Visiting Ooty–the hill station of South India in Tamil Nadu
It was for my honeymoon that I planned to visit Ooty, which is short for Ootacamund. The push for choosing this spot came from my spouse and I decided that I should fulfil her wish. The tour was not ideal due to weather conditions in late November but we had our fair share of luck and enjoyed our stay.
About Ooty
Ooty is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris District in Tamil Nadu. The official Tamil name for the city is Udhagamandalam. Ooty stands at an approximate height of 7,500 feet (2, 286 m) above sea level. Without doubt, Ooty remains one of the most visited places in India and especially in South India, given that there are only a few hill stations in South India that can send chilling winds down your spine during the scorching hot summers.
During the British Raj, Ooty served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency. It was frequently visited the British during the colonial days.
Visitors’ places in Ooty
We had a trip planned for 5 days-stay in Ooty. We had booked a ticket with SpiceJet Airlines from Delhi to Coimbtore. However, we did not have any inkling how to reach Ooty from there. We expected that frequent buses would be available but that was not the case. So, if you are planning the same route, you should be ready to spend around 1,500 INR for a taxi to Ooty.
The road to Ooty from Coonar was closed due to bad weather and we had to take a detour with another 30 miles or so. We reached Ooty at around 8:00 PM and checked-in the hotel. The hotel’s name is Vinayaga Inn, which lies pretty close to the Botanical Gardens. This helped us save transportation money while visiting the Botanical Gardens. The marketplace was also close and so was the access to the local transportation. The service was good and I would recommend Vinagaya Inn for an economical stay in Ooty.
Some visitors’ places that I visited in these 5 days are:
- Ooty Botanical Garden
- Ooty Lake & Boat House
I visited this lake and enjoyed boating. There are variety of boats that one can enjoy including, peddle boats, shikra boats (rowed by a coxswain), and power boats. The lake is divided into two parts to allow free space for power boats. Presently, the lake is about 2.5Â km long and is surrounded by the road, market, and a small deer part. Next to the lake, there is a Mini Garden with an amusement park for children where visitors can enjoy leisurely.
The tickets for boating are according to the type of boats the tourists want to choose. The boats rowed by the coxswain are pretty interesting if you want to enjoy photography or are with your spouse. The charges for the coxswain are not determined and you can choose to give whatever pleases you.
- Wax World, Ooty
It is a nice museum and houses life-size look-alike wax statues of personalities of Indian history, culture and heritage including some social messages delivered through them. The museum is housed in a 142-year-old bungalow. It is like a short excursion, which tourists can take after they have visited another major tourist place. The museum takes like 10-15 minutes to visit. After seeing the museum, visitors can buy wax products including candles, toys, etc from the adjacent outlet.
- Pykara Falls and Mudumalai Forest, Ooty
- Tea Factory
As the visitors move upstairs, they are able to view the Ooty city. The tea factory can be reached by 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, and buses, etc. There are small outlets where chocolate and garments are sold. Visitors can buy freshly made chocolate from these outlets.
- Doddabetta Peak









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