Is Munnar worth the drive? What about Ooty?

hfot2

In mid-January, we have the possibility of a 4 hour detour to Munnar, an afternoon there, an overnight stay, and a 4 hour drive out the next morning. The alternative is to spend an extra [3rd] day in Cochin. Which seems the better choice?

What's the weather like in Munnar and in Ooty in mid-January? We come from snowy, mountain country but expect that these hills in winter are quite a different experience.

If you had to choose Ooty or Munnar which would you choose? If you could go to both, would you? Or would you add a day in Cochin instead of going to Munnar?

shahashim

It all depends on where you plan on going after Cochin, really.

Travel in the interior can take a long time. Munnar's an amazing place, but it might be difficult to see much, given your time constraints. If your next destination is on the coast--or a plane ride out of Cochin--you may be better served spending an extra day in Cochin, or trying another city on the coast, like Allepy.

crvlvr

hfot, how many days are you planning to spend in cochin? Depending on how hectic the rest of your trip is, Munnar will be a good getaway to just chill for a day the weather will be pleasant for you snowy mountain country types.

Susan

After 4 weeks of traveling through South India, I thought Munnar was absolutely gorgeous and well worth the journey. The weather and scenary were a welcome break from the heat of the lower lands.

docgirl2005

Ooty used to be a wonderful place to visit but nowadays has become WAY to commercialized. It is still a middle class Indian tourist destination but you would be hard pressed to find any quiet spaces to yourself and the beautiful scenery is rapidly depleting full of shanty shacks and developments.

Ooty is NOT what it used to be..if you are going to places like Munnar dont worry you wont miss much with Ooty..

Dav

If you like nature and spectacular scenery, Munnur is a great place to visit. I personally wasn't that impressed with Cochin. There wasn't that much to do apart from shopping, churches, and the fish markets. Ask yourself this question: Are you a temple / church lover or a nature lover?

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Bigzero

Reach munnar in the afternoon, stay overnight, and drive out next morning.... perhaps not a good way to visit a place like munnar. Munnar is more of a 2-3 day destination where you can take things a little slowly, walk/pedal around, go for short drives to the various spots in the vicinity, visit tea gardens etc. Perhaps a 4 hr detour isnt justified by an overnight stay. Since you are reaching in the afternoon, you will have pretty little time to relax and enjoy the scenery.

But, if you are one who likes driving, then yes, go ahead, since the drive itself will be quite an exhilarating experience

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lonelyaztec

hfot2,

Munnar is a great place, has tea estates and is lovely. You must definitely drive there and stay there for a while.

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crimsonriver

If u are still thinking whether to drive thru Munnar.. check the pics here..(my last yr kerala trip)

http://crimonriver.blogspot.com/2005...t-perfect.html

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john.sw

People who haven't been to Ooty for a few years will not have seen and appreciated the dramatic improvements to the roads, pavements and the general cleanliness or the area... Maybe they should.

Ooty is a wonderful place to visit, and the town is set in some of the most beautiful countryside in the Nilgiris.

I am not sure in what way Ooty is said by some to be too commercialised... maybe the amazingly beautiful stalls in the Municipal Market, or maybe the diversity of small shops in Main Bazaar and Commercial Road selling a wide range of goods to the local people are “too commercial”?

There are very few tourist shops in Ooty; it is an honest, working Hill Station catering mainly to the local population. Ooty is agricultural, sending carrots, cabbages, onions and a wide range of other vegetables and fruits to the towns of South India and tea to the rest of the world.

There is a wide range of restaurants in the town, and hotel accommodation ranges from the cheap to the almost regal (with prices to match).

In the town centre you won't find any quiet spaces to yourself... where would you in India? But just travel 5 minutes from Charing Cross and you have all the tranquillity and natural beauty you could desire! Travel for another 40 minutes and you are in dense jungle. Mudamalai wildlife sanctuary is a few more minutes down the road and you cannot fail to see a range of wild animals in their natural habitat.

Ooty is loaded with history, and little villages around the town serve the small agricultural and plantation communities. The town has a population of around 95,000, but has retained its friendly village feel.

Take the Toy Train up or down the hill and pass through some spectacular countryside. Walk or drive through tea estates, meeting the friendly local people as you go, and soak in the natural beauty of the area. Drive to Doddabetta – the highest point in the Nilgiris where the Western Ghats meet the Eastern Ghats - and stand on top of the world.

If you have never been to Ooty, or haven’t been to Ooty for years, you should make the trip – but leave your plastic bags and litter at home – Ooty is a beautiful, clean town, and we want to keep it that way!

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hfot2

Can you compare Ooty to Munnar - or - Munnar to Ooty?

Are they 2 entirely different experiences?

Weather? in mid-January? Do I need to pack more clothes for this part of the trip or will a microfleece sweater do? [remember, we live in snow country]

We are photographers - we love streets and temples and camels and grot [lots of grot] and people and nature [and we get plenty of beautiful nature right here at home outside our window]

We'll be traveling for 40 days and this section is in the middle. Our current plan is to be spend a few days in Periyar, followed by Munnar, Kottayam-Aleppy-Cochin [we are photographing here not going to the beach] and then Ooty. [yes, we hope to take the Toy Train for a day trip]

Laerke

Hi, I was in Ooty in Jan this year, and I was very disappointed. The town was so polluted, and IMO not very interesting. We did go horseback riding further up the mountain, and that was beautiful - but still it was "just" a forest, it didn't differ that much from any other forest. But we did get to see the plantations and eucalyptus trees. And the trip down with the toy train was also very nice, not comfortable, but with stunning views! So leaving Ooty was nice...

Maybe if you a willing to spend a little extra on accommodation you'll be able to stay outside the town, and that way avoid the pollution.

And it was quite cold, we put on all the clothes we had, but if you are only staying for one night don’t bother bringing extra clothes – you can buy hats, gloves...up there.

What ever you decide have a nice trip!

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annshomestay

Munnar is worth going and its like tea estates in switzerland... there is a page describing about munnar or u might search in google regarding munnar..

xnarun

try living in wellington instead of ooty - it is a quaint little town/village - you at time may be the only person at the railway station when the train rolls in which is next to impossible in india; i stayed at a place called riga residency which was undergoing major repairs at that time so that sort of dampened the desire to stay there. there is a briliant bakery called needs opposite the madras regimental centre barracks - though very small serves great stuff. what i did was stayed at ooty in ywca and took the 9 am train everyday to wellington for a week;

if you are there in wellington you should try out the kilimanjaro movie hall - the service by the army soldiers is too good

have fun

xnarun

Ooty should be strictly avoided in the tourist season - it is crowded, noisy, polluted and all that

but come to ooty on a non weekend in December and the place is lovely. stay at the ywca - cheap & excellent; the station serves brilliant breakfast, take the train @ 9 AM to coonoor - get into the older wooden coaches - at times you will be the only passenger in the whole coach - get off at aravankadu to pick up some grub from the cafeteria (the vada/tea kind); the guard will not let the train leave till you board, get off at wellington - walk to the barracks of the Madras regiment, rue the fact that you do not live there - take the town bus to coonoor - all this with almost no crowds to battle with

at at wellington a visit to needs is crucial