Ooty

Be it for a relaxing holiday or an activity filled one, one can visit Ooty anytime of the year. Udhagamandalam nicknamed Ooty is a popular hill staion in the Nilgiri hills, in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is known as the queen of the hills and is famous for its cool and pleasant climate throughout the year. Ooty is well connected by good roads. The nearest broad gauge railway station is Mettupalayam at the foothills of the Nilgiris from which Nilgiri Mountain Railway connects Ooty. The railway itself is a UNESCO heritage site having been developed by the British during colonial times when Ooty was a popular weekend getaway. The drive to Ooty is picturesque with lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees on the way.
There is much to do in Ooty such as enjoying the beauty of Botanical gardens and Government Rose Garden, boating and amusement park in Ooty Lake and visiting Wax World and Tribal museum. There are more tourist attractions like Ooty Golf Course, St. Stephen’s Church, Toda huts and Stone House. Area around Ooty also offers some great tourism options. Some among them are Doddabetta Peak, Emerald Lake, Pine forest, Pykara River and Mudumalai National Park. For the adventurous, there is also opportunity for Hang gliding from Kalahatty in that is located around 20 km from Ooty.
Best time to visit: Ooty can be visited all through the year
Languages spoken: Tamil, English
Climate: Pleasant summers, beautiful monsoon and cool winters
Places to visit: Botanical gardens, Government Rose Garden, Boating, Amusement park in Ooty Lake, Wax World, Tribal museum, Ooty Golf Course, St. Stephen’s Church, Toda huts, Stone House, Kamaraj Sagar Dam
Natural wonders: Doddabetta Peak, Emerald Lake, Pine forest, Pykara River, Mudumalai National Park, Wenlock Downs, Mukurti National Park, Needle Hill viewpoint

One Day Trip to Ooty-Coonoor

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I explored the hill-sides along the road looking at flowers, trees and occasionally the habitations along the road,perched diligently on the sloping terrain.The panoramic views of the valley below enamoured me, though no Tourist Department had christened them with clichéd names.

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Our Six Days Southern Sojourn

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Coimbatore also known as Kovai is a major developing smart city in the Tamil Nadu located on the banks of the Noyyal River amidst Western Ghats. It is often referred to as the ‘Manchester of South India’ due to its cotton production, garment and textile industries. Coimbatore is also called as the “Pump City” as it supplies country’s large requirements of motors and pumps.

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Nilgiri Mountain Railway & Ooty

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Incidentally it is owned by Mithun Chakravarthy. After freshening up we went for a little sightseeing. There are usual points like any other hill station. First one was Doddabetta peak which is highest point of Ooty. One can see far and wide from this point but only if the sky is clear which sadly was not the case for us.

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Very Well Unplanned – A trip to Ooty

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During our sound sleep around 4am in between our journey to Pune we heard a loud bang and suddenly got out of our sleeps. We realised that our bus met with an accident with another bus and the other bus went into divider and got the front damaged causing human casualties. Sight of an old lady lying on road with blood dripping on the road from her head and many other injured people at 4am in the morning was a horrifying and depressing sight. The driver had few arguments with the people outside and took us to the bus stand where we realised that we have reached Nasik. The driver decided to end the journey there only due to damaged windshield of the bus and refunded us our remaining amount. Then we took another Maharashtra roadways bus to Pune and reached Pune after a long , tiring , scary and adventurous  journey of  almost forty hours.

We decided to get freshen up at a friend’s flat in Pune and got the tickets booked for the volvo in evening to Bangalore from where we will have to take another bus to Ooty. After taking rest in Pune we boarded the volvo to Bangalore in the evening.

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