trip to ooty

rahulcal

I just came thru mudumalai 2day mrning.Yes th park is nt open 2 visitors jst nw bt the road thru it is. Its a stunning route- 36 hair pin bends (tht s official). U will pass thru both mudumalai nd bandipore if you take ths route.Also suggest u carry umbrellas/rain wear-there r unseasonal rains happening just now. Last bt nt the least 4 all imers-avoid minibuses 2 mysore if you r on a tite sched.The 1 i took ws supposd 2 leave at 8.30 nd we were still in Ooty till 9.30- i had used imapala travels- unreliable buggers.Did manage 2 get my flite ex blor though.

Aishah

rahulcal - I'm finding it increasingly difficult to understand your posts when you use this SMS language. Because there are many members of India Mike to whom English is a second language, we ask members not to post in SMS text. What does ex-blor mean re your flight?

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puchoo

Ex bangalore i would imagine...

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Aishah

thank you, puchoo, I think you're right! SMS text is like working out puzzles for me, and I don't think I'm the only one with this problem!

snonymous

If you are travelling from CJB, from Mettupalayam, you can take either the route via Coonoor or the route via Kotagiri. The Kotagiri Dodabetta stretch was damaged by landslides during last weeks rains, hopefully will be repaired on a war footing for the coming tourist season. The route via Kotagiri is much more pleasant, being less crowded, and just as scenic with views of the other [eastern] side - you can see Bhavanisagar on a clear day. There are several tea estates on this route which add to the scenery. You could do both routes either way. Coonoor is barely 45min by road or 1hr by scenic train ride away from Ooty. The waterfalls would have revived due to last weeks rains, but may not last till mid April ! Apart from all the usual sights around Ooty [dont miss Dodabetta Peak] and Coonoor, do make a trip to Pykara Lake which has been recently cleaned up and is any day better than Ooty [sewage] Lake. On the Pykara road, you will also pass the 9th mile meadows - Tip: go about 100m ahead and cut through the forest on the left, you will get the same vast expanse of meadows minus the crowds and their litter, with the same fantastic views of Mukurthy Peak. Just before Pykara Lake is Pykara Falls which involves a 1km walk from the road, check with the locals if water has been released from the dam that day, otherwise it will be Pykara rivulet not falls. Better than all this is a trip to Emeralde Lake about 30km from Ooty via Mel Palada [Good Shepherd territory]. Emeralde and Avalanche Lake [bit further] are pristine beautiful places worth spending a whole day or more at. You can picnic by the bridge that divides the 2 lakes. See them on Google Earth. You get excellent bakery products in Ooty - Ooty Bakery and many other such bakeries: Puffs, butter biscuits, cakes. Fudge is brilliant at King Star on Commercial St, and the ubiquitous home made chocolates are sold everywhere but everywhere, including at the plumbers and electricians, as you will undoubtedly discover for yourself. Spices, aromatic oils and tea are also good buys but the tea lacks the strength and flavour of its North East cousins. Even if Mudumalai is not open [ as many reserves are not during the forest fire season ]the drive down the ghat from Thalaikundah to Masinagudi is very scenic with many hairpin bends. nilgiris.org will give you more info about the district in general. Happy holidays.

Aishah, I could not agree with you more. I do not understand why so many people use this strange language nowadays, which is really difficult to decipher at times. Cheers.

Aishah

snonymous - re SMS text - yes, I agree. But later I found out rahulcal was only able to use his mobile at the time and he posted some very good up to date information re Mudumalai, so thank you for that rahulcal. I guess using your mobile phone is hard to put in full text...

olivegreen

hi snonymous, thank u so much.now i'm clear abt. my chenni-cbe- coonoor - ooty(ofcourse kothagiri)trip.

snonymous

Hello Olivegreen
Forgot to mention, when you go from Mettupalayam on the Kotagiri rd, there are dense evergreen mixed forests on the lower slopes, look out for the huge Malabar Giant Squirrels here, they jump from treetop to treetop, they are huge reddish brown with big cute bushy tales and cant be missed, but you have to look up to spot them. We found quite a few in the forests opposite a prominent silk farm on the right as you come from Mettupalayam [or left if the other way]. Enjoy your trip and have a few flaky pastry puffs at the bakeries for me, and some choc fudge at KingStar as well !! Its a good thing I dont live there, Id probably be like a balloon by now.

olivegreen

hi ims, after coming thro' various msgs & informations, I think i should not miss coonoor & kothagiri.could u tell me, an half-a day is sufficient for to cover coonoor.i.e, we will depart from cbe airport at 10pm and may reach coonoor around 12.00.after some sight seeing at coonor we will go for our lunch and depart from coonor by 3.30 and proceed to ooty.On the way to ooty we will cover other spots too. so that we will directly check in our resort in the late evening(by 6.30) If anybody says this schedule is alright we will proceed as this.the day next we will cover to doddabetta,pykara etc & while returning on the other next day we will cover kothagiri.I need to make a clear plan as we friends are carrying our small kids, which i cannot explain to a tour operator

Aishah

Half a day is plenty to look at kotagiri and around - it's basically a quieter spot than Ooty, nothing much there but nice looking area. Coonoor is more spectacular.

snonymous

IF you leave CJB at 10am you will more likely reach Coonoor around or just after 1pm. You can visit Syms Park botanical gardens in Upper Coonoor but it would take at least 2 hrs to do a minimum visit here. It is laid out in a deep valley, the entrance being on top and you have to go all the way down to the lake. Look out for the wild tree ferns [cyathea nilgirensis], one is as tall as a coconut tree. I found these more interesting than the planted imported [mostly Australian]species. Now it is spring so there will be plenty of pretty flowers in bloom, also look out for the colourful mountain birds which are endemic to the Nilgiris. You can go to Ooty after visiting Lambs Rock and Dolphins Pt [Catherine falls viewpoint], Law Falls should be worth seeing now in view of the recent rains. Nowadays the sunset is much later and up in the Nilgiris [approx 2200m AMSL] it takes much longer to get dark so you will have plenty of daylight to spare. The next day from Ooty please start early and go to Dodabetta first, there are beautiful 360 degree views from there and you will immediately understand why they are called the Blue Mountains [Neel Giri]. After this go to Pykara etc. The Ooty botanic gardens are also worth a quick visit if only to delight in the magnificent golf course style lawns going steeply uphill to the Toda tribal settlement on top. If you want to visit tea gardens do it on the return via Kotagiri, as this is tea garden area. If you leave early enough on your return trip you can take a diversion to the Kodanad viewpoint via Kotagiri which gives great views of the Sathyamangalam side. Also see Catherine falls if you have the time.
Have a great trip.

capt_mahajan

Hope you have better luck than we did a few years ago, when a) nobody local seemed to have heard of it, and we took some time finding it and b) All we saw was a small trickle. This was in May or June, mind, post-monsoons may be better.

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snonymous

I agree but in view of last weeks heavy rains, the waterfalls ought to have revived, they should last a month at least ! Hopefully !!!

olivegreen

thanks a lo........t.I'm very clear about my trip now.snonymous u helped me a lot.whatever query i had u made me clear.anyway thanks to all my im friends.

snonymous

Do post your experiences after you get back. Enjoy your vacation.