Nilgiri hills
A mere mention of Ooty would conjure up images of a dark,
horrifying forest where Bipasha Basu in the movie Raaz, screams for her life.
But there’s more to it than what meets the eye!
Situated on the eccentric Nilgiri hills, also known as the ‘Queen
of Hills’ (for its lush greenery), Ooty is a town far from the hustle-bustle of
a city life and with splash of many colours, attributing to the presence of
exotic tress and beautiful flowers.
How to get there?
Buses are available from Coimbatore bus depot. Also, taxis
are available from Coimbatore railway station / airport. But it’s advisable to
take the Mysore route because that way you can get time to explore Mysore. And
surprisingly, on the way to Ooty from Mysore, one shall trip over Bandipur
Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) where you
can have enough of animal spotting. One can spot lots of monkeys, common langoor,
deer, peacock, peahen etc.
Attractions/ Sightseeing :
Being a hill station, Ooty has a cool climate all round the
year. Summers are also chilled here. Ooty, being an abode to diverse kinds of
flora, has many nature parks and gardens such as the Botanical Garden and Rose
Garden. Spot distinct flowers/plants/trees here or take a ferry ride at Pykara
boat house or enjoy at the cascading Pykara waterfalls. Unfortunately, when I
visited there, the water dried up and the lady who passed on the ticket,
exaggerated , “Paani kam, Scenery zyada!”
The Pani kam Pykara Waterfalls (above and below)
Once in Ooty, let not the Nilgiri Mountain Railway be
unexplored. Hop on to the toy train which takes you to Coonoor, which is
another hill station in the lofty Nilgiri hills. The only shortcoming is that
they are less in numbers but are reasonably priced; Rs. 5 per person for II
class and Rs. 50 for I class. There are also toy trains available from Coonoor
railway station to Ooty. Coonoor is as picturesque as Ooty . The main
attractions here are Sim’s park and Dolphin’s Nose viewpoint.
Besides, you can spot marvellous tea gardens in Ooty as well
as Coonoor.
Tea garden
Khana-Shana :
Both Ooty and Coonoor are popular for authentic South Indian
meals. You get varied options but ordering a
thali is preferable. The Coconut rice and Sambhar are extremely
lip-smacking. Besides, you can also choose to have a Gujarati/ Marwari thali. Non-vegetarians should not miss ‘Chettinad
Chicken’. The most striking foodstuff one can find at these places is ‘Home-made
chocolates’. Drooling, eh? They are available at almost each and every shop and
local restaurants and are quite affordable. Sip on to some fresh Nilgiri tea or
slurp some bitter South Indian filter coffee; be spoilt for choice!
If the sweltering heat is bothering you, pack your bags now
and head to Ooty!
P.S. : Ooty is an
ideal place for honeymoon! Your
choice, go with your spouse alone or get bored to death with several members of
your family! ;)
