This trip was very different in certain terms! Usually we plan and finalise our trips much in advance. On this trip even 2 hours before the flight I was asking my wife, whether we were going or not. We, especially children direly needed the break, but my father-in- Law’s health was definitely a priority where we didn’t want to take a chance and we had left it to destiny.
This post is a proof that we embarked on the journey. We took a taxi from Coimbatore to Ooty to cover the 90 kilometres in 3hours, that costed us 2500 Rs. Unlike Delhi, Sedans were not fitted with CNG and so had sufficient boot space to accommodate all our 4 strollers. Coimbatore is a suitable airport as one can reach Kodaikanal in 4hours and Ooty in 3hours, in opposite directions. Time did not permit us to visit the Adiyogi statue of Lord Shiva in Coimbatore that is the latest attraction of the city. The route to Ooty is via Mettupalayam and Coonoor. Mettupalayam has an adventure water park, where one can spend many hours if one reaches before noon. The toy train or the Nilgiris Mountain Railway, made famous by the song “chal chaiyyan chaiyyan” of “Dil Se”, can be boarded from here to Ooty. I am aware of two other Toy trains or hill trains in India: Shimla (http://deshdeepakwritings.blogspot.in/2016/06/a-man-without-ambition-is-dead-man-but.html) and Darjeeling (Batasia Loop). By train or road one reaches Ooty via Coonoor, that has many sight seeing places!
Ooty is known by the sobriquet,’Queen of Hills’! It is definitely the queen of Nilgiri hills that form a garland between Wesstern Ghats and Eastern Ghats. I have mentioned in some details about various mountain ranges of India in my Pachmarhi blog (http://deshdeepakwritings.blogspot.in/2014/10/pachmarhi-caves-foresthills-waterfalls.html).
Ooty is the nickname of Ootacamand as the place is known in the Toda language. Now called Udhagamandalam in Tamil. Ooty seems to be a classic example of how the british colonisers, came here looking for a cooler place to be made as their summer capital; removed wild forests and started plantation of commercial crops they needed.
We reached with a mixed feeling as many people had conveyed to us that after having visited so many other places, we were not likely to find it exciting. We had booked a hotel online provisionally and that is what came handy as no other place was available due to 4 days long Easter holidays. Kids were disappointed but we had no choice. Next day we didn't get a cab and managed to reach the Botanical Garden hitchhiking!
This post is a proof that we embarked on the journey. We took a taxi from Coimbatore to Ooty to cover the 90 kilometres in 3hours, that costed us 2500 Rs. Unlike Delhi, Sedans were not fitted with CNG and so had sufficient boot space to accommodate all our 4 strollers. Coimbatore is a suitable airport as one can reach Kodaikanal in 4hours and Ooty in 3hours, in opposite directions. Time did not permit us to visit the Adiyogi statue of Lord Shiva in Coimbatore that is the latest attraction of the city. The route to Ooty is via Mettupalayam and Coonoor. Mettupalayam has an adventure water park, where one can spend many hours if one reaches before noon. The toy train or the Nilgiris Mountain Railway, made famous by the song “chal chaiyyan chaiyyan” of “Dil Se”, can be boarded from here to Ooty. I am aware of two other Toy trains or hill trains in India: Shimla (http://deshdeepakwritings.blogspot.in/2016/06/a-man-without-ambition-is-dead-man-but.html) and Darjeeling (Batasia Loop). By train or road one reaches Ooty via Coonoor, that has many sight seeing places!
Ooty is known by the sobriquet,’Queen of Hills’! It is definitely the queen of Nilgiri hills that form a garland between Wesstern Ghats and Eastern Ghats. I have mentioned in some details about various mountain ranges of India in my Pachmarhi blog (http://deshdeepakwritings.blogspot.in/2014/10/pachmarhi-caves-foresthills-waterfalls.html).
Ooty is the nickname of Ootacamand as the place is known in the Toda language. Now called Udhagamandalam in Tamil. Ooty seems to be a classic example of how the british colonisers, came here looking for a cooler place to be made as their summer capital; removed wild forests and started plantation of commercial crops they needed.
We reached with a mixed feeling as many people had conveyed to us that after having visited so many other places, we were not likely to find it exciting. We had booked a hotel online provisionally and that is what came handy as no other place was available due to 4 days long Easter holidays. Kids were disappointed but we had no choice. Next day we didn't get a cab and managed to reach the Botanical Garden hitchhiking!
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