Ooty, Coonoor, Gopalswami Betta

The Journey :
Ooty aka Udagaai aka Udakamandalam aka Ootachamund is a very well known place in South India. It is a very famous hill station which is always covered in clouds. Coonoor is another famous location very near to ooty. Also famous for mindblowing viewpoints.

Our journey started from Bangalore in June at 3 am in the morning. 4 of us started to travel in 2 bikes. One pulsar 200 and one pulsar 220. We had to travel in the Mysore road towards Mysore. By 4.30 in the morning, we had reached a Barista lavazza cafe near Channapatna which is around 60 kms from Bangalore. We were so hungry and ate and drank very well there itself and left at around 5.15 to Mysore. We rode continuously till Mysore and reached there by 6.50. There is a small hotel called Hotel Mylari in nazarbad in Mysore. If you are a Masala Dosa lover, you cant get a dosa better than in Mylari hotel anywhere in Karnataka!

From Mysore, we then left to Bandipur. Bandipur national park is a dense forest area where vehicles are not allowed after evening and before sunrise. We spotted some deers on the way and crossed the Karnataka border and entered Tamilnadu's Madumalai national park. Tigers can be spotted in these areas if you are lucky enough. We could only spot some wild elephants as we neared Masinagudi. Masinagudi needs to be mentioned once. It is a home to many wild animals. You can always spot wild elephants and people always spot tigers in this area. You can go to a trekking or a jungle safari also from the forest office here.

 

For two wheelers and cars there's a short cut to ooty after crossing madumalai in which you can save 40-50 kms. the buses go in the long route. We then crossed the ghat section and entered Ooty finally. It was all covered in clouds throughout the day. The feeling of staying inside the clouds and fully covered by them are unexplainable!

The main season in ooty is from April to June. When we went, it was heavily raining in the morning and in the night. We stayed at the Maneck lodge near bus stand. Prices aren't very cheap. if you want a cheaper option then dormitories will also be available. After resting for a while in the lodge and getting freshed up, it was almost evening.

The first place we went to in Ooty was the famous Botanical Garden. It is a very huge garden with too many trees, flowers, lanes, etc and girls will mostly enjoy it. It is a rather nice and calm place to have a long walk and sit on the grass.It is a place which can't be missed at Ooty. There is a tibetian market right outside the botanical garden where you can purchase nice winter clothing and accessories. Hot corn, groundnuts, etc etc will also be available.

The street in front of the garden is a main road in Ooty which comprises of Cafe Coffee Day, Arun Ice creams, A pub, a shopping street, good chocolate shops, etc. Then we went to the lodge again and watched the inaugural match of the FIFA world cup 2010.

The next morning, we had planned to start early and go to coonoor. But our plans got spoiled by the early rain in the morning itself. SO we started late and went to Coonoor even though it was drizzling.

The road to coonoor from ooty comprises of many tea and coffee estates throughout. Its a biker's paradise one can say, to ride inside the clouds and the beauty of the nature.

After drinking a superb masala tea, we entered coonoor. Coonoor is famous for the toy train between Ooty and Coonoor where you can get to enjoy the beauty of western ghats. The famous song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from Shah Rukh Khan's movie Dil Se, was shot here. The first place we went to, in Coonoor was the Lamb's rock. Lamb's rock is a place where you get to see a beautiful valley view from a rock. But when we went there, we could see nothing but clouds and the tip of a mountain!

From lamb's rock, we went to dolphin's nose, which is one more view point. Disappointingly, it was also completely covered in clouds and we couldn't see a thing there also. But dolphin's nose is supposed to be too good i heard. Since the whole Coonoor was covered in clouds, we left coonoor and came back to Ooty to have lunch.

In the afternoon, we went to the Doddabetta in Ooty, which is the tallest peak in Tamil Nadu. And as we knew before, this was also totally covered in clouds. But I had gone to Ooty once two years ago during summer. So i had seen the beautiful telescopic view before only. We just couldn't see it this time though. Doddabetta is a very enjoyable place. It has two view points. Because of the weather again, we went back to the lodge directly, planning to cover some more places the next day.

And the next day also started with a rain. We had planned to go to the Pykara falls and Kalhatty falls on the way back to Mysore. But it was raining and very cold. So we decided to skip them both. I had been to Pykara falls also 2 years ago and if it isn't raining, then don't miss this place. There is also a good boat house in Ooty worth going.

So we left Ooty finally and came to the Gopalswami Betta(hills), which is near Bannerghatta. It has a beautiful temple and is known for getting covered in clouds all the time. And again, it was so totally covered in clouds that we couldn't even see the person standing 10m from us. Visibility was definitely restricted to 10m. If you go in proper seasons and in the early morning, you can definitely spot elephants here. You can go for a trek in the hills here and cross around 8-9 small hills. It is an awesome experience only if you go in the proper season. You can see yourself covered in the green grass and clouds everywhere.

 Finally from the gopalswami betta, we went to Bangalore, witnessing an accident involving a bike on the way!

Routes:
Bangalore - Mysore - Bannerghatta - Masinagudi - Ooty - Coonoor - Ooty - Masinagudi - Bannerghatta - Gopalswami hills - Mysore - Bangalore



Final Review:
Ooty, very well known for its beauty, coffee, tea, chocolates, hills is a must visit place. Don't forget to carry jackets and sweaters while going. Lodges are pretty expensive unless you search for a cheaper one. The place is mostly filled by tourist couples everywhere. Coonoor is also a must visit place once you go till Ooty. Its a very good weekend getaway for those who are in Bangalore or Mysore.