Ooty and Wayanad – Of Mountains and Forests

Day 1:

The ride to Ooty

It is 2230 and I am lying on my bunk bed at Zostel, Ooty. It is cold, and the blanket is warm and comforting.

I started at 0600 from home, and the distance to Ooty was 290 kms. It was a chilly morning, and still dark. I guess I took the wrong route to start off (coz I followed the GPS), and the first 80 kms mostly consisted of diversions. The road quality was good in patches, but otherwise it was pretty average, and to add to it, it was single lane throughout.

But as the sun came out, it started getting warmer and riding became easier. I took one halt for clicking pictures around 100 kms into the ride, and another one for having my breakfast after another 100. The next part of the journey took me through Bandipur and Madumalai national parks. It was a memorable ride through the forest, as I got to spot a few deers, and birds. However, people were not supposed to stop here, and hence, I couldn’t get a lot of pictures. I slowed down to enjoy the view. The jungle ride lasted for around 45 kms. And the next part was mountains!

There was a board on the way to Ooty which said 36/36 hairpin bends. The climb was steep. Fortunately, the roads were in excellent condition, and since it was a Friday morning, less tourist crowd. I reached my destination at 1230 – Zostel Ooty. I wanted to stay at a Zostel for sometime to see what the fuss was all about. The hotel was old-fashioned, and looked like a nice place to stay. My bed was in a 12-sharing room, like a hostel dorm, and I was the only one in the room when I got there. Although, I could see luggage on a couple other beds, showing signs of life in an otherwise quiet room, although no one turned up for quite some time.

I went riding around the place to explore, and dropped a guy at the bus stop. On asking him for a good place to eat, he suggested ‘Adyar Anand Bhavan’ which was on the busy market street. The restaurant served only vegetarian but the food was excellent.

I got back to the hotel by 1430 and dozed off for 3 hours straight. It was really cold when I woke up, and I needed tea! The bunk above me was occupied by this French girl called Iliana. We shared a conversation over tea about our travel experiences that evening.

At 7 PM, I decided to visit the Emerald lake for a bit of astro-photography. It was at a distance of 20 kms from my hotel. The road was winding, through the mountains. The riding was fun, but a little difficult since it was really dark. The last couple of kilometers had no proper roads, and the area was really narrow. I proceeded really slow. On reaching the spot, I realized that I’ll need to walk a bit to get to the lake, and I didn’t feel like walking in the dark. I tried getting a few pictures before a couple of security guys came over and asked me to leave. The temperature had dropped further during my return, and my hands were numb. I had my dinner at a local restaurant before going back to the hotel. They had lit a bonfire, and people were sitting around it as some nice soothing music played on the speakers. The manager of the place was a Gujarati guy called Rakesh, and he told us about how the idea actually came into place, and his experience. There were three girls from Hyderabad on their first trip together, and a couple from Bangalore. The bonfire was comforting, and it triggered some interesting conversation. By 2230, we’d bade each other good night, and were back in our rooms. Iliana was supposed to join me on the ride to the lake the next morning. And then, I’d be off to Wayanad.

Day 2:

I woke up at 0700, and we were ready to leave by 0745. It was freezing cold, and there was a thin layer of ice on the bike’s seat! We left for the lake at 0800, and after halting for photos, tea and directions, we reached the lake at around 0900.

The first look of the lake left me mesmerized. The lake was huge, and it was surrounded by mountains, fields, pine forests and a few villages. The best part was, we had the entire place to ourselves. After clicking a few pictures, we went for a walk around the lake for a while. After walking around the lake, we rested for a while, and went off the explore the dam. We returned at 1145, and were joined by a guy from the Netherlands for lunch. He was staying at Zostel as well. We had an intriguing conversation about travel expenses. After saying our goodbyes, I started my ride to Wayanad at 1300. The distance was just over 100 kms.

I took quite a few detours, for clicking pictures, and a bit of off-road riding. Since it was a Saturday, there was a lot of traffic on the way towards Ooty. The roads were in decent condition, and on the way, I halted at St. Thomas Cathedral at Sulthan Bathery, some 20 kms from my hotel. It was a magnificent piece of architecture, and I had to click a few pictures. I didn’t take any more halts afterwards, and knocked off the last few kms quickly.

I reached my hotel at 1800. The place was called Hiliya resort and it was in a forest. I was allocated the bed at the farthest corner of the dorm. There was no one else there yet. I finished my dinner, and by then a family of 40 had just arrived. Since they had booked the entire dorm, and to avoid an awkward situation, I got an upgrade to a single bedroom. I made no effort to hide my joy when I was asked to move. The caretaker there, Rahul, helped me move my stuff. Later that night, I went out to eat something sweet, and on returning, was informed by the owner of the place that there are wild animals and it is unsafe to wander out at night! I guess I’d have had a nice story to tell if I’d encountered a wild animal and lived. The other guests had lit a bonfire, had some loud music going, and were shouting something that sounded like gibberish. It went on till I was awake enough to remember.

Day 3:

I woke up at 8 again today, and went off exploring the resort. It was a great place, with a plantation of betel nuts. There was a small river flowing some distance, and loads of birds around the area. I explored for a while, before preparing to leave. One of the guests offered me some chips over tea. After talking with him for a while, I was back on the road by 0900. The return was again through the Bandipur forest, were I stopped for a few clicks. There was just one more halt for lunch, and it was all highway till home. I reached at 1500, welcomed by relieved look on mom’s face.

In hindsight, I didn’t really explore both Ooty or Wayanad. But the journey, on both occasions, was the best part. I would definitely want to go back to each of the places and stay for a bit longer in the future, but this time, this little holiday was worth the ride!