DAYS 86 TO 88 – OOTY
Day 86 – Monday, 20th Jan 2014 to Day 88 – Wednesday, 22nd Jan 2014
It’s Monday morning 6:30 am, Khyati and I have checked out of our room and we take an auto rickshaw to the Fort Kochi jetty stand. There are frequent rides to Ernakulam and we hop on a boat to get there. We reach Ernakulam Jn by 8:15 am and our train to Coimbatore is at 9 o’clock.
Kochi to Ooty route
Our final destination is Ooty but as we did not want to take a direct bus there, we decided to break the journey in 3 routes. First, we headed from Kochi to Coimbatore, the journey took about 3 hours. We reach Coimbatore Jn by 12:30 pm and then take a state transport bus to Mettupalayam. Mettupalayam is a small town at the foothills of Nilgiri mountains. The famous Nilgiri mountain railway starts from here.
We reach Mettupalayam by 3:30 pm. We haven’t made any hotel reservations and just hope to book a lodge near the station for the night. In our quest of finding a hotel room, we head near the railway station. Apparently, there are no hotels in the immediate vicinity. At the railway station, we see a sign board for railway waiting rooms available, please check with the station master. We have never lived at a railway retiring home and I was apprehensive about booking this one but the advantage being that this was right at the railway station. We decide to take it and to our surprise, the rooms were very good. Very clean and well lit rooms with Western toilets and 24 hours running hot water. We were impressed.
railway retiring room
at Mettupalayam
In the evening, we walk around the small town and have some dinner at a local restaurant.
Usually at Indian railway stations, there are continuous announcements over the microphone about oncoming train arrival and departures. I was worried that this noise won’t allow me to sleep peacefully but being the quaint place it is, Mettupalayam gets only 8-10 trains during the day. Post 7 pm, there were no more trains for the night and the next train arrived at 6 am the following morning. Win win!
We sleep sound and wake up around 6:15 am. We walk down the stairs straight to Platform 2 and our coach is right there.
toy train
The seating is quite cramped as there are 10 of us in a small coach. There is hardly any place to store our luggage but to our surprise, our co passengers did not have any luggage apart from a small carry bag. To our luck, their luggage was being transported in a bus all the way to Ooty. The train climbs to an altitude of over 7000 feet and cuts its way through scenic bridges and breath taking views of the mountains.
passing through a bridge
We could feel the cold mountain air as the train passed through 8 stops on it way to Udhagamandalam (Ooty).
at Ooty station
We arrive in Ooty by noon and we take an auto rickshaw to our hotel. It’s 1 pm, we head out for some lunch. We find a Gujarati Bhojnalay (restaurant) and have some food to satisfy our appetite. We inquire at Tamil Nadu tourism’s office for nearby attractions. We find out that we could head to Doddabetta Peak and Botanical Gardens today. Doddabetta Peak is the highest peak in Ooty and we can easily hike there from Doddabetta Junction which is just a few kms bus drive from Ooty Market. But in the last few days, a tigress has set loose herself from the nearby Mudumalai National Forest and killed three people and a cow. Hence, all hiking near Doddabetta Peak has been closed and we are only allowed to go in private cars up the hill. We enjoy our visit at Doddabetta Peak and spend an hour here.
scenic views from Doddabetta Peak
On our way back, we stop by the Tea Factory. Ooty has a lot of tea plantations and it’s famous for the various spread of teas. Our next stop is the Ooty Botanical gardens. Beautiful flowers, plants and greenery cover this area and it’s very well maintained. We walk through the entire garden and spend few hours here.
at Botanical gardens
It’s 7 pm, we head back to the market area and post dinner, relax at the hotel and call it a night around 10 pm.
It’s Wednesday 8 am, Khyati and I are having some breakfast. Post that, we head to the tourist bus stand and await our bus for the day. We have booked a package tour to explore the outskirts of Ooty and Mudumalai national forest. It’s 10 am by the time the bus has picked up all the passengers from the various hotels of Ooty and we are finally on our way. Enroute to Pykara Dam and lake, we visit Golf Lines, 9 miles and Shooting Place. These are very scenic spots in Ooty and many films have been shot here in the yesteryears.
at Shooting Place
Next, we head to Pykara Dam. From the place where the bus stopped, the dam was half a km walk. We purchase some corn and hope to eat it on our way there. Have we not grabbed even a single bite, we see a dozen monkeys running in our direction aiming clearly for the corn. Had I known earlier, we wouldn’t have even purchased it. The monkeys get closer, Khyati clings to me tightly not willing to give up her corn. The monkey comes to a halt near me and tries to find a way to snatch. I did not want to get into a tussle and I throw my corn a few meters away and the monkey immediately rushes to grab it. Few other monkeys still have their eyes set on Khyati’s corn. Khyati does the wise thing and gives away her corn to the hungry monkeys. We visit the dam and the lake. Next, we head out to the last and final stop – Mudumalai National forest. Our bus goes through the winding roads of Nilgiri mountains until we are at the foothills and into the dense forests. The forest encompasses an area of 320 sq. kms and is part of all three states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The only way to explore the forest is through a bus safari. The bus takes us through the jungle and we get to see the animals in their natural state. We see spotted deers, Sambas, herd of elephants and a leopard up close feeding on a samba.
leopard feeding on a Samba
We recommend this place if you are visiting Ooty.
We head back to Ooty and the bus drops us back to our hotel by 9 pm. It’s been a good but tiring day. We relax at our hotel and call it a night around 11 pm. The weather was pleasant, around 15-20 deg during the day and around 10 deg during the night.
Hope you enjoyed our experience in Ooty. Please let us know by leaving a comment.
Tomorrow, we head to Mysore and explore the land of Tipu Sultan.
Stay tuned with us for future posts. Only 12 more days to go for the completion of our India trip.
Best wishes,
Paras