[ashwinsid]

I had asked in my previous thread about Andaman, Coorg, Wayanad, Goa.

Thank you all for your suggestions. But my Girlfriend and myself decided that we will visit Ooty. We need your help.

Please provide your valuable suggestions. I searched a lot (believe me) and found many threads on Ooty. But I found bits and pieces of information I wanted. So I am starting this thread so that I can get the info I want to assist me in this tour.

These are the things in mind:

-No of people traveling = Two (Myself and my Girlfriend)
-Traveling on = Last week of May 2009
-Duration = Upto Four Days (From Wednesday night to Sunday Evening)
-Traveling from = Bangalore
-Vehicle = Hyundai Santro Xing
-Main places of visit = Ooty, Coonoor

So, respected TBHPians, please help me by providing the following info:

1. Is it possible to include all or most of the following places in four days
Ooty, Coonoor, Kodaikanal, Mudumalai, Tanjore (Tanjavur)

2. Please advise which route to take (longer distance is fine but route should be very scenic and roads should be decent enough for Santro)

3. Suggest good places to stay (most important aspect for me). I checked about Red Hills in Ooty. Really appealing. Please comment on that place or any other good place that offers nice rooms. Food need not be good. (Budget for hotel/resort/homestay is upto 5k per night for double bedroom)

4. Any other place in the route (Bangalore-Ooty-Coonoor-and around).

5. Your suggestions on anything else is most welcome.

I travel once a year and it is a time where I want to relax and be happy with my girlfriend. So your suggestions will really make a difference.

Thanks and you guys rock!

[pshyamsundar]

Firstly thanjavur is really far away from ooty. ooty coimbatore is like 85 kms and cbe - trichy is like 230 kms and from there another 50 odd. It is really off your route. I suggest you should just stick on to ooty coonor itself. You have plenty of places to cover in ooty - doddabeta, pykara dam, mukkuruti peak, 7th mile, gardencoonor - cims park, lambs rock, dolphins nose

[jango]

Ashwin why don't ya think about clubbing ooty and kodaikanal. I bet you will definitely have a nice drive and time.

[HappyWheels]

Ashwin,

What is it that you are trying to do? 4 days is not too many days.

So you really need to decide if you want to drive around and visit as many places as possible or just laze around (as you had said in your previous thread) and then ask for suggestions, else am sure you will get tons of suggestions which might not be useful. And this also will open up more queries and confusions for you to decide!

And next thing you know, it is that last week of May!!!

[ashwinsid]

@pshyamsundar, I knew Tanjavur is far from Ooty but did not realize it was this far. Probably I can leave Ooty on Saturday night, then reach Tanjavur on Sunday morning. Then if I leave Tanjavur by noon, maybe I can reach Bangalore on Sunday night. I need your suggestions buddy.

@jango, I have no problem clubbing Kodaikanal with Ooty, Coonoor. In fact it would be nice. But I need an approximate plan as to which route to take and where to stay at night. So can you please suggest route and hotels in Ooty, Coonoor, Kodaikanal? (Also, I can stay in Ooty and travel to other place and return to Ooty for night sleep).

@HappyWheels, I know I am trying to cram up too many places in very less time. But my intention is to visit places and spend some time. Staying in Ooty for two three days lazing around is appealing, but if its possible, I would like to cover more places. In case you suggest I stick to only Ooty and around, then surely I will do so. Kindly help me in planning.

Its been a long time since I went on a tour and I need some assistance in planning this trip. (Last time, I went on a five day tour in an Esteem and it was in 2006). So guys, please suggest route, places to stay and must visit spots . I shall return the favour with a long and detailed travelogue with loads of pics.

[ashwinsid]

Bump as I want to decide on a hotel/resort and book soon. May is season time and I am not sure if the hotel/resort I want will be available.

So guys, please suggest a good hotel/resort in Ooty. And also my query above.

[jazzy_2cool]

Hey Ashwin, sorry for the long delay was not able to reply to your email....
Give me a buzz at 9986826986,will update you the rest of the details ...

[pramodkumar]

Hi Guys even me and my girlfriend had similar plans, we would be doing this in the third week of May '09. We will meet at CBE, i will be driving my lancer from TVM(Kerala). we want to do Ooty and preferable some bandhipur as well, the budget is around 15K(All inclusive). The trip will last a week, please suggest good hotels and places to visit, a jungle safari and trekking is definitely on the list.

[hellstar]

I typically would not stay at Ooty on my trips to Bangalore , i usually put up at Masinagudi which is just down the Kalahatty hair pins its just a 30 - 45 minute 36 hairpin drive to ooty and the accomaodation rates are cheaper than ooty. and here you are practically staying in the middle of the mudumalai wildlife reserve .

I stay at Green Park Resorts , in masinagudi if you want any help with the reservations give me a buzz at 9945274032 will be able to guide you guys .... and yes the place is cool enough , good food , you have a stream at the back of the resort . A single cottage should set you back by about 1.5 per day or so ...

But be aware that the road to this place closes at 2000 hrs in the night , but a couple of tenners magically opens the door even after that time , but do bargain there i have onec seen a guy in an Endeavour being forced to pay Rs 500 to pass , where as me who was next in line spoke to the guy in broken tamil and managed to pass with a twenty rupee note !

[indianrunner]

Hi,

Ooty and its surroundings have enough to keep you occupied for 4 days. Some of the things that can be done -

1. Take the forest hike around Ooty town itself. There are maps available which take you into quieter paths around Ooty and are well marked - you can do Snowdon Hall from Doddabetta ridge side and the forest department has other walks as well. I did a part of this last month and it was an awesome experience to enjoy Ooty away from the nosiy crowd.
2. You can drive down to Mukruti/ Avalanche side and do a trek in Mukruti National park
3. You can stay at a log hut owned by Destiny Village people at a remote location all alone (food etc would be sent by the Destiny Village people). On my trip last month, I was told that the couple staying there had heard a tiger roar and came back the next day.

My suggestion would be to check on the internet on other things to do around Ooty rather than trying to go to many places.

My two cents worth!!

[Prowler]

Nigiris is a district - where you have towns like Ooty, coonoor,Kotagiri and Gudalur. Gudalur is close to Karnataka border where you have Bandipur sanctuary. To do full justice to this Blue mountain - Queen of Hills you need to spend at least a week. You can while away your time - lost in Mother Nature all the time or you can have a hectic time seeing all the Must-see places.

I suggest that you forget the rest of the places like- Kodaikanal and Thanjavur when you go to Nilgiris. Kodaikanal is close to Madurai. Here is a list: Distance from Coimbatore:
COONOOR 81, MADURAI 227, KODAIKANAL 138,METTUPALAYAM 53,OOTY 98,TRICHY 204.

You can take the Bangalore - Krishnagiri - coimbatore - ooty route. Mettupalayam to ooty road is broad (originally built by the British) and you have to cross Coonoor on the way to Ooty.

[princezahed]

He ashwin I had sent you a PM regarding the place.White House is really gorgeous.I did not feel like stepping out of the house where I stayed.Wil try to get contact details for you.

[hellstar]

and whatever you do dont miss Glenmorgan estate and if possible try to get a permission to visit the chingara power station and the tramway down from Glen Morgan to the power generation station

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Nigiris is a district - where you have towns like Ooty, coonoor,Kotagiri and Gudalur. Gudalur is close to Karnataka border where you have Bandipur sanctuary. To do full justice to this Blue mountain - Queen of Hills you need to spend at least a week. You can while away your time - lost in Mother Nature all the time or you can have a hectic time seeing all the Must-see places.

I suggest that you forget the rest of the places like- Kodaikanal and Thanjavur when you go to Nilgiris. Kodaikanal is close to Madurai. Here is a list: Distance from Coimbatore:
COONOOR 81, MADURAI 227, KODAIKANAL 138,METTUPALAYAM 53,OOTY 98,TRICHY 204.

You can take the Bangalore - Krishnagiri - coimbatore - ooty route. Mettupalayam to ooty road is broad (originally built by the British) and you have to cross Coonoor on the way to Ooty.

The route you have suggest is very round about , the easiest way to ooty from Bangalore is via Mysore- Gundulpet - mudumalai- masinagudi - ooty , with an early morning start and good speed you can do this in around 4.5 to 5 hours.

[Prowler]

I agree hellstar on that the route I suggested is longer. But the Gudalur to Ooty route has a lot more of narrow hairpin bends than the Mettupalayam ooty route.