Nearly a decade ago, when I got into travel groove, I drafted two bucket lists – one that focused on my adventures (on the Mighty Himalayas) and the other that focused on Touristy destinations was reserved for leisurely time with my family. While the former list was in focus for most times, both these bucket lists are unique and required varied travelling styles. It’s so satisfying to execute the unravelling of such contrasting journeys. My past four travel stories carried the stigma of ‘Travelling in COVID world’. As much as I enjoyed drafting these blogs, the zeal of readership was impressive. With the advent of 2022, I was happy to see several travel destinations opening up. In the post COVID world, travelling became much more easier than ever before. Being an IT Engineer, Travel Fanatic, and Content Creator alongside the flexibility of extended work-from-home model, it was a boon for explorers alike.

The Spring season was down to its bare minimum and Summer was just around the corner. As a person who loves colder temperatures and carrying enormous fondness for spending time in the lap of nature, I drafted an escapade to a popular hill station in Tamil Nadu. Popularly known as the Queen of Hills, Udagamandalam or Ooty, was the first choice of destination I had in my mind. This is unlike any of the other travel destinations before my wedding. Back then, tourist destinations were seldom in my radar. But, it feels good to rediscover the art of photography in a cliched world of tourism. As long as the destination is related to hills & mountains, I am happy. At an altitude of over 7,200 feet from the Mean Sea Level (MSL), Ooty is among the highest hill stations in South India. And, Doddabetta is the highest peak in Udagamandalam at an altitude of over 8,500 feet MSL.

PLANNING & GROUNDWORK:

Although I have been to Ooty on several occasions, this is the first time I was travelling with my wife. And, this was her maiden visit to the hill station. To make this a memorable travel experience, I began chalking out elaborate plans more than a month ago before the actual travel date. Any frequent visitor to my website would understand my love for trains. So, the obvious mode of travel was, the ever lovely, Indian Railways. For the first leg of journey from Chennai – Metupalaiyam, I went in for a reservation of 1st class Coupe, predominantly featured in most long distance trains in India. For the second leg of the journey from Metupalaiyam– Ooty, I made my reservations in the UNESCO fame Nilgiri Mountain Railway. This was going to be my first time experience of the impressive meter gauge railway line that slowly ascends the Nilgiri hills on a charming train powered by Steam Locomotive.

 

 

 

Having done with the transportation part of travel, it was time to pick the place of stay. After days of scanning the web, I had shortlisted about 10 hotels. Each of these pickings were special in their own ways and choosing one among them was not an easy task. After few more analysis, I narrowed down to one of the finest resorts that ticked off all aspects I was looking for such as privacy, great aesthetic values, distance from popular tourist destinations and most importantly, easy on wallet too. More details about the resort can be found at the end of this blog. And, as I made the reservation way ahead of time, the deal was fantastic. What followed was a sigh of relief for having done with all the travel arrangements. And, I did not divulge any of these plans to my wife until the day of travel. Well, the suspense went on until she boarded the train in Chennai!

EXHILARATION & BLISS:

Literally counting the dates remaining for the travel and keeping the excitement levels intact, it was finally time to reveal suspense and feel exhilaration. As I began disclosing about the travel plans with my wife, I could feel the glow of happiness on her face. An interesting fact is that no matter how planned a travel is, the joy of frantic rush to get to the train is always an enthralling experience. We, literally, had to rush to board the train after a long and hectic day at work. At the Chennai Central Railway Station, the beautiful ICF made Beige and Maroon colored rakes of the Nilgiri Express welcomed us to a plush Coupe cabin. Long story short, the original rakes were painted dark blue with white stripes to distinguish it from other trains. With the introduction of Project Utkrisht in the year 2018, the color scheme was modified. Coming back to the travel, after few mandatory selfies, we settled down in our cabin and chomped on our dinner.

DELIGHTFUL & ECSTASY:

An overnight journey, covering a distance of over 500 Km, brought us in close proximity to the resplendent Nilgiris hills. And, a cold and refreshing morning welcomed us at the Metupalaiyam Railway Station. The advantage of boarding the Nilgiri Express is that it is conveniently scheduled for those looking to hop on to the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Standing gracefully on the other side of the platform we arrived at, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway enticed upon us to take a ride on it. It took some time for us to settle down on the narrow seats of this classic rake. Thereafter, we were immersed by the beauty of what was both within the rake and outside of it.

 

Analogous to my earlier journeys, there’s always a high probability of meeting new people during the course of travel. This time, a newly-wed couple from the city of Vishakapatnam got introduced to us. We got to know each other at the Metupalaiyam Railway station. Like always, the frequency of communication was short but to the point and were together for the entire length of the journey. Enroute Udagamandalam, there are 11 intermediate stations. Of these only five are passenger stations (Coonoor, Wellington, Aravankadu, Ketti, Lovedale). The other four (Kallar, Adderly, Hillgrove, and Runneymede) serve the purpose of water stations. There are two non-stoppage stations: Kateri Road, and Fern Hill. The uphill journey, a distance of about 46 km, took us about 5 hours to reach Udagamadalam.

We hired an autorickshaw that transported us from the tiny and packed Railway premises to the posh and swanky resort located just about 5 km away. At the Resort, we were greeted with lush green surroundings and rows of thoughtfully designed villas. After completing our check-in formalities, we decided to explore the nearby places of interest by foot. That’s because, we did not want our itinerary to be mechanical. The first in the itinerary was the popular Ooty Lake which was at a convenient distance of 2.5 km from the resort and we strolled all the way adoring the greenery by our sides. Ooty lake is an artificial lake and I wasn’t too impressed with all that was going around. I was holding on the urge to do boating here. This is because, boating was saved for the Day 3 itinerary at a different venue and the experience the other venue offered is at a different level than the one at Ooty Lake.

PLEASANTLY PEACEFUL:

With temperatures hovering around the 12 degrees Celsius mark, we woke up to a pleasantly cold Ooty morning of the summers. Day 2 had a packed schedule. After a sumptuous breakfast at the resort, we hired a car, picked up the new found travel buddies from their respective hotel and whizz past the city of Ooty towards Coonoor.

 

 

The first major attraction for the day was Sim’s park. The park showcases a variety of colorful and vibrant flowers with well-maintained landscapes. It’s a perfect getaway from the maddening crowds elsewhere on the valley. The next attraction was an impromptu destination. I wanted to photograph the magnificent Tea gardens with little/no distractions. I passed on this instruction to the car driver and he obliged happily. Next on the list was Lamb’s Rock. It’s a popular viewpoint in Coonoor offering breathtaking views of the surrounding valleys. One must experience Sunrise/Sunsets while at the venue.

 

The next obligation was to purchase genuine chocolates and tea powder, because we did not want to reserve shopping to the culminating day of travel. So, the next destination was the Ooty Chocolate Factory. The factory houses both Chocolate and Tea processing facilities. Both facilities showcase detailed information on how the respective entities are prepared from the raw materials. It’s a very intriguing process and is a must visit destination. On the way out, the in-house shopping facilitates genuine purchase of pure chocolates, Tea powder and the famed Ooty Varkies.

EXHAUSTIVE OUTING:

It was, once again, a fantastic start to the day with similar weather conditions as the previous day. As a mountain loving person, it’s a feel good factor to experience such cold temperatures. Day 3 had a relaxed schedule and few adrenaline pumping activities. The first on the list was the popular Botanical garden. It’s a vast landscape and a well maintained garden by the Horticulture Department of Tamil Nadu. The park showcases several attractions from ferns to Rose gardens to Nurseries to a variety of exotic plants. Every summer, the annual Flower show is held at this venue and is a must visit.

 

 

Next comes the most eagerly awaited destination. This was close to my heart for all the adventures it had to offer. About 20 km from Ooty is the Pykara river. Pykara is the name of the village and is situated amidst the lush green Shola forest. The construction of Pykara dam on the river paved way for the formation of Pykara lake. The Pykara Lake Boat House operates several types of boats with varied seating capacities with differing speeds. Initially, we took the 8 seater boat.

 

 

While we, certainly, loved the 20 minute ride, it lacked that daring experience of speed boats. So, immediately after the 8-seater boat ride, I wanted to do one more with the speed boat. And, oh boy! The experience was absolutely gutsy. The speeds attained by the diesel powered engine was a powerhouse of watersport. If you are an adventure loving person, then you must certainly prefer the motorboats. With an upbeat mood, we left for the picturesque Pykara falls.This is not a drop waterfall. Rather it’s a multi-tiered falls gradually descending to the rocks. The entire length of touristy area is barricaded and no visitor is allowed to go inside the falls. Towards the end of the day, we stopped by the much admired shooting spot. Popularly known as the Sixth Mile Shooting Spot, it offers picturesque panoramic views of the Blue mountains and lush green valleys.

PROFOUNDLY MEMORABLE:

On the concluding day of our travel, we had little more than half a day before bidding good bye to the Nilgiri mountains. We were in no mood to vacate our room. This place had so much charm and carried great vibes that couldn’t be left behind easily. Nevertheless, as the popular proverb says “All good things must come to an end”, so did this incredible travel journey. We settled our bills and checked out of the resort, but stacked our luggage at the reception area to be picked up later in the day. The show was not over yet. There was one major attraction that we missed. Soon after, we left for Government Rose Garden and were spellbound by the variety of Rose flowers out on public display. The immensely captivating flowers got us lose track of time. Over 3+ hours at the garden was intensely satisfying.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time, we left for the resort to pick our luggage the skies opened up. It was time to bid goodbye to blue mountains. With loads of memorable moments, we boarded a Government bus that would drop us at the Metupalaiyam Railway Station for an overnight journey back to Chennai.

RESOURCES:

HOW DID WE TRAVEL:

Chennai to Metupalaiyam: Nilgiri Express (12671)

Metupalaiyam to Ooty: Nilgiri Mountain Railway (06136)

Local Travel: Rental cab and Auto. The best part about travelling by Auto is that there’s no need to haggle. The standard rates are prescribed by the Government of Tamil Nadu and are readily available for reference at the Auto stands.

Ooty to Metupalaiyam : Government Bus

Metupalaiyam to Chennai : Nilgiri Express (12672)

WHERE DID WE STAY?

Hotel Lakeview is conveniently located from the railway station and bus stand. The hotel offers stay in three categories: Deluxe room, Executive Suite & Villa. We preferred Executive Suite. Although it is tad away from city center, the ambience within the hotel premises is great. However, the in-house restaurant will be heavy on your wallet. There are no restaurants in the vicinity.

BEST PLACE TO BUY TEA POWDER & CHOCOLATES:

Whether you are at Coonoor or at Ooty, the best place to buy genuine tea powder & chocolates is at the Ooty Tea Factory.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

The hill station is a great all year destination. But here are few considerations:

• Plan your travel during the month of May to experience Annual Flower Show. The exact date and list of venues for each category will differ from year and year. For more updates, follow https://nilgiris.nic.in/
• If you love monsoons and looking to experience wet weather, then plan your travel between June & September.
• For experiencing chilly weather all day long and biting cold nights, plan your travel between December and February.

With that I bid adieu from this travelogue. I hope you had a great time with my narration and the photographs from my recent travel took you on a virtual trip!

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