoyed here.

 

Pykara Lake - With this lake comes in the dam and the falls seen after crossing the dense forest making the place complete in itself and thus more beautiful than all other places. Boating also becomes a part of experience if chosen to be made so.

 

Emerald Lake - Travel a distance of 25 Km and the gift to eyes would be a shimmering green lake due to which it got the name 'emerald'. Enjoy the image of relaxing birds and swaying trees with the rising and setting sun.

 

Kamraj Sagar Lake - More reservoir than lake, the place is a consequence of dam nearby but overly enjoyed by the people who chose to spend their day picnicking here. Fishing can be a great time-pass here.

 

Upper Bhawani Lake - It can take some planning to reach this place as to the way day has to be spent. Other than that it is a superb feeling buy the side of this lake as it offers a good trekking opportunity to the Silent Valley. Following the same route takes to Mukurthi National Park.

 

Mukerti Lake - Another lake surrounded by Shola trees in the same region of wildlife sanctuary is this. There are flush opportunities to catch glimpses of various wildlife animals in this area.

 

Bellikkal Lake - Like all other lakes, it is also beautiful because of the birds, the greenery, the water, the natural smells, etc and thus the wish of staying nearby forever.

 

Marlimun Lake - Amidst boat rides and different hues of Nilgiri is this much celebrated picnic spot of Ooty.

 

Peaks and Mountains of Ooty

 

Tiger Hill - With English style cottages, the place has become more of a hill resort that makes enjoying the lap of Mother Nature easier.

 

Cairn Hill - Picnic among Cyprus trees and original walks in the shade of Nature could be done here best way with best opportunity to photographing.

 

Doddabetta Peak – This is the highest peak of Nilgiri’s towering at the altitude of 2637 Mtr. Makes it the second highest peak of southern India. The peak is a great way to explore the fauna of the place through trekking and taking in the surrounding visions of the Nature in its most natural way.

 

Various View Points and Monuments of Ooty

 

9th Mile- As the name suggests, Shooting Medu (another name it got for the shooting of movies) is some 9 miles away from Ooty. Quite scenic, now this become prime picnic spot of Ooty.

 

6th Mile- As above this one is only 6 Km with the advantage of great sceneries projecting shades of green, brown and white-blue playing their part in crafting Nature-perfect picture.

 

Ketti Valley View- With a great depth to the valley, the looks of Nature get more admirable provided a safe distance from edges are maintained to avoid any kind of mishap.

 

Kodanad- A small village some 18 Km from Kotgiri is known for giving the glimpses of Western Ghats meeting Eastern Ghats like no other place. Moyar River and gorge formed by it along with the Bhavanisagar dam are some of the main feature of the sights received here.

 

Dolphin Nose- The ravine with the protruding rock resembles the nose of dolphin, hence the name. The location is high to the extent of providing the panoramic views of Ooty and the hills that nestle it.

 

Glenmorgan- Eucalyptus trees at one side and tea plantations on the other, Pykara Power Plant, Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Moyar Valley; one sight having all these elements could only be found at Glenmorgan, 25 Km away from Ooty.

 

Raj Bhawan - It is a historical monument which got constructed during the British rule and stands as the testimony of those days.

 

Fern Hill Palace - Fern Hill is at some distance from Ooty but not so much that one has to be away on road for long to each here. The history that breathes in the fort can be felt to be reaching out to the visitors and make its presence impossible to shrug off. Now a heritage hotel, the fort can be a nice break from routine.

 

Arranomore Palace - A Government Guest house as of now, the palace once belonged to Maharaja of Jodhpur and also called as Tamizahagam.

 

Government Museum - Year 1989 saw the foundation of this museum on Mysore road which takes visitors and curiosity-hit individuals on a tour to better know the tribes that resided the regions and their way of life.

 

Honey and Bee Museum - All one would want to ever know about bees and honey they produce along with the ways tribal people go about honey farming. Children can have good learning opportunity away from their text books.

 

Wax World - Want to see all the most of the Indian celebrities gathered under one roof? This is the place to be at any time of the year and the wish would be granted, sort of. The wax look-alikes of famous personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, etc could be found here.

 

Water Falls and Gardens of Ooty

 

St Catherine Waterfalls- This is a part of Kotagiri which could allow a room of half day when travelling from Ooty to rest here and let the feeling of ecstasy settle in the soul.

 

Kalhatti Waterfalls- On the Ooty-Mysore route, 13 Km away from Ooty is this fall with 40 m height waits to be admired. Enjoy the sound in the falling and refreshment in the air.

 

Ooty Botanical Gardens- Maintained by Horticulture department of Tamil Nadu in an area of 22 hectare at 2400 m above sea level, the garden has different varieties of flowers from different parts of world. The flower show in Summer Festival of every year is the main aspect of the celebration among others. Ooty Botanical Garden was been part of various bollywood movies and songs pasteurised here in the natural beauty of this place.

 

Rose Garden- Making acquaintance with more than 3600 species of roses is made possible in this place at Vijanagaram where 10 acres of land is meant only meant to five these roses a rare recognition.

 

Thread Garden- Not a natural amazement but nonetheless astounding in all the efforts a human hand and mind can bring together to create unforgettable artifacts by threads, this garden stands out in beauty exhibited here which is result of hard work of 50 creative women in 12 years.

 

How To Reach

 

By Air Coimbatore is the nearest domestic airport from Ooty is around 88Kms which is well-connected with most of the Indian cities. You can also take a flight to Bangalore (which is 295 kilometres from Ooty) as Bangalore airport is connected with most of the cities across the globe. There are regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai connecting Bangalore and Coimbatore. Once you reach the airport, you can take a taxi or bus from there to reach Ooty.

 

By Train The nearest railhead is Mettupalyam, 40 kilometres from Ooty. There are trains from Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore and Bangalore connecting Mettupalyam. Some of the popular trains are Ooty Udagamandalam Passenger train, Mettupalyam Udagamandalam Passenger train, Mangalore Mail and Mangalore Express. From here on, you can also board the heritage train known as the Nilgiri Mountain train which takes you uphill on an exciting journey. However, if you wish to reach faster, take a taxi from the railway junction.

 

By Bus There are regular government and luxury buses from Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai to Ooty. These are overnight buses and the journey is quite comfortable. Note that a special government bus leaves daily at 5pm and 7pm from Calicut and it takes just 6 hours to reach Ooty.