Posted by Shivam Singh on 4th March, 2020
Visited in August, 2019
Ooty, officially known as Udagamandalam is a town in the Niligiris District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This hill city welcomes you with soothing environment, cool weather and a wide array of sightseeing places to visit and admire. It was the summer capital of Britishers in southern India and is very popular among couples & honeymooners.
Around 265 kms, it takes around 7 hours to reach Ooty from Bangalore during daytime, while in night it increases to 12+ hours as the road passing through the beautiful Bandipur National Park is closed between 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
I strongly suggest to travel via this road (if you are going from Bangalore or Mysore) and enjoy a definite animal sighting.
The journey to Ooty itself is dotted with magnificent sights of the awe-inspiring Nilgiri hills, tea gardens, and serene waterfalls.
This city has its own Toy train, known as the Nilgiri Mountain Railways. The best way to enjoy the toy train is to take a morning 1 hr train from Ooty to Coonoor.
Coonoor is another beautiful hill station just 19 km from Ooty and a must visit place.
I traveled to Ooty and Coonoor in August 2019 with my wife and daughter while on a 12 days road-trip in Karnataka.
Reached Bangalore from New Delhi via flight and then next day moved towards Ooty on our pre-booked Cab (via GetMeCab.com). It was an awesome journey where we passed through Karnataka’s Bandipur National Park and Tamil Nadu’s Mudumulai National Park. Enroute we saw many group of deers and an elephant family as well.
How You Can Reach Ooty
The nearest airport from Ooty is 88 Kms away, Coimbatore Domestic Airport, which is connected via flights from many Indian cities.
Nearest railway station is Mettupalyam, 40 kms from Ooty. There are trains from Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore and Bangalore connecting Mettupalyam. From here take a taxi to Ooty (Toy Train is also an option from here but it will be time consuming. I will not suggest that as you can enjoy that later).
You will get both government and luxury buses from Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai to Ooty. These are overnight buses and the journey is quite comfortable (as per reviews by other travelers).
Last and best option: Self drive from any city.
3 Days Itinerary in Ooty and Coonoor
I personally prefer to visit Hill-Stations post monsoon as the nature is in full glow during this time, greenery all around.
Now considering you reach Ooty by afternoon around 3 PM and check-in to your hotel (same as my schedule), let us start our sight-seeing after you freshen up.
Day-1:
Today time will only allow us to visit one place: Government Botanical Garden, 2 km from the city center
1. Government Botanical Garden
Woah, what was that.!!! Never seen such a beautiful and maintained garden.
This garden lies on the lower slopes of the Doddabetta peak. Sprawled over an area of 55 hectares, the garden is divided into several sections that are trimmed beautifully to present a magnificent sight.
The foundation was laid down in the year 1848, this garden is home to many rare species of trees, chief among them being the cork tree, the only one of its kind in India.
The paperbark tree, the monkey puzzle tree and an old fossilized tree here is estimated to be 20 million years old. The monkey puzzle tree has been named so because even monkeys fail to climb it.
You can easily spend around 2 hours (even more) in this garden. Remember you have to walk a lot to cover the entire garden.
Entry Fee : Adults- INR 30, Kids- INR 15, Still Photography- INR 50, Videography- INR 100
Timings : 7:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Have dinner and take rest at hotel. Tomorrow will be a long day.
The night was extremely cold, we had to take room heater on rent from hotel.
Day-2 :
Wake up early, get ready, finish breakfast and head towards Ooty railway station to catch UAM ONR Passenger (56139) train at 9:15 AM to Coonoor. Remember to book tickets in advance while planning your trip.
2. Nilgiri Mountain Railway:
Toy Train of Ooty, is one of the key attractions of the popular hill station. Started in the year 1899, it was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005.
Train covers a distance of total 46 km in a span of 5 hours (we will cover only 19 km till Coonoor) and takes one through a truly spectacular journey filled with picturesque views en-route.
We reached railway station before the train, there were few luxury coaches parked nearby. Everybody, including us jumped on the railway tracks to click the scene with the beautiful blue coaches and mountain in the background.
Our train arrived on time, looked for our first class coach (not luxurious but considering the glory and heritage, no complains).
Another fascinating feature of the train is that its youngest locomotive is over 50 years old and the oldest is 80 years old. This is one of the best means to discover the pristine treasures of the Nilgiris.
Enroute you will find lush green forests, dark tunnels, sharp bends, steep slopes, panoramic view of city, mist and fog.
The uniqueness of the trip also lies in the fact that this rail system is the steepest in Asia.
Cost: Each ticket from Ooty (search UDAGAMANDALAM in IRCTC while booking tickets) to Coonoor costs INR 290 in First Class and INR 85 in 2nd Sitting. I traveled first class, it was comfortable.
Time: It will take 1 hour 10 mins to reach Coonoor.
I asked my Taxi driver to reach Coonoor Railway station by road while we traveled by train. After we came out of Coonoor railway station, one guide approached us for sightseeing with magical convincing powers, we agreed in INR 300.
Let me tell you before, guide is must in Coonoor as there are many lovely and beautiful places which we cannot find and explore on our own. Our driver was also not aware of that.
First he took us to Wellington Cantonment, where we have DSSC (Defence Services Staff College) and MRC (Madras Regimental Center).
3. Wellington Cantonment
Around 3-4 kilometers from Coonoor, Wellington is a Cantonment town. It is the Regimental Centre for the Madras Regiment of the Indian Army. One of its most famous resident was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who died in the town on June 27, 2008.
Wellington is also home to DSSC (Defence Services Staff College) which is a joint-service institution of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force), selected officers from the Paramilitary forces and the Civil Services and officers from friendly foreign countries for command and staff appointments.
DSSC is one of the oldest military institutions in India, it was founded in 1905 as the Army Staff college in Deolali (near Nashik), and then re-located to Quetta (now Pakistan) in 1907. After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, it relocated to its present home in Wellington Cantonment. The air wing was established in 1949. With the establishment of the Naval Wing in 1950, it was progressively transformed into a fully integrated Defence Services Staff College, imparting training to Officers of all three services.
You cannot go inside DSSC and MRC centers but can view and feel them from outside. Roaming nearby army premises will always give you goosebumps and a proud moment, similar was the feeling here.
Enroute you will also see the section of Nilgiri mountain railway track where the famous song “Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya” from bollywood movie “Dil Se” featuring Shahrukh Khan was filmed.
Next destination after Wellington was Sim’s Park. You will reach here by 12:00 PM.
4. Sim’s Park
This is a park-cum-botanical garden housing 1000 plus species of colorful and vibrant flowers, along with many rare and exotic plants. An annual fruit and vegetable show takes place here every year in May.
Upon reaching here, we looked inside park and saw it is located on a sloppy hill. Thinking it will be tiring and time-consuming, we skipped it.
You can also skip this if Ooty Botanical Garden is/was in your list and has limited time.
Entry Fee : Adults: INR 30, Kids (up to 12 years): INR 15, Still Camera: INR 50, Video Camera: INR 100
Timings : 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Then we moved to another place known as Dolphin’s Nose. En-route our guide showed us multiple movie shooting points.
The whole town was so clean and green, you will fell in love it.
5. Dolphin’s Nose:
This is one of the best spots in Coonoor. The tip of the peak of this enormous rock resembles a dolphin’s nose. There is a clear view of the Catherine Falls, which is located at a short distance from the Dolphin’s Nose.
The best part about the spot is the tea plantations and the hairpin turns on the way. Also, as it was monsoon season, the road towards this spot was covered with fog.
This spot also allows a panoramic view of the hills that are covered with tea plantations. People tend to watch the sunrise and the sunset from this location. You may have to wait a bit to take a selfie or a pic at the nose, with just you in it 🙂
While returning from Dolphins’ Nose, there is another point mid-way called Lamb’s Rock (since the sequence of hills far away looks like a lamb’s back), but it was not visible during my trip due to fog.
The tea gardens enroute were so well arranged. you will definitely stop again and again for capturing the scene in your camera.
Our next stop was now actually a tea garden called “Highfield Tea Estate”.
6. Highfield Tea Estate
This place is drenched with the smell of fresh tea that’s being brewed and the 50-year-old tea factory here is a study tour for tea lovers as well as those who wish to know how tea is being processed.
Apart from the smell of tea, there are an abundance of eucalyptus trees on the hill. One can learn how the oil is disengaged from the eucalyptus trees at this factory. The people working at this factory will tell you how they produce oil. We purchased some tea bags and oils from the souvenir tea shop here.
The set-up at this factory is not very fancy but the process of oil manufacturing is not something which you will be able to see everywhere.
After this we decided to go back to Ooty and said good-bye to our Coonoor guide with some extra tip.
After 45 minutes of travel, at around 3:00 PM, we reached Ooty Lake. It was getting hectic with my 18 months old daughter, but we decided to cover the lake (we already skipped Sim’s park).
7. Ooty Lake:
This is one of the most refreshing and beautiful place to visit in Ooty. The stunning lake is surrounded by Eucalyptus trees and greenery and is a great place to experience the beauty of this hill station. The lake is filled with beautiful water birds with Nilgiri mountain ranges in the background, making it a picture perfect spot.
Ooty Lake is activity-filled place. One can hire paddle, rowing boats or motor boats from the boathouse here. There is a mini train for kids to hop on. 7D cinema, horror house, dashing car, columbus rides are also available. Kids will also love this place along with you.
Since there was not much rush, we hired a 8 seater motor boat with another couple and shared the money. Gave another 100 rupees to boatman for an extra round.
My 18 months old daughter enjoyed each and every ride for infants (all in rupees 100). We too enjoyed dashing car and mirror house. After the rides, we head to the food junction within the premises. There are few clothing and souvenir shops as well. Near exit, you can also enjoy a short horse ride (we skipped it).
Timings : 09:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Entry and Boating Fee:
- Lake Entry fee Rs 15/- Adult
- Still Camera fee Rs 50/-
- Video Camera feeRs 145/-
- Pedal boat 2 seater: Rs 170/-
- Pedal boat 4 seater: Rs 300/-
- Motor boats 8 seater: Rs 560/-
- Motor boats 10 seater: Rs 680/-
- Mini train for kids cost Rs 25/-
After Ooty Lake, our driver insisted and took us to a very beautifully maintained tea & chocolate factory cum shop, where we tasted different types of chocolates and tea and spent around 3500 rupees to purchase two bags full of different types of chocolates and tea.
The outlet was little away from the city (took us 30 mins to reach there), but it was worth. Good outlets will be far away from the city as they need large piece of land to run the factory.
A big tea garden with a factory and a small shop is not that much commercialized (although they have their own charm as they allow to visit the garden) but any outlet on the highway is much more managed and customer friendly for purchasing products.
If you also have some time left today, you should definitely visit a highway factory outlet.
Day-3 :
Today’s first stop will be Doddabetta peak. If you are planning to check-out and depart from Ooty today, check distance of this peak from your hotel, as this spot is in opposite direction to where-ever you will be going after Ooty. Post breakfast you can check-out now or after coming back from the Doddabetta peak.
8. Doddabetta Peak
Dodabetta, meaning – Big Peak, is located approximately 10 kms away from Ooty. It towers to a height of 2,623 meters above the sea level and is the highest peak in the Nilgiri Hills.
It’s top offers an astounding view of the nearby areas which are covered with dense forests. Locals say that on clear days, one can even see till Mysore.
Dodabetta is strategically located between the Western and Eastern Ghats, thus it is an ideal vantage point for the entire Nilgiris. The peak, or the Dodabetta viewpoint, can be accessed via a vehicle as well as on foot, this feature makes it a perfect destination to visit whether you are seeking leisure or adventure. It is an ideal trekking destination as well for trekking lovers.
We checked-out from our hotel and departed from Ooty to Mysore. Enroute was Pykara Falls and Lake, another beautiful lake. There were many other eye-catching beautiful spots midway, where we stopped.
9. Pykara Falls
These waterfalls are set amidst the backdrop of a lush green forest and are an absolute delight to witness. Pykara is the name of a village which lies at a distance of around 19 kms from Ooty. It is also the name of a river which runs through the Pykara village, which is sacred to the natives of this land.
From parking, you have to walk around 1 km on a scenic walkway to reach the falls. There are few stairs in the end which takes you to a platform to watch the roaring falls. Fortunately we were carrying the baby stroller, otherwise it would have been very hectic to walk that much with the kid.
In the end, they have created a platform which makes it easy to view the falls.
10. Pykara Lake
Declared as one of the world heritage sites, the Pykara lake is a must visit destination in Ooty. You can either enjoy boating or bask in the sun, on the lakeside. The ambiance of the Pykara lake is absolutely beautiful and enchanting. The lake is just 2 kms away from the Pykara falls. On weekdays you will find less rush here. The cleanliness and pristine nature of the lake is truly worthy of praise.
If you already did boating in Ooty lake, you can avoid it here, simply enjoy the panoramic view of the lake and mountains. We sat there on one of the platforms overlooking the lake and spent almost 30-45 mins with some snacks.
The water was bit yellowish (mud color), may be due to constant rain.
11. Shooting Point
It lies at a distance of approximately 3.8 kms from the Pykara dam. Several films and documentaries have been shot here. A lot of song sequences have also been shot at this place. There is lush greenery all around. It was calm and windy here. You can also enjoy horse riding at the shooting spot. You can climb the little hilltop to get an amazing view of the surroundings.
That’s it from Ooty and Coonoor.
There are two more lakes nearby Ooty called “Avalanche Lake” and “Emerald Lake” and a garden called “Rose Garden”.
If you have more time, then you can consider these places. I skipped those.
Happy Travelling..!!!
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10 Comments
Pooja Singh · August 9, 2020 at 12:42 am
Very nicely described….
Waiting to plan my next trip there accordingly
Shivam Singh · August 11, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Thank You….
Follow the exact plan as described with few + and -…. 🙂
Sumit Singh Gangwar · August 9, 2020 at 12:15 am
Wonderful description..would be really helpful in planning a trip there..
Shivam Singh · August 11, 2020 at 3:16 pm
Thank you…Rest we can guide you whenever you need assistance with planning. 🙂
Abhishek Singh Patel · August 8, 2020 at 9:22 pm
Most detailed blog
Shivam Singh · August 11, 2020 at 3:09 pm
Thank you 🙂
Siddharth Singh · August 8, 2020 at 5:11 pm
Would love to travel there….😄
Shivam Singh · August 11, 2020 at 3:09 pm
Definitely…You should plan post covid..
Nearby your current place..:)
Prashant Singh · August 8, 2020 at 4:59 pm
Detailed description 🙂
Shivam Singh · August 11, 2020 at 3:07 pm
Thank You… 🙂