Ooty Or Ootacamund

OOTY

Ooty, also known as Ootacamund, is the Queen of hill stations and the  situated  in  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 to visit the place and have a great time in this wonderful place. The environment is so wonderful that is invites a lot of tourist attraction who come here to enjoy a wonderful time with nature while staying close to huge landscape.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS

 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. The function is well planned and organized and there is a huge crowd gathered around the lake at the time of the race.

The boat houses is the place where the people reside and its also a great experience staying in a boat house. There are a few children parks where the tourists can halt and have a wonderful time with kids. The means of conveyance stays to be horses and ponies and horse ride is the favorite sport for anyone visiting the place.

Botanical Garden

 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.

It has a wide span of more than 50 acres and is spread along the Dodabetta peak, which stays to be the highest peak in the region of Ooty. The garden is taken great care of by the government and the Horticulture department and has a wide variety of plants and trees.

It has been lovers point and has been appreciated by all kinds of people alike. May stays to be the best time to visit the place, and there are several programs organized by the local crowd so as to attract the tourists to visit the place.

The thread garden

The thread garden at Ooty is a popular tourist spot that showcases some of the most exquisite collection of artificial flowers and plants, all made by the expert hands of the skilful artists by using just thread.

Antony Joseph, the mastermind behind this unique creation along with his 50 proficient helpers has worked constantly for 12 years, to create these marvels of thread. Approximately 6 crore meters of embroidery thread have been employed in the creation of this one-of-a-kind attraction in the world. Also be assured that not a stitch of a needle or any other machinery have been used in the production of these flowers.

Stiff cardboards for flowers and petals, steel and copper wires for stem were meticulously used along with varied colors of threads to create these visual delights. Here you can find more than 150 varieties of artificially made flowers which promise to remain fresh for a long long time to come.

 

Rose garden

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.

This botanical garden stays to be the best flower show of the century and it has the highest amount of rose production in the country. Different kinds of roses are grown in all colors and sizes, incorporating different hybrid quality like tea and miniature roses which are gathering great footing in the market place these days.

The roses grown in the Botanical garden are best sold at higher prices in the market and stay longer and are best for the bouquets to be created and are a great memorable gift for the beloved.

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. Ooty being the hilly place, the areas in the suburbs can too be easily captured in the camera and the hillock as well as the valley is indeed a great sight seeing place. It is a wonderful place for shooting and capturing nature's scenic beauty in the camera and forecast it to the people all around the globe. The hilly regions of Mysore and the open plain lands too can be easily captured in the camera and it is the best place to take a shot

Kamraj sagar lake

Kamraj sagar lake is a dam and is located in the suburbs of Ooty. It is situated far away at a distance between the woods and greenery all around and hence is a great picnic sport for the people. There is a wide variety of herbs and shrubs available in the terrain and is a good sport for picnic as well as it has been a great sport for the people to capture the scenic beauty in the camera. Several good movies are shot in the neighbourhood on the open roads and on the slopes of the Wendlock sagar.

The waters are highly cold and one can have good experience fishing in the place. Fishing industry has flourished there and the chief food available is fish and rice, and one can stuff ones belly in all varieties cooked from the fish.

Pykara Lake

Pykara Lake and the fall are on the path going from Ooty to Bangalore and are situated close to mudumalai. The lake is a wonderful example of nature's beauty and is a paradise on earth. One would definitely love boating in the wonderful lake and the pykara falls close to the lake is a fantastic place where one can enjoy photography.

Several movies have been shot at this place and there is a dam in the suburbs, which provides water to the people in the neighbourhood. There is a wonderful bridge in the place where one can enjoy the shooting and photography too.

St. Stephen Church

St. Stephen Church is the Gothic church of the place and is one of the best known colonial structures of Ooty. People gather in church and offer sacred prayers from the bottom of the heart. The true feelings of the people reveal the fact that still somewhere on earth, the God is still alive.

The church was constructed and carved totally from wood and is the best architectural model from wood. The coolness in the church is wonderful as the whole place is made of wood. It's indeed a great experience staying a closet made from the pure wood obtained from Tipu Sultan's palace and was brought at this place with the aid of series of elephants.

Travel to Ooty on exotic ‘Nilgiri Toy Train’ to enjoy the plethora that nature holds for you. The slow train ride uphill connects Ooty from Mettupalayam, a serene town lying on the foothills of the Nilgiris. The train began its first service in 1899 and since then the bliss has continued. At the speed of 33 kms per hour, this fairy ride covers a distance of 46 kms beginning from Udhagamandalam and takes around 4 and a half hour to reach Ooty.

A traveler on this route can experience a varied geographical scenario ranging from the 7 kms long rice fields that turn rocky and rugged for the further 27 kms. From then on, the route is dominated by 13 tunnels and 26 viaducts. The train reaches Coonoor after a steep climb and reaches the highest point of the journey, i.e. 2128 m above sea level. Soon after, the train takes a downhill turn which provides excellent views for photography.

 

How to Reach

BY RAIL - 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 .Taxis are available from Mettupalayam to Ooty and fare is about Rs 1000.

BY AIR - Coimbatore airport is the nearest airport and is around 105 km from Ooty. A number of private airlines give provide services to Coimbatore. Coimbatore is well connected with many south Indian cities by air including Chennai, Bangalore, Madurai and Hyderabad.

BY ROAD - Ooty is well connected with all most all south Indian cities by bus. There are regular bus services from Mysore, Bangalore, Madurai, and Kanyakumari and also from many cities in Kerala. State owned and private vehicles ply on this route. Many tourist services providers offer package trips to Ooty from many south Indian cities..