Team-BHP - Ooty vs Munnar - With Friends

Hey guys,

Tell me which would be a nicer visit in early December. A group of 5 friends will be driving down from Chennai. Total trip time: 3-4 days. We have a place at Coimbatore to stop over if needed.

Our priority is to go chill out in nice, cool weather and hog hot food, rather than sight-seeing. Which would be a nicer place to visit at that time of the year? And why? :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lynx (Post 2544218)

Total trip time: 3-4 days.

Our priority is to go chill out in nice, cool weather and hog hot food, rather than sight-seeing. Which would be a nicer place to visit at that time of the year?

In 3-4 days sight seeing is a must else you will be plain bored.May be not the first priority but as a timepass atleast.

Having been to both munnar-ooty multiple no.of times,I found out that munnar is a more romantic place to be while ooty is a more hip place.Hanging out near the lake is just cool.

Personally i think ooty would suit you better.It will be much colder than munnar.Book your rooms early.

You wouldnt touch coimbatore city.You take a deviation from avinashi.ANd its only bout 2 hours from there.
And remember to pack plenty of fluids lest you get dehydratedlol:

Although both are crowded in the vacation times i feel Ooty is more crowded and commercialized and Munnar is more natural. If you are driving do check the driving distance and which one is more suitable.

I have been to both Ooty and Munnar and personally prefer Mynnar quietness as compared to crowded Ooty. That being said my wife and daughter like Ooty more as there are more things to do, place has more activity.

I feel Ooty is very crowded for comfort.

Munnar is the best place with secluded picnic spots for drinking that can of "soda" or bottle of "milk" etc without much disturbance.

Activity wise Ooty is better off with much more shops, CCD, Dominoes etc.

Ooty climate can come down to 4'C, Munnar stays around 10'C
(according to mustseeindia.com)

Best choice is Munnar as it is still pristine and an amazing place to enjoy a calm and quite vacation without much activity. Best suited for Honeymoons ;) But it is far from Madras and you will lose more time in traveling.

Ooty will be extremely cold compared to Munnar, but you opt for it only if you want to do some activities with friends.

As ampere suggested, since you don't want to roam around much and simply enjoy nature, Valpaarai is an excellent place to consider. You can break at CBE and then go to Valpaarai which is just 2 to 3 hrs away from CBE.

Take a look at amazing snaps from laluks' thread about Valparai.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-valparai.html

-Ravi

In my opinion, in Munnar you don't have too much sight seeing options for 3-4 days so the friends group will get bored. I would suggest go to Ooty but stay away from the town - Avalanchee, Kotagiri, Coonoor are good options away from crowds of Ooty.
On second thoughts, though Ooty may not be really that crowded in December, you can even stay at Ooty and try these places one day each. A search on TBHP should yield some good information for Avalanchee.
Hope this helps.
EDIT: Of course Valparai is a nice, calm place and a great option but my suggestion above was based considering only Ooty and Munnar as options from your original post :D

Have not been to Munnar. But had been to Ooty with wife and 2 kids last November. Had booked taxi from Bangalore. We really enjoyed the place and weather. Went to Coonor by train and came back by our taxi. While returning, also saw took small safari at Bandipur.
Ooty is a good place, worth going.

Munnar it should be! like many have pointed out here, Ooty is too commercialized.

Munnar has a very good restaurant - Rapsey - inside the market. quite famous in the locality. there are lot of other small ones also which offer very good food.

Else you may head out to Marayoor which is on the way to Chinnar (border). a good place to stay in marayoor will be chandana residency, and there is a good restaurant right opposite to the bus stand.

do book the rooms in advance and try to stay a little away from the town centre, but within driving distance so that food / drinks will not be a problem.

PS. i have no commercial interest in any of these places. i know these places from college days when we used to visit munnar every year during december. it was more like a ritual for us cousin's group to celebrate christmas somewhere in the middle of tea estates.

You can stay in Masinagudi,its around 28km from Ooty. We were there a month ago. Masinagudi is a nice place to stay, you can do early morning safari and head to Ooty or simply go on a early morning trek to one of the hillocks. Ooty is over crowded and highly commercialized. We took the train ride from Ooty to Conoor and came back. If you have time to spare, take the train ride from Conoor to Mettupalayam, its worth it.We couldn't do it due to lack of time.

BTW, few clicks from Masinagudi hillocks,http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ml#post2497345 :)

Hi

The choice really depends on what you would likely enjoy :-

Munnar is my choice for nature treks with some real wildlife thrill. Try to get to stay at Chinnakanal some 20 km from Munnar town (this is where most resorts are located. The resort people can arrange a jeep to take you on a night safari- you are back by morning 5 AM!) You can try Great Escapes Resorts where I stayed with my family in Apr this year. However, call up the resort now before you book to confirm they can do this when you are there.

Ooty would be my choice for the botanical gardens (25 acres!), Pykara falls, and the lake. Personally I don't relish boating on the lake anymore as it is very crowded these days. If you love taking photos of all plant and flower species, forget Munnar and head for Ooty.

Remember, 4 days is rather long for any single place. Some suggested combos:

Munnar- Idukki- Thekkady
Ooty- Mudumalai- Bandipur

Bye
DrVjy