Summer blues? Your mind instantly drifts to the cool hill stations! We went through a similar emotion when Bengaluru started blazing. (36°, phew!) We packed our bags and took off on a 3-day tour of the ‘Queen of hills’ — Ooty.
Day #1 Trip to Ooty
Toy Train at Mettupalayam
We had planned in advance to take the toy train, so we got down at Mettupalayam. At 5 in the morning, we waited (for 2 hours approx.) in a very long queue to get tickets. The five-hour train takes a slow route into the Nilgiris but gives the best views of the tea estates, hills, tunnels and impromptu waterfalls in the hills.
Doddabetta Peak
Once we checked in to our homestay, Bouganvilla, we borrowed a friend’s bike to tour the city. Our first destination, Doddabetta peak is an hour’s drive. I could officially say I have been on cloud nine! Fresh air with a crisp chill, a spell-binding route with tall trees forming a canopy above the roads, bird’s eye views of the city below and much more to savour. We bought some warm clothes on sale near the entrance at a really good price (Rs 200 for a
Rose Garden
It was almost 6 in the evening and we rushed to the Rose Garden. I instantly fell in love with the sight! Over 10K rose variants are just beautiful to see. Although most roses were not in full bloom, I liked all the new colours that I didn’t know existed. Since it is a huge property, expect a lot of walking.
Day #2 Trip to Ooty
Shooting Spots
We started the second day with high expectations, the plan was to visit the places where some famous classic songs were shot in Ooty. First, we visited the Pine forest — which was unfortunately closed for some work. Next, we went to Tree Park and before we could take pictures we were surrounded by cab drivers questioning us about the bike (they accused us of using rental bikes, they took pictures of our bike and threatened to puncture the tires if we didn’t take it back.) We were scared and decided to return the bike to our friend and take a cab instead. We wasted almost 2 hours in this fiasco. But our cab driver Vivek made us feel at home which was a good change to the hooligan behaviour of the previous crowd.)
Coming back to the Tree Park (6th Mile), we shot some good pictures surrounded by pine trees. Next stop Wenlock Downs 9th Mile, a steep hill with short grass patches. We also gave a quick pit stop at the Kamaraj Sagar dam.
Pykara lake and falls
After this, we headed towards the Pykara falls. It is almost
After a sumptuous lunch at Anand Bhavan, we headed back to our room. We took our bike and visited the oldest churches — St. Stephen and St. Thomas in Ooty. Laziness and cold took over our senses, and we decided to call it a day. We ordered from Swiggy and had a good dinner and hit the bed soon after.
P.S. Swiggy stops delivering around 9 PM, so better order early.
Day #3 Trip to Ooty
We were up early and started packing and got ready as it was our last day here. We again asked Vivek to show us around town. Our first destination — Avalanche.
Avalanche Safari
We reached the destination around five past 10 in the morning. After paying Rs 200 per head, we were sent on the Safari in a bus. We went through a dense forest and stopped on a peak. The guide let us know that it was called ‘Shola Evergreen forest‘. The beautiful sight marked by a small waterfall had us excited like little kids.
The next stop was the source or starting point to the Bhavani lake near a small temple. The water flowed off a cliff and joined three more streams as we made our way through the forest.
The last stop was a far-off view of the backwaters of the Upper Bhavani lake. We headed back and our cab driver took us to Emerald to see the dam, a view of the Avalanche lake and a tea estate.
Botanical Garden & Toda Temple
We were hungry after the 2-hour safari and decided to head back to eat. Once we were full, Vivek took us to the Toda temple. We trekked our way back from the temple and saw the beautiful greenery spread over 50 hectares at the Botanical Garden of Ooty.
Tea Factory & Tea Museum
Vivek drove us to the Tea Factory & Tea Museum en route the Doddabetta peak to shop for eucalyptus oil, Ooty chocolates and tea. We were given a band with bar codes to assist in our shopping. We went through the motions of how tea is made and chocolate moulding and then were sent near the shopping aisles to pick our favourites.
Since the chocolate aisle was packed, we made our way to the Chocolate Museum to choose from a huge variety. Lastly, we took our bike and hit the Tibetan Bazaar for some clothes and ended up buying them on the street beside it for a cheaper rate.
Our trip to Ooty was made better by not just the scenic views but also the people and culture of the place. Almost everyone, (except the incident) were kind enough to help us out. Ooty strives mainly on tourism and agriculture; so they treat tourists with respect and direct them on their way.
Want more pictures? Visit the Gallery.