[Ranga]

May 1 getaway –Home stay - Raliah Hill Range – Coonoor ( Near Ooty )


People :
Me, Wife , Cousin brother , Friend , Friends’ wife 5 People


Car
Innova
Comfortable for 5 with luggage .
Nice roof AC ( Alas my Scorpio doesn’t have !!!!)


Trip Highlights

• 36 Hair pin curve drive – Amazing
• Spotting wild elephants in Mudumalai
• Good weather in Coonoor , ( Midsummer , cold and winter weather on a single day )
• Stay in NEST Coonoor . Amazing experience .
• Return to Bangalore was a bumper to bumper drive on a weekday . Imagine returning back on a Sunday evening . ( Not sure when Karnataka govt will open there eyes and build a NICE road till Mysore )

Place : Coonoor

Coonoor is the second largest hill station located in the Nilgiri hills in the state of Tamil Nadu in the south of India. Famous for its verdant environs and for a variety of wildflowers and birds, Coonoor provides a perfect setting for activities like trekking and hiking. It is also famous for its tea plantations and festivals.

At Coonoor, travelers can also enjoy the toy train ride, which is also the means of traveling to other hill stations in the Nilgiri Hills from Coonoor. The trip provides some breathtaking views of the Nilgiri hills in all its natural glory.

Coonoor provides the traveler with the panoramic view of the lush green Nilgiri hills, with its ravines, valleys, and waterfalls. Bird watching is a popular activity in Coonoor, as the area boasts of a large variety of species like cormorants, pipits, thrushes, parakeets, skylarks, Nilgiri verditer, etc. Travelers can take a walk through the long stretches of tea gardens. There are numerous trekking and hiking trails around Coonoor.


Where in Coonoor ? The approach

• 19 Kms away from the Hustle and the over commercial Ooty
• Placed on Coonoor-Kotagiri Road near Wellington /Ooty
• Up to 6 cottages available for stay
• Actually is situated in a place called Bhandu mai
• Closer to Wellington Army Head quarters .
• Place well maintained .
• Well connected roads
• More closer to Mettupalyam by road ( Actually on the Highway from Coimbatore – Ooty road )

Road map in detail

• Approximately 320KMs from Bangalore
• Bangalore – Mysore – 40 + Humps / each side
• Mysore to Gundalpet – Single road – Not much restaurants to eat .
• Gundalpet – Bandipur – Single road –
• Bandipur - Mudumali - Bandipur forest looks barren land with few tress
• Mudumali- Masinagudi –Humps every 500 meters . Done to make sure none go above 40Kms / hr
• Masinagudi junction - Two roads to Ooty - One with 36 hair pin curves . The other one is slightly broad road
• The 36 hair pin bend roads are really narrow , challenging for all kind of vehicles
• The 36 hair pin bend curves feature mirrors as the road is very narrow to drive . One had to look into these mirrors before taking a turn.
• Not easy for heavy vehicle like Scorpio . For Innova , it was driving like a car for my brother .. We all talk about turning radius of a vehicle in specifications .
• This was the place where Innova turning radius played a vital role ( during the drive )

The Ambience of our home stay - Nest coonor The Nest :: Home

• Is not like a big resort type
• More convenient for 2-3 families visiting who want more privacy
• Built on say app ½ Acre property overlooking Raliah Hill Range
• Beautiful view points from all cottages ( The photographs on the site are nothing . Visit the place to actually feel it )
• Place ideal for lazing around
• Relax , rewind and do nothing . ( Probably with good book in hand , see midsummer , light drizzles , and winter fog all on a single day !!!!!!)
• Ideal for a Sat, Sunday trip ( Though drive back of 320 Kms can make u a bit tired )
• Probably 3 days needed say leave on a Friday early morning , reach Coonoor say around noon and , stay on Friday night, Saturday night , leave on a Sunday morning and back in Bangalore on Sunday evening .
• Nice Bon fire place

Rooms

• Well designed rooms
• Named after different colors
• Each room is like a cottage type pained with different colors
• Neat and clean

Food

• Have a separate common dining room where food is served .
• Can serve at least 4 families at a time .
• Good south Indian food , ready to serve non veg food
• More home food feeling rather being cooked and served in a Restaurant type
• Care Taker Ravi is very helpful & prompt
• Is guest friendly and ready to serve food according to requirements .

The Host

• The host shrimathi & her husband are based in Bangalore
• Have built their dream Summer home ( Weekend home ) in Coonor
• Friendly , caring ,

Places to visit around Coonoor

• Sim's Park, Pomological Station, Dolphin's Nose, Lamb's Rock, Droog, Law's Falls, Catherine Falls.
• We visited the nearest dam which holds drinking water to Coonoor ( not sure of the name , which is a ½ Km treck after u reach a parking point - 3Kms by road , )
• We also visited the Sim’s park which was a bit over crowded
• Sim’s park has some very old trees

Cost of stay

• Cost of stay / room / night is 1.5KINR .
• Breakfast – 100 Rs/ person
• Lunch – 150 Rs / person ( Not bad at all for the variety of the food that was served to us )

Homemade chocolates in Ooty

• Do not forget to pick chocolates from Ooty .
• Forgot the place we picked our chocolates . They were just amazing . We picked 100 grams of say 7-8 verities
• This should be avaialble in Coonoor , we bought them in Ooty on our way back .

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[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[coolclouds]

Thank you Ranga for the detailed report and nice photographs. I was looking for a hotel for our July first week trip to Ooty. Looks like they have same rate throughout the year (Rs. 1500+taxes)

Do you think this home stay will be still worth considering hotels and resorts will be selling on off season rates?

[longdriveblusky]

I think we were neighbors! I can see our cottage from your pictures . Strangely, both home stays look quite alike. It was a great location indeed.

[Ranga]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Thank you Ranga for the detailed report and nice photographs. I was looking for a hotel for our July first week trip to Ooty. Looks like they have same rate throughout the year (Rs. 1500+taxes)

Do you think this home stay will be still worth considering hotels and resorts will be selling on off season rates?

This depends on how many people are visiting . Home stays are ideal for 2-3 couple families who want there own private island ( Privacy ) rather then share place in crowded hotels with 10-12 families .

A hotel stay will probably offer a room with a balcony . A home stay offers the entire property and feel like home !!!( At least for the time u stay )

Today home stays offer better value for money , well located , nice aumbience and are well maintained .

We visited the above home stay in the peak May 1 holidays . Not sure how much Nest charges for off season . We need to check !!!

[redcruiser]

Now i can see in their website they have increased the price per room to 2500.

[sami316]

Hey Ranga..!! Thanks for sharing this. Me too planning a Ooty getaway in the coming days and this will definitely come in handy.

As mentioned by redcruiser above, the tariff seems to have increased to 2.5k on their website.