ooty vs munnar

We will be visiting kerala from Tamilnadu in the first/2nd week of November. which is a better location for tourist Ooty or Munnar. Would the Ooty lake be dry during that period. is Ooty worth overnight stay

I visited Ooty in November 2001 and it was a bit cold (18 degrees-ish in the day but around 4 or 5 at night). Apart from that drawback it was a wonderful little place to spend a night. Great cheap restaurants and hotels, good wee shops and a nice ambience. The town park is excellent to spend a peaceful morning just walking around. I loved it there.

The train ride up from Mettupalayam (sorry check spelling???) was awesome on the little narrow gauge steam train.

Not been to Munnar though sorry.

Thanx for the info. what was the condition of ooty lake that time.

Can't remember it other than a lake (of water not dry). Didn't taste it or anything, nor try to fish in it. I think Steve has (steven_ber) stayed by the lake somewhere as I remember him recommending somewhere.

Good luck.

Thank you Rab.

I was in Ooty early last December. The days were pleasant but the nights got down to freezing. I was a little disappointed in the town, not because there was anything disagreeable about it, but only because I expected something different.

The toy train ride was wonderful though; a 'must-do' if you are there!

Haven't been to Munnar either, so can't compare.

We were in Ooty in February 2003. Chilly at night - needed a blanket on the bed. Warm in the day. Yep, train ride is superb. Book in advance if you can. First class is at the front, engine at the back. We had the front seat and a good view of the wild elephants that stopped the train for a few minutes. Ooty itself was a bit of a disappointment, but not unpleasant. The lake was suffering from a plague of water hyacinth although it had plenty of water. The area round the boat hire places was crowded and noisy. We missed out on a trip up to a nearby peak (Doddabetta?) from where there are apparently superb views. Trip back down in a taxi on the back road through Mudumalai NP was also pretty neat; I was quite glad we weren't in a hurry!

We were in Munnar last December. Similar temperatures; put our jackets on in the bazaar in the evening. Smaller and more compact than Ooty, still has that hill station feel but fewer old colonial buildings. Wonderful bus ride from Periyar. Munnar felt less touristy than Ooty. Took a trip up to Eravikulam NP early in the morning - half an hour or so in an auto - to see the nilgiri tahr (kind of goat - antelope) that live there. Very nice ride, but do go early. We left Munnar around 6am. Lots of tourists shatter the peace later. Unfortunately access to the park is limited to a short stretch just inside, but it was still worth it. Bus ride back to Kochi was long and windy (and mostly downhill). Took about 5 hours, not so scenic, through spice gardens and plantations.

It's all good - do some now, more next time!

And of course you could try Kodai, which I hear is very nice too.

Thanks Skell and Mikewill