Archive for the ‘Ooty’ Category
January 9th, 2012 | 
Author: 
Duration : 07 Night/08 Days
Destination Covered : Ooty – Kodaikanal – Munnar
Day 01 : – Ooty -You are greeted on arrival from Kolkata at Coimbatore Airport/Railway station by South India Honeymoon Packages representative and transfer to Ooty (Travel time – 03.5 hrs). Later proceed for sight seeing which include Botanical Garden, Ooty Lake, Ooty Town Shopping, Doddabetta Peak. Overnight stay at hotel.
Day 02 : Ooty – Today you will proceed to Coonoor to look from close quarters the Tea Gardens, Rose Garden, Sim’s Park, Avalanche, Dolphin’s nose, Ketty Valley, Koddandu Point, Lambs Park. Overnight stay at hotel.
Day 03 : Kodaikanal – After early morning breakfast proceed to Kodaikanal (Travel time – 06.5 hrs) enroute visit Palani Temples. Reach Kodaikanal & settle down in Hotel. Evening free for leisure. Overnight stay at hotel
Day 04 : Kodaikanal – The full day is free. You may choose to visit the Kodaikanal Lake, spread over an area of 60 acres and surrounded by wooded slopes. The attractive walk around the lake takes between one and a half hours. Additionally, you have the option of boating or fishing. Later visit Cocker’s Walk, Golf Links, Green Valley View, Pillar Rocks, Silver Cascade Falls, Bear Shola Falls. Overnight stay at hotel.
Day 05 : Munnar – Today morning after breakfast drive to Munnar hills (travel time – 5 hrs ) On the way to Munnar you can see tea gardens spread like a green carpet over hundreds of kilometers, lust green hills, a place so difficult to describe, very low population too far from pollution, most of the covered by Tata tea. On arrival check in to the Hotel and Evening stroll through the tea estates. Overnight in the hotel
Day 06 : Munnar – Today you can go for sightseeing Munnar which includes the Raja Malai, a top peak of Munnar where you can see Neel Thar (mountain goats), Muttupetty dam, you can also enjoy boating in the Lake (optional). Overnight at hotel
Day 07 : Houseboat – Today morning after breakfast drive to Alleppey (Travel time 5 hours) , Water locked place is endowed with immense natural beauty and array of rivers, canals and lakes ideal for boat cruise. On arrival check in to a traditional Kerala style Houseboat and cruise through the backwater. Overnight stay in the Houseboat – A/c Deluxe.Then cruise through the backwaters and stay overnight in Houseboat – A/c Deluxe
Day 08 : Departure – Morning after breakfast transfer to Cochin Airport or Railway Station (02 hours drive) for the onward Journey. End of South India honeymoon packages from Kolkata with sweet memories.
Posted in 
The most popular hill station in state of Tamil Nadu, Ooty features sublime beauty and amazing peaks. Though it is not much different from a hill station in India, there are distinct tourist places in Ooty making it an interesting place of visit. You have the peaks, lakes, botanical gardens, and cultural attractions in Ooty making sightseeing tours a thrilling experience. Popularly known as the Nilgiri hills, tourism in Ooty revolves around the mountain ranges, valleys, and manmade attractions. The well-kept botanical gardens are laid on acres overlooking the western ghat and the Himalayas. Tea is an important produce of the region. A lot of livelihood of the place depends on the tea harvest and processing units. Ooty is next in line to Darjeeling as sought after tea tourism center of India.
Places To Visit
Botanical Garden
Located inside the limits of Ooty, it is the most famous tourist attraction in Ooty. This garden was laid out in 1848 and is currently maintained by the Horticulture department of Tamil Nadu. There is a beautiful green lawn where one can realx with friends and family. There are trees collected from different parts of the world. Shrubs and hedges are cut to resemble animals and look really beautiful. During the month of May, there is an annual summer festival inside the Garden where there are flower shows and various cultural programs that showcase the talent of the locals people. I have been to this place during summer and winter and I found the place beautiful in both the seasons but it was very crowded during summers and there was too much of noise inside the garden, which you hardly expect in such a place.
Boat House
One can get a first glimpse of this beautiful lake and surrounding hills from the toy train just before arriving at Ooty station. One can see Children park before reaching this place. This is maintained by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation. Other than boating there is a Vegetarian restaurant, 3D simulation theater, Tora tora, Children amusement, Gift shop, floating snack bar, mini train, chat corner, dashing car ride ( ticket Rs 25 for 4 minutes ride ), 3D video games, Nilgiri product shop, Nursery etc.
Ooty Lake
This 2 KMs long OOty lake has become another major tourist attraction. One can go for boat riding, both pedal and motor boats and it starts from morning 8 and is there till 6 in the evening. During the month of May there are boat races that have become a major crowd puller. Adjacent to lake there are a lot of the other places of interest for tourist that have come up. To mention few – Toy train ride, 3-D shows, Tora-tora ride, Car rides (something similar to go-carting). Outside lake there are ponnies available for rides. The Ooty Lake is located behind the railway station ( 1-2KMs from the station). Best thing to do would be park the car in the railway station, though parking is available near the lake) and walk to the lake ( along the lake) and enjoy the view and on the way back take a ponny ride till the parking.
Dodabetta Peak
There are many tourist attractions in Ooty and nearly all are well worth a visit when on a sight seeing trip in Ooty. However anyone is sure to be particularly keen on visiting those places from where one can witness the absolutely mesmerizing beauty of this queen of hill stations. Heading straight to the Dodabetta Peak is consequently the best choice. The height of the Dodabetta Peak is 2,623 meters making it the highest point of the district. It is located at a distance of about 10 km from the main town and offers an unbelievably beautiful view of the surrounding topography. One is sure to be impressed by the fascinating views. In fact it is even believed that if the weather does not betray you in any way, chances are there that you will get a view of extreme far off areas. On clear days the distant plains of Coimbatore and the flat highlands of Mysore can also be sighted. However it cannot be denied that such clear days rarely come and it is generally misty. But nonetheless the view that the Dodabetta Peak ordinarily commands is no less overwhelming.
Lamb’s Rock
Lamb’s Rock definitely deserves to be a part of your sight seeing trip in Ooty. The greatest attraction of the Lamb’s Rock is in fact this. It offers enchanting views of the plains of Coimbatore and the tea estates. The effect is almost that of a green carpet covering the slopes of the hills. There are very few places which can offer such a panoramic and overwhelming view of the surrounding picturesque landscape and the Lamb’s Rock is one of them. So make sure to visit the Lamb’s Rock at a distance of just about 9 km from Coonoor and witness for yourself nature at its very best.
Kalhatty Waterfalls
The beautiful Kolhatty waterfalls are about 100 feet in height and are located on the kalhatty slopes. The falls are about 13kms from the city, so anyone on a tour of Ooty can easily check out the falls and the beautiful area surrounding it. Besides, obviously looking at the waterfalls, you can explore the kalhatty-Masinagudi slopes, that are home to many wild species, including panthers, sambhar, bison and wild buffaloes. Kalhatty – Masinagudi slopes is rich in wildlife such as Panthers, Bisons, Wild Buffaloes, Wild Dogs, Spotted Deers, Sambars and different types of hill birds. The falls attracts all sorts of animals like Panthers, Spotted Deer and Bisons, who come to drink water in the early hours of the day and at night.
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is situated 67 kms from Ooty. Mudumalai is the home of about 25 tigers, 700 wild elephants, leopards, panthers, 1,000 gaur (Indian bison), bears, bonnet monkeys, horned antelopes, flying squirrels, hyenas and eagles. As the animals are quite elusive, you will need a combination of luck, patient and a good eye to see anything. There are also reptiles, such as pythons and big monitor lizards, and many species of birds. The park is 320 sq km. The vegetation varies from forest to grassland and swamps. There are over 200 species of birds in the park. You can get a free book, called Birds of Mudumalai, at the WWO office in Ooty.
The Ooty Lake
In the recent years Ooty Lake has emerged as one of the foremost tourist attractions of Ooty. Ooty Lake is an artificial lake that owes its construction to the first Collector of Ooty, John Sullivan. The original intention was to construct an irrigation tank but finally the lake was dredged out in the years 1823-1825. The lake has an irregular L shape and stretches for more than 2 km in length. The width of the lake varies at regular intervals. The over all area of this well known lake that is definitely a must see on any sight seeing trip of Ooty is about one and a half square miles. It remains open from 8 AM to 6 PM. Sitting on the edge of the lake to watch the sunset of Ooty is a tremendous experience.
Botanical Garden
Covering an extensive area of 55 acres, the Botanical Gardens in Ooty was laid way back in the year 1847 by the Marquis of Tweedale on the lower slopes of the Dodabetta Park. It is very well maintained to this date. The Horticulture Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu has been entrusted with the responsibility of looking after this garden. And the fragrance of the flowers is really intoxicating.One of the great surprises of the place is a fossil tree trunk that is believed to be 20 million years old. It may be added here that eucalyptus trees are an integral part of Ooty’s landscape. The trees are in such great numbers that they even support a small oil industry here.
Ooty, the Queen be seated in this heavenly abode remained undiscovered to the great southern dynasties and it took the British to explore it in the early 1800s. They were, however, not the first friends of this land as a tribe called Todas had been living there long before the British came, claiming that the Nilgiris had been their home since time immemorial. The British constructed the first railway line in the area and made it the summer capital of the Chennai Presidency.
A haven for nature lovers, adventure enthusiasts, honeymooners and bollywood directors, Ooty is a hill station with something for all. Ooty or Udhagamandalam is one of those jewels in Tamil Nadu’s crown that attracts a huge number of tourists. Ooty is surrounded by four majestic hills-Doddabetta, Snowdon, Elk Hill and Club Hill.
The nearest airport to Ooty is Coimbatore at a distance of 105 kms. Ooty is connected by train services also. The Blue Mountain Express connects Ooty to Mettupalayam located at a distance of 47 kms. Ooty could be accessed from most of the towns and cities of neighbouring Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.