Lofty mountains, dense forest & miles & miles of tea gardens
Ooty, also known as Ootacamund, is the Queen of hill stations and the capital of Nilgiris district. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts in India. Ooty is also a land of picturesque picnic spots. This place used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the Britishers during the colonial days. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 mt above sea level.
An added attraction for the tourists is the mountain train journey on a ratchet and pinion track which commences from Kallar, near Mettupalayam and wends its way through many hair-raising curves, fearful tunnels and chugs along beside deep ravines full of verdant vegetation, gurgling streams and tea gardens.
One can notice a marvelous change in vegetation, as one goes from Kallar to Coonoor. The establishment of numerous tea estates made Ooty famous. Lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens greet the passengers on most routes.
The annual Tea and Tourism Festival attracts crowds in huge numbers who have a great time in this wonderful place. The environment is so wonderful that it attracts a lot of tourists who come here to enjoy a wonderful time with nature while staying close to huge landscape.
Ooty has blooming vegetation and wonderful tea gardens and fine pine and eucalyptus trees, which keep enhancing the beauty of the place. Several areas are preserved like that of sanctuary so as to conserve the beauty of the nature and avoid extinction of the various animals.
Tourist attractions
Government Museum & Art Gallery: The Government Museum, Mysore Road, Udhagamandalam has items of tribal objects, districts ecological details and representative sculptural arts and crafts of Tamil Nadu. It is situated about 2 km from Udhagamandalam on the main Mysore road. It has various collections of contemporary paintings and sculptures all over from India.
Avalanche Valley: Located at a distance of 28 km from Ooty, Avalanche Valley is one of the most popular places to visit around Ooty. Named after a landslide which hit the region in the year 1823, the valley is a natural paradise. Filled with shola trees, rhododendrons, orchids, magnolias and a trout stream, Canada dam and Avalanche Lake & Dam are the few attractions tourists can explore here.
Bellikkal Lake: Bellikkal Lake is a beautiful water feature that has some great views to offer. Fishing here may not be a good idea since this lake is a popular watering hole for a variety of wild animals. Elephants can be frequently seen getting a drink early in the morning or right at dusk here. Tigers, bear, bison, and deer are all possible animals that could be sighted as well.
Bison Valley: Bison Valley acquired its name from the Indian bison that roam throughout the area. Impressive views of cardamom forests are possible from this beautiful valley. Beautiful greenery exists in almost every place that you look.
Catherine Falls: Catherine Falls is located in the area that surrounds Coonoor. This beautiful waterfall falls from an impressive 250 feet. It can clearly been seen from the top of Dolphin’s Nose if seeing the entire waterfall as one total impression is what you are looking for. It is also possible to take a road to the top of the falls.
Doddabetta Peak: Doddabetta peak is the highest known peak in the region of Ooty and its altitude stays to be more than 2,623 meters in height. It actually stays in the suburbs of Ooty and is hardly 10 kms from the place.
Dolphin’s Nose: Dolphin’s Nose is an enormous rock formation that is entirely unique. The protruding rock formation looks exactly like what it is named after, a dolphin’s nose. It takes some effort to climb to the top of this rock outcropping, but the views are absolutely worth the hard work. There are gigantic ravines found both to the left and right of Dolphin’s Nose.
Emerald Lake: Emerald Lake is a wonderful lake in the upper plateau region of the Nilgiri hills. It is a part of the silent valley and is beside the Red hill nature resort which is a best picnic place of the region.
The site of the lake is wonderful and one would definitely love being at that place. One would hold one’s breathe by looking at the wonderful sites of the nature and fun is to the fullest.
Hidden Valley: The Hidden Valley is in the region that surrounds Coonoor. This valley is known for being both impressive and beautiful. Access to this valley is not readily available. Instead, it is necessary to trek to this particular valley.
Kalhatti Falls: Kalhatti Falls is a magnificent waterfall that plummets 400 feet or 122 meters. Sometimes these falls are referred to as the Kalahasti Falls. It is almost a transcendental experience to witness the raw power that this waterfall contains, yet it radiates beauty and grace at the same time.
Ketti Valley: Ketti Valley is a small village developed in the valley region of the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu. Ketti Valley stays to be 7000 feet deep inside the mountains near Coonoor.
Lake District: India’s Lake District is found near Red Hills where the numerous rain-filled reservoirs make for an impressive and incredibly beautiful landscape. In fact, there are 8 separate lakes in the area with each being remarkably beautiful in its own right. The scenic blue lakes are Emerald, Upper Bhavani, Avalanche, Porthimund, Parson’s Valley Lake and Western catchments numbered 1, 2 and 3.
Lamb’s Rock: Lamb’s rock is an excellent picnic spot near Coonoor. It is a point on the way to Dolphin’s Nose. It was named after the man Captain Lamb who tried in earnest to open a path to that particular point. With such a view, no wonder this man put forth such a valiant effort to reach the point.
Ooty Botanical Gardens: Who doesn’t know about the Botanical Gardens? It’s the best garden ever known in India and is a great tourist destination. It is located on the hillock of Ooty which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India.
Ooty Lake: Ooty Lake stays in the heart of Ooty with its L shape construction. It is the best place for boating and the summers are primly wonderful. Several boat races are conducted and people have a wonderful time enjoying the sport as such a wonderful place on earth.
Ooty Rose Gardens: Rose garden is the heart and soul of city of Ooty. The construction is so beautiful and there are small tunnels made wherein the roses are planted in tunnels.
Best time to visit
Ooty is a destination that can be visited all through the year. Summers are quite pleasant, winters are cool, and monsoons are beautiful. However, the best time for visiting Ooty is from October to June.
How to reach
By Train: Mettupalayam, which is 47 km away from Ooty, is the nearest major railway station. There are regular train services from Coimbatore and Chennai to Mettupalayam. Mettupalayam and Conoor are connected to Ooty with toy trains.
By Air: Coimbatore airport is the nearest airport and is around 105 km from Ooty. A number of private airlines provide services to Coimbatore which is well connected with many south Indian cities by air including Chennai, Bangalore, Madurai and Hyderabad.
By Bus: Ooty is well connected with all most all south Indian cities by bus.
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