There are places which have forever been tourist attractions, widely talked about and given indelible names. Ooty is one of them.
Udhagamandalam, as it is originally called, is the district capital of the sleepy Nilgiris district of Tamilnadu, a southern state of India.
In December 2014, we took the road from Bangalore, travelling through the historic city of Mysore, onto the Bandipur National park and the Nilgiri forest. The entire journey from thereon is an unending stretch of green lush forests with caution notices to trespassers about the wild inhabitants of the forests - elephants, deer, tigers.....
If you are lucky you can spot herds of deer grazing near the road thoroughly oblivious of the vehicles passing by. It is a beautiful drive and the scent of eucalyptus trees invites you into Ooty. Acres and acres of tea gardens are sprawled over the villages on both sides of the road.
Stepping into Ooty is like going into any other part of Tamilnadu but less populated. Several tourist attractions of Ooty are near to each other and you can hire an autorickshaw to visit these while taxis can be hired for nearby places. The 'hill station' was and is a popular weekend and summer getaway and has plenty of picnic spots.
We were staying at the Fortune Sullivan Court very near to the Rose Garden. The hotel is built in the name of the founder of Ooty - John Sullivan. It is a beautiful hotel built amidst the lush green slopes of Selbourne Road as a resort and adorned with a scenic garden of itself. There are breathtaking views from rooms of the morning sunrise from Nilgiri hills.
For photos of Fortune Sullivan Court Hotel
Within the town, the Government rose garden has over 26,000 varieties of roses and you can see them in full bloom in season. Consider the names of roses there and they can be real tongue twisters. I didn't realise they could have real complicated names too.....have now really begun to appreciate rose breeding....the pictures below may not best represent the quality roses at the garden as they were not in season.
We then went to Ooty lake which is very near to the bus and train station. It is flanked by a beautiful boat house (It was constructed in 1824 by John Sullivan, the first collector of Ooty - Source Wikipedia) and a railway line running alongside one end. One can take a pedal or motor boat to the lake from the boat house. The lake was built by damming the mountain streams flowing down the Ooty valley and boat races are held here in summer. Rose seeds and plants are up for sale by the government outlet just at the entrance.
And then we have our own indigenous Wax museum which has the most famous Indian historical personalities carved in wax (Shivaji, Mahatma Gandhi et al)....The statues are really near real and one comes to appreciate the artist who has been able to replicate a very rare art.
The Botanical Gardens of Ooty are spread over 22 acres and were set up in 1847. They are sprawled by old trees and unique flowers. With beautiful landscaping and people busy working on its maintenance all around, it definitely seems an immense establishment on its own. The gardens have their own fern glasshouse and orchids park. Here are a few snaps from the gardens.
Pykara is a river located near Ooty and has been in high regard by the original inhabitants of Ooty. On the way to Pykara one comes across the Pykara dam which is a hydel power project and very beautiful. The river cascades through a stretch at the end of which are the Pykara waterfalls.
The pine forest situated between Ooty and Pykara has been featured in many a movies including Roja...A small lake sits in the middle of this forest and one can take horse rides along the banks of the lake.
The experience until now was one in a million - of the breathtaking views from the winding roads of Nilgiri hills, acres and acres of tea plantation, surrounded by the waft of eucalyptus trees, serene lakes.
The best was yet to come though. A ride in the Nilgiri mountain railway steam train from Mettupalyam to Coonor.
The train moves at a stready pace through the mountains and you get an incredible view of the villages at the foothills down the valley and the eucalyptus trees sprawling the mountains, tea plantations and vegetable gardens.
Any visit to Ooty will be incomplete without going to the tea gardens. As we took the factory tour, we were invited to a strong aroma of fresh tea leaves being crushed and sorted to make tea at the Doddabetta Tea factory. Look up the Tea museum at Doddabetta. They have all kinds of tea - simple, flavored, green and you can sample the tea as well to know what to buy. One can buy tea to take home with a wide variety of options available.
Ooty chocolates are another take home product from here including differnet kinds of oils produced from herbs that grow in the Nilgiri hills (eucalyptus, citriodora, rosemary etc.)
The Doddabetta peak is another important destination and is one of the highest mountains at Ooty from which one has an incredible view of the valley beneath. We couldn't go there as the roads were closed on civil work.
Udhagamandalam, as it is originally called, is the district capital of the sleepy Nilgiris district of Tamilnadu, a southern state of India.
In December 2014, we took the road from Bangalore, travelling through the historic city of Mysore, onto the Bandipur National park and the Nilgiri forest. The entire journey from thereon is an unending stretch of green lush forests with caution notices to trespassers about the wild inhabitants of the forests - elephants, deer, tigers.....
If you are lucky you can spot herds of deer grazing near the road thoroughly oblivious of the vehicles passing by. It is a beautiful drive and the scent of eucalyptus trees invites you into Ooty. Acres and acres of tea gardens are sprawled over the villages on both sides of the road.
Stepping into Ooty is like going into any other part of Tamilnadu but less populated. Several tourist attractions of Ooty are near to each other and you can hire an autorickshaw to visit these while taxis can be hired for nearby places. The 'hill station' was and is a popular weekend and summer getaway and has plenty of picnic spots.
We were staying at the Fortune Sullivan Court very near to the Rose Garden. The hotel is built in the name of the founder of Ooty - John Sullivan. It is a beautiful hotel built amidst the lush green slopes of Selbourne Road as a resort and adorned with a scenic garden of itself. There are breathtaking views from rooms of the morning sunrise from Nilgiri hills.
For photos of Fortune Sullivan Court Hotel
Within the town, the Government rose garden has over 26,000 varieties of roses and you can see them in full bloom in season. Consider the names of roses there and they can be real tongue twisters. I didn't realise they could have real complicated names too.....have now really begun to appreciate rose breeding....the pictures below may not best represent the quality roses at the garden as they were not in season.
We then went to Ooty lake which is very near to the bus and train station. It is flanked by a beautiful boat house (It was constructed in 1824 by John Sullivan, the first collector of Ooty - Source Wikipedia) and a railway line running alongside one end. One can take a pedal or motor boat to the lake from the boat house. The lake was built by damming the mountain streams flowing down the Ooty valley and boat races are held here in summer. Rose seeds and plants are up for sale by the government outlet just at the entrance.
And then we have our own indigenous Wax museum which has the most famous Indian historical personalities carved in wax (Shivaji, Mahatma Gandhi et al)....The statues are really near real and one comes to appreciate the artist who has been able to replicate a very rare art.
The Botanical Gardens of Ooty are spread over 22 acres and were set up in 1847. They are sprawled by old trees and unique flowers. With beautiful landscaping and people busy working on its maintenance all around, it definitely seems an immense establishment on its own. The gardens have their own fern glasshouse and orchids park. Here are a few snaps from the gardens.
Pykara is a river located near Ooty and has been in high regard by the original inhabitants of Ooty. On the way to Pykara one comes across the Pykara dam which is a hydel power project and very beautiful. The river cascades through a stretch at the end of which are the Pykara waterfalls.
The pine forest situated between Ooty and Pykara has been featured in many a movies including Roja...A small lake sits in the middle of this forest and one can take horse rides along the banks of the lake.
The experience until now was one in a million - of the breathtaking views from the winding roads of Nilgiri hills, acres and acres of tea plantation, surrounded by the waft of eucalyptus trees, serene lakes.
The best was yet to come though. A ride in the Nilgiri mountain railway steam train from Mettupalyam to Coonor.
 |
| View from the train |
The train moves at a stready pace through the mountains and you get an incredible view of the villages at the foothills down the valley and the eucalyptus trees sprawling the mountains, tea plantations and vegetable gardens.
Any visit to Ooty will be incomplete without going to the tea gardens. As we took the factory tour, we were invited to a strong aroma of fresh tea leaves being crushed and sorted to make tea at the Doddabetta Tea factory. Look up the Tea museum at Doddabetta. They have all kinds of tea - simple, flavored, green and you can sample the tea as well to know what to buy. One can buy tea to take home with a wide variety of options available.
Ooty chocolates are another take home product from here including differnet kinds of oils produced from herbs that grow in the Nilgiri hills (eucalyptus, citriodora, rosemary etc.)
The Doddabetta peak is another important destination and is one of the highest mountains at Ooty from which one has an incredible view of the valley beneath. We couldn't go there as the roads were closed on civil work.
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