A tryst with the Nilgiris(Part 2): One Day in Ooty

Tripoto
16th Mar 2013
Photo of Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

After the first day in the Nilgiris, which was spent visiting places of superlative beauty, buying and tasting Nilgiri tea, and creating memories, the next day we decided to visit the more touristy destination of Ooty.

Day 1

Early in the morning, we reached Coonoor station to catch an early morning train to Ooty, on the famous Nilgiri mountain Railway, which is part of UNESCO world heritage sites in India. We bought unreserved tickets @ Rs. 5 per head and in about 15 minutes, the whole compartment filled up. The 1 hour long journey from Coonoor to Ooty was filled with unending vistas of tea gardens, narrow gorges and brooks gushing along. This is definitely the best way to get to Ooty from Coonoor.

Photo of Coonoor Railway Station, Coimbatore-Ooty-Gundlupet Highway, Kurumbadi, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

View from the train

Photo of Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

View of tea gardens from the train

Photo of Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

After reaching Ooty, the first place we visited was Ooty lake, where we indulged in boating around the lake to enjoy its beauty. There are also many small eateries in the complex, where we had breakfast.

View of Ooty Lake from the boat

Photo of Ooty Lake & Boat House, West Mere, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

The next place we visited was St. Stephen's Church in Ooty, which was built in the nineteenth century. It is one of the oldest churches in the Nilgiris, and the stained glass windows inside will leave you spellbound.

St. Stephen's Church in Ooty

Photo of St. Stephen's Church, Upper Bazaar, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

St. Stephen's Church in Ooty

Photo of St. Stephen's Church, Upper Bazaar, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

After this, we headed to Doddabetta Peak, which is the highest peak in the Nilgiris. The place is quite commercialized, but the end of the trail leads to a view point, which will make you forget the agony of wading through a sea of tourists.

View from Doddabetta Peak

Photo of Doddabetta Peak, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

Our last destination was the Ooty Botanical gardens. It is very old, and has a terraced layout, filled with exotic plants and flowers. Any trip to Ooty is incomplete without a visit to this place.

Botanical Gardens

Photo of Ooty Botanical Gardens, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

Botanical Gardens

Photo of Ooty Botanical Gardens, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

Botanical Gardens

Photo of Ooty Botanical Gardens, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

Botanical Gardens

Photo of Ooty Botanical Gardens, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India by Aparajita

And this brought our trip almost to an end. The only thing left was buying Ooty's famous homemade chocolates. Our friends assured us that King Star was the best place for chocolates, and they had no other branches apart from Ooty. I bought two flavours- fig& honey and caramel and the sweet taste of the Nilgiris continued to linger in my mouth, much after I reached back to Delhi.

The next morning, I took a car to Coimbatore airport and boarded my flight to reach back to Delhi with the beautiful Nilgiris still in my memories....

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