Ootacamund or Ooty is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. Ooty stands at an approximate height of 7,440 feet (2,268 m) above sea level. There are many places to visit at Ooty like Rose Garden, Doddabetta Peak, Telescope House, Botanical Gareden. The description of these places are given below.Rose Garden:
In the seasons the garden is full of different varieties of roses. The garden becomes colorful in the seasons. Various kinds of roses are there. The Rose garden is at the heart of Ooty city. It is 2kms from Ooty bus stand. The rose garden situated in Ooty, has the largest collection of roses in the country.
Doddabetta:
4 km east south east from Ooty, with a height of 2,637 metres (8,652 ft) is the highest point in the Nilgiris and the southern extent of the range.There is a reserved forest area around the peak. It is a popular tourist attraction with road access to the summit. Hecuba (2375 m.), Kattadadu (2418 m.) and Kulkudi (2439 m.) are the three closely linked heights in the west of the Doddabetta range and nearby Ooty. In the Nilgiris plateau Doddabetta is highest peak of the Nilgiris district remarkable for the flattened curve of its summit. Sholas cover the hollows of its slopes. Slightly stunted, rhododendron trees, in the midst of thick coarse grass, flowering sub-elphine shrubs and herbs are common, even very near the peak.
Telescope House:
There is an observatory at the top of Doddabetta with two telescopes available for the public to enjoy the magnificent panoramic view of the whole District. It opened on June 18, 1983 and is run by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development corporation. The average number of viewers in 2001-2002 was 3500 per day in season and 700 per day in the off season. The sad news is that the telescope does not work now a days but from the telescope house we watched every part of the Ooty. It was so amazing to look the places from there. It was seeming that we are watching the every palce of Ooty by a Helicopter. I will suggest everyone to bring a binocular to see the views clearly. We spend there 1 hour.
Botanical Garden:
The Botanical Gardens at Ooty was laid out in 1847. The Gardens, divided into several sections, cover an area of around 22 hectares, and lie on the lower slopes of the Doddabetta peak. The garden has a terraced layout. This botanical garden was created by John Sullivan, Collector of the district of Coimbatore in 1819. The Marquis of Tweedale prepared the initial layout during late 1840s. The Gardens have around 1000 species, both exotic and indigenous, of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, and herbal plants. In the centre of the Gardens lie a fossilized tree trunk estimated to be 20 million years old. The Gardens consist of several lawns, ponds with lilies, beds of flowers and ferns laid out in an Italian style, several plots of flowering plants, a variety of medicinal plants.
Emerald Dam: Near the town of the same name. There is a view point near the dam. The rest of the are is mainly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors.Also called India dam, since Canada did not fund it. An option to Canada dam, but same difference. Stay in the middle of a tea plantation.
Avalanche Dam: Adjacent to the Emerald lake. This is mainly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors. Also called Canada dam, since Canada funded it. This awesome location is a great place to chill for a day, hiking or fishing or visiting the nearby trout farm. In the farm, the slopes by the stream are corridors used by elephant when they migrate.
Emerald Forest & Fishery:It is quite 4 kms from the Emerald village. The forest is very dark and nobody dare to enter the forest. There is forest check post office in the forest. To enter into the forest permision is required. Besides the forest post office there is a fishery. In the fishery, there are very old trees which are 200 years old. There is a small water falls near the Fishery from where the water comes into the fishery.
6th Mile (Shooting Spot):
Just 6miles from the Ooty city thats why this name. Its green & lengthy shooting spot which is surrounded by forest. You can see this spot in most of Indian movies. There is a lake in this place which gives a more attraction to the place.
9th Mile (Shooting Spot):
It takes 9miles from the Ooty city thats why this name is given. Its green & very lengthy shooting spot which is surrounded by forest & mountains. This place is called as “Shooting Medu”. Very calm place and very good for picnics. It is a place quite high from where you can see great views.
Pykara lake/ Pykara Boat House :
The placid lake of Pykara, amid the lush green valleys is a lovely getaway from Ooty. Here, a calm lake is surrounded by forests. There is a forest rest House at Pykara. A boat house by the Pykara falls and Dam is added attractions to the tourists. The major attraction of this place is the boat house, with restaurant and a rest house to provide you with ultimate comfort. It is a clean and scenic lake in between the hills. It is an isolated lake free from pollution and maddening crowed . Boating is conducted here. It is 25 kms away from the Ooty town.
Pykara Falls:
On the way to the Pykara Lake , the Pykara falls is situated. That is a very beautiful falls.
The Nilgiri Hills are famous for their sublime hill stations. Notable among them is Coonoor, located at the head of the Hulikal ravine at an altitude of 1,800 m above sea level. It is 19 km from Ooty (also, Udhagamandalam or Ootacamund), another famous hill station of the Nilgiris. Coonoor is famous for its verdant environs and for a variety of wildflowers and birds. Coonoor provides a perfect setting for activities like trekking and hiking. There are several places to see and visit near Coonoor like Sims Park, Donphin’s Nose, Singara Tea Gareden, Lamb’s Rock.Sim’s Park
The park is situated in a deep ravine on the Northern side of Coonoor Railway Station at an elevation of 1768 to 1798 mts. The park can be divided into eight major sections. The natural shola with winding footpaths all over the higher slopes of the park is the most distinctive and picturesque feature of this park. This apart a number of individual tree specimens planted in a scattered fashion all over the place, lend a special charm to the park, specially when they bloom in different seasons throughout the year.
Lamb’s Rock :
It is 6 Kms from Coonoor on the way to Dolphin’s Nose. It commands a grand view of the Coimbatore Plains. It is a favourite place for tourists. It is on the way to the Dolphin’s Nose.
Singara Tea Garden:
This tea garden is very beautiful and it is located at the top of the coonoor town. It is 4 kms from the coonoor town on the way to Dolphin’s Nose. Various kinds of tea are available here.
Dolphin’s Nose:
The Dolphin’s Nose Viewpoint, which is 8 kms from Coonoor, is an important place to visit. It not only provides a panoramic view of the vast expanse of the Nilgiri hills but also of the famous Catherine Falls. Dolphin’s Nose is a promonotory over the Kotagiri valley.
Road:
Ooty is well connected by good roads. It is 535 km from Chennai (via Salem), 89 km from Coimbatore, 18 km from Coonoor (via Gudalur), 155 km from Mysore, 187 km from Calicut, 290 km from Bangalore, 281 km from Kochi (via Coimbatore and Palakkad), 236 km from Kodaikanal (via Coimbatore and Palani).
There is a regular bus service from Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Calicut, Kanyakumari, Tanjavur, Tirupati and Cochin. Buses ply regularly to Mudhumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Kotagiri, Coonoor and Doddabeta.
Train:
Trains connect Udhagamandalam indirectly to the rest of the country. One can take a train up to Coimbatore and then the enchanting Nilgiri Mountain Railway, better known as the toy train. It is one of the few remaining diesel engine trains and although it spits up huge dark clouds of pollution, it is a major tourist attraction and a reminder of the Indian railways’ glorious beginning. The nearest broad-gauge railway head from Udhagamandalam is in the minor Mettupalayam, which is 46 km away. Mettupalayam is connected to Udhagamandalam by a four-hour journey on the Mountain Railway.
The major broad-gauge railway junction is Coimbatore. Coimbatore is connected with all major cities.
Our Experience: We started our journey form Bangalore at 11pm on 14th August.It was a rainy dark night that added extra adventure to our journey. Our driver Shrini told us to postpone the journey by next morning due to rain, but we never care of anything because we wanted adventure.only concern was, if it is raining heavily in Ooty then some of the views would not be visible.we were prepared with umbrellas, redundant no of cloths. After starting the journey we were first waiting for when we will move out of the Bangalore traffic and secondly when the clock just cross 00:00 and we will celebrate independence day.We stopped our car exactly when we entered to 15th Aug and chanted national anthem standing at road side.After 4 hours of our journey we entered to Bandipura forest. Next one hour journey through Bandipura and Mudumalai forest was full of adventure. This is the best part of the entire Bangalore to Ooty route. you can not even think of sleeping. our eyes were all open and curious to see the wild life besides the road in the light of our car. Unfortunately we could not see any one in Bandipur, so we were so upset. we entered to Mudumalai forest and before we become completely hopeless our driver told, look ; we saw a huge Bison. we slowed down the car little bit to take his snap, although we were scared too. His eyes were glowing at the dark. after that we seen one big deer at road side.I must say everyone if any one want to experience these things then never go by bus. Either go by your own car or hire a cab. At around 5.30 morning our car stopped at a hilly place, that was our first intoduction to Nilgirish at mild sun light and drizzling rain.When we reached to ooty it was 6:30am in the morning.
To manage a Hotel it took 30 mins. We refreshed ourself there and did our breakfast. At 9:30 we started our journey to Rose Gareden.
We spend 30 mins there. But no one was ready to move because the place was so beatiful. But as we had to visit other places, so we left the Rose Gareden at 10:30.
After visiting Rose Garden we went to Doddabette Suicide Point. It took 20mins to reach there. Just 5 kms from Ooty bus stand. Beautiful place to spend some time. It is highest peak of South India. This is the best place in Ooty town because every place is watchable from this place. From here every place assumable. Even we have assumed in which way the shooting points, avalanche and coonoor are. One must go this place. The views are very beautiful. The peaks are full of white cloud. We always have seen the above our head but from here we can see that the clouds are below us.
After visiting Doddabetta peak, we went to Botanical garden. It is zlso in the heart of the Ooty town. Its just 2.5kms from Ooty bus stop. The park is very nice. Totally planned park. You always wish to sleep on the grass. We played there and spend some time. We spend here nearly 2 hours. Then at 2:30 pm we went for lunch.
After lunch we stated for Coonoor. In Singara we spend around 20 mins, took a lots of photos. We took a nice tea there. Mani caught by joke/lynch. Then we went to dolphin’s nose, this was the dead end of that road, we were supposed to watch a wonderful view of Catherine Falls. But due to cloudy weather we could only see some monkeys. after that we visited lamb’s rock and I believe that we would have seen an astonishing hill view from there if it was not cloudy. There we waited to see the rocks. After waiting for 10 mins the cloud was cleared we watched the beautiful view of Coimbator valley and some Rocks. We ended our day with Sim’s park. It is a beautiful place to spend some time. there was a small lake with boating facilities and surrounded by a flower garden.
On day 2, we first went to the Emerald dam. Very good place but the police man did not allowed us to cross the dam. Then we went to Avalanche Dam. The best place for us. We spend there 4 hrs. The place was awesome. Me and Achin tried to find out a path through the dense forest to reach to our car. Then again we went to the beneath of the dam. We enjoyed very much there. Then we decided to do our lunch in the emerald village. There we got the “GHAR KA KHANA”. Bhat and Chicken with a very low price. We enjoyed the food. Then we went towards the Emerald forest. But there needed the permission to enter into the jungle, which we did not have. So we went to the Fishery. The Fishery is abandoned for a long time. There we tried to find out the source of the water coming through the pipes. Achin, Bacha and me went through the jungle to find the source of the water. At this time there was raining and so it was very dangerous to go through the jungle. But we went and found the beatiful water fall. Though the water fall is small but we were amazed by our discovery. We went to the middle of the falls. Then Achin decided to call everyone to watch the place. Every one came and all were amazed. Then I found that one lynch was sucking my blood. So everyone was paniced and left the place. Then we went to the emerald jungles another part. We walk some distance to reach to a high land. From there we can see a good view of the forests and peaks. We spend 30 mins there. Then we came back to the ooty lake. But it was 6:30 pm. So the lake was closing.
On day 3 we first went to the 6th mile film shooting spot. Its the place where a lake is there and we went through jungle, its a very much sleepy way and the slop is there. The jungle was not dense. Then we went to another shooting spot. There is big lake like Emerald lake. The dam is like Avalanche but not as beautiful as Avalanche. The spot is very good. Then we went to the main shooting spot where many films shooting were taken place, like Krishh, Raja Hindustani, Ashique, Raaz and many more. We have taken some snaps on the tree where Amir took Kiss of Karishma Kapoor in the film Raja Hindustani. The place is very beautiful. Its a place of high hill. On the hill there is plain space, from where the others places looked so much beautiful. I just cant explain this by words. We spend 2 hours there. After that we went to see pykara falls. Its not so high falls but beautiful to spend time. After that we went to Pykara lake. Its beautiful but as we have watched so many lakes so decided to leave the place very early. Then we decided to go to Bandipura forest. On the way to our journey we stopped in a village resturent. There was a tea garden. Though it was not beautiful as Singara tea garden. But we spend some time there. After lunch we started for Bandipura forest. On the way we stopped in a place from where the view of the hills are so much beautiful that we stopped our car and spend some time there. Again on the way of our journey we found a small water falls (Jharna). Before entering into the Bandipura forest we passed through the Mudumalai forest. There we saw some jungli Elephants, Peacock, Deers besides the road. In Bandipura forest we also saw some deers. As we have watched everything whatever we can see in the jungle so we cancelled our Bandipura forest’s Lion safary. Because its hard to see Lion/Tiger in the jungle and we had watched everything except Tigers and Lions. As it was sunday so we decided to go to see Mysore Palace. At 6:50 we reached Mysore. After 10 mins , that is at 7pm the lightes were on and we watched a beautiful view of Mysore Palace. Spending Half an our we started for Bangalore and we reached our place at 11pm.
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