Ooty Travelogue – The Queen of hill stations– The name always fascinated me with the imagination of calm weather, the lush green landscape covered with misty hills and freshness in the air.
Being from a small town of North India, and hence grown up by seeing the best of Ooty on television. Read on my travelogue to Ooty
Table of Contents
OOTY’S BEST SEASON
The best time to visit is during the months of March to June and September to November. Monsoon brings in a lot of rain in this town. Winters nights in January and February are the coldest. It was my long desired to have of the Ooty travel experience of what it feels to be on top of hills overseeing the valley. Here is an experience of Ooty with things to do & travel tips
BANGALORE TO OOTY
Bangalore to Ooty distance is 265 Km and travel time in bus takes 8 to 10 Hrs.
Bangalore –> Ramnagar –> Mandya –> SriRangapattna –> Mysore –> Nanjangud –> Gundlupet –> Bandipur–> Masinagudi — Ooty ( Approx 265 Km). The path has 36 Hairpin Bends from Masinagudi to Ooty.
Remember– Bandipur national forest is closed from 9 PM– 6 AM due to animals movements at night, plan your trip accordingly
EXCLUSIVE OOTY & COONOOR Stay
Hey traveler, let’s talk straight- Here is an exclusive collection of best stays in Ooty and Coonoor; please click the Ooty stay link and select your best stay as per your need-
OOTY & KODAIKANAL ROAD
The road distance between Ooty to Kodaikanal is 255 km (7Hrs). Ooty to Coimbatore takes almost 3 hrs; Coimbatore to Kodai Road is another 3.5 hrs; Kodai road to Kodaikanal will take another hour.
OOTY WEATHER & FORECAST
[BetterWeather location=”11.4127,76.7031″ /]Job transfer to Bangalore from Mumbai only gave the needed thrust to have Ooty in “to do” list at the top and so utilizing the long weekend of spring 2014, the old dream got materialized.
My past travel experience in India to remote or widely known destinations gave me confidence that everything like the hotel, homestay, train, the bus will be completely booked or crowded, and this theory holds good during the weekend or extended holiday.
OUR STAY IN OOTY
It came out to be true after searching a few booking sites in few minutes; luckily I got an excellent deal for the perfect stay in hilltop property overlooking the valley called “Sabol holidays”. The property is located 10 km uphill from the main Ooty and offers the best experience for small or large groups.
The next search was for transportation, after lots of painful search on sites, I stumble on travelyaari whose service is highly focused on making bus journey a memorable experience for the traveler. Considering a long holiday weekend ahead, I booked the bus ticket for the return trip as well.
With the view of Nilgiri hills, we woke up at around 7 AM while we were about to reach Ooty. Situated at an altitude of about 2500 meters, Ooty with its lush green scenic beauty, lofty mountains, and the vast expanse of tea estates is a favored tourist spot.
Endowed with a wholesome climate, Ooty is an ideal destination for people seeking to while away sometime close to nature. After checking into Sabol holidays, we went out for sightseeing. The first place we paid a visit to was the Botanical Garden. Spread over 55 acres of land, Botanical Garden, is one of the most popular attractions of Ooty. The garden displays some rare species of trees including cork tree, monkey puzzle tree, and paperbark tree.
It’s a paradise for people who love to study various species of plants. The Ooty market will give you ample chance to fulfill your desire to do local shopping. Also, it’s recommended to try the local cuisine. One can spend the evening at Ooty lake. It covers an area of 65 acres.
The Boathouse situated by the lake, which offers boating facilities to tourists, is a major tourist attraction in Ooty. Do remember the evening and nights gets cooler or at times chilly, so recommended to carry woolens or sweatshirts to feel the warmth.
Next morning we hired the local taxi and went to Sim’s Park located in Coonoor. Coonoor is another hill station of Nilgiri hills. The distance is only 35 km from the hill station.
So either you can also stay in Coonoor and tour both the places. Sim’s Park is mainly a park with a small garden displaying varieties of shrubs, herbs, and ferns. It is useful for a morning walk or jogging and relaxing with friends under the shade of trees. Around ten km away from Coonoor lies the Dolphin’s Nose.
Dolphin’s Nose is a beautiful vantage point that provides the breathtaking view of the luscious green valley spread below. As the name suggests, a massive protruding rock formation resembling the nose of Dolphin is used as a viewpoint which gives an enticing panoramic view of the Catherine Falls, Kotagiri Hills, and Mettupalayam plains.
The way to Dolphin’s Nose is a bit perilous as the road and curvy. However, the side slopes covered with green tea vegetation looks mesmerizing as your car makes its way through the narrow road between.
Do stop by and photographed in the middle of tea estates, granted to give Hindi film experience. En route to Coonoor, you will find the spot where the famous “Chaiyya Chaiyaa” was shot, do stop by and take that prized selfie. You will find numerous tea /homemade chocolates shop, remember to taste those and take some back home, in a way you are helping the local community and economy to grow.
Next morning, we wake up early to catch the sunrise and the bird’s singing. It was so beautiful and lovely to admire nature at its best.
After having complimentary breakfast from the hotel, we checked out and headed to the bus stand. Our Volvo bus started from Ooty around 12 PM; we packed home-made chocolates and tea to share with our friends and office colleague. We reached Bangalore by 9 PM and straight away crashed onto our bed with the best memories of the bus trip.
TOURIST PLACES IN & AROUND OOTY & COONOOR
There are lots and lots of tourist places to see in around. It’s best to list all the places that you’d like to visit before you start your travel in order to make the most out of your trip. Popular tourist destinations are–
- Botanical Garden
- Lake
- Doddabetta Peak
- Rose Garden
- Avalanche
- Dolphin’s Nose (Near Coonoor)
- Sims Park (Coonoor)
- Toy Train
SUGGESTED READING
Devala a small hamlet which is 70 Km before Ooty is a nice place to relax and enjoy. We stayed at “Ambeina” a bungalow in the middle of 100 acres of the Tea estate. Read our story and review of Amberina.
SUGGESTED OOTY RESOURCES
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(9 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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I remember visiting Ooty when I was kid. It was indeed a beauty. I had another trip 2 years back… sad to say Ooty has become less beautiful. The climate is also changing.
If you are the lover of cold weather, then get some and plan a trip to Shimla awesome place to visit..even you’ll love to stay there for many weeks. The weather and the people of Shimla are both awesome. USA, the upper Shimla area is the best to stay in winters.
Great and livid write up of your experiences. We visited the hill destination of Ooty recently and had an amazing time. Here is an account of our experience – http://www.expressions-kt.in/2016/01/ooty-jewel-in-nilgiris-south-trip-2.html
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