It was the Holi weekend and we did not want to spend those precious three days (one of those few long weekends of the year) in the hubbub and traffic and dust of the city of Bangalore. So we decided to go to a place where we can.........,well!!!... Just like you, even we also had the word 'relax' hit our minds first, but let me tell you, this remote village in the outskirt of the city of Coonoor offers way more than that. We all felt in love with the beauty and serenity of this place almost instantly.
The place which we had booked called 'Serenity Home Stay'; which indeed does the justice to this place. Built on the top of a small hill and surrounded by tea gardens, its patio would let you witness the light white smoke coming out of the chimney of the small huts in the villages down below in the valley as they prepare their 'chullah' for dinner when the sun turns from yellow to orange to dark red upon the backdrop of the dense jungle next to the tea garden
The road trip was little hectic as it was too hot outside. We made some new friends on our drive through the Bandipur National Forest. :)
And had some really worthy photography sessions in Ooty.
By the time we reached the cottage, the Sun was almost about to bid good bye for the day. Hence we decided to visit the Ralliah Dam to get some snaps of the sunset. The housekeeper Arif said it is little dangerous to roam outside after the sunset, as few animals may come out of the jungle. In fact we did see couple of bisons that evening (Sorry about the darkness, it was around 6:30 in the evening).
Ralliah Dam is a very calm and tranquil place. It's so silent that sometimes you get an eerie feeling about it. Ohh.. this reminds me of another interesting thing. There is a house on the other side of the dam which looks exactly like........
I guess perhaps Mr. Ram Gopal Verma does not yet know about this house, but trust me you barely feel comfortable around this house. With all the window/door frames stolen, some weird designs drawn on the walls (by this, I do not mean those love birds' names) and most importantly that light at the dusk really made it look strange (even if you are not frightened of ghosts!!!)
Sunset at the dam is quite picturesque.
The housekeeper Arif and his family really know how to keep the guests happy. They also take care of the cooking and you can directly place your wish-list to them (of course subject to availability, and the charge of the food is extra and not included in the price when you make the initial booking). They would also arrange the woods for the fireplace, for the price of INR. 350, each time.
It's not very far from the main city. In fact you can see the city from the Tea garden, too.
So this was the end of our short, laze and cozy trip. It was time to head back to the cacophony of the IT City and none of us was ready. But the good news was, we had enough memories captured in our cameras and in mind which we would be cherishing for long time to come.
Points to Note:
We booked a 12-seater tempo-traveller for the trip who would be staying with us for the whole duration. If you are going by your own car, then it might cost you lot cheaper. You can click on the link to see the page we used to book the 'Serenity Homestay'. The booking should be made little early due to high demands.
About the weather, it is never too hot in coonoor, and from what I know temperature lies within the band of 8°C - 25°C. Although it did not rain when had gone there, but I would still suggest checking weather forecast before going there.
One point I would like to emphasize on is: one should always carry the emergency medicines, since this place is little remote and you may not get everything so easily.
So, let me know whether you liked this place or not, in the comments. If anybody has any questions about the trip, you can ask that too. I'll try to answer them ASAP.
[Disclaimer: All photos are taken by me, so I do not owe anyone, anything :) , but your constructive criticism is always welcome. Also, this is my first blog here, so if you think you have a suggestion/noticed a mistake, feel free to express in the comments]