Note: This is my first ever travelogue, please give me suggestions on how to improve. Thank you.
Ooty Trip ( 2 days 1 night)- 9th and 10th September 2013.
Car -Hyundai i10 1.2
Co travelers - My wife Shazia, my friends Kundan and Jitender .
Total distance covered - 700 km.
Total fuel expense- 4000 Rs.
While going - Bangalore - Mysore ( SH-17) - Nanjangud - Gundlupet (SH-212) - Bandipur - Madumalai -Gudalur -Ooty (SH-66/67).
While coming - Ooty-Masinagudi-Madumalai-Bandipur-Mysore-Bangalore.
This was my second trip to Ooty. The first time I went to Ooty in 2009, then I had gone as a tourist in a package tour for three days. This time I wanted to be the traveler; mainly focused on the journey rather than the destination. After I bought a car ( Hyundai i10) in 2011, I have started travelling more than before, because there is a lot of difference when you drive to a place as compared to going there by a bus or a train. I, for instance get excited by the sheer thought of driving.
The route we took while going.
Bangalore - Mysore ( SH-17) - Nanjangud - Gundlupet (SH-212) - Bandipur - Madumalai -Gudalur -Ooty (SH-66/67).
I had read a lot on the Team-bhp forum that the stretch from Madumalai to Ooty via Gudalur is not great even though it is more scenic compared to the other regular option ( Madumalai - Masinagudi - Ooty). However, I had decided that I will take the route through Gudalur because I wanted to give some fresh update to fellow bhpians about the road conditions.
We started from Bangalore at 5am on the 9th and we drove nonstop to reach Mysore at 7:15am. We stopped in Mysore for breakfast. From Mysore we drove straight to Bandipur and reached there at 9 : 15 am. At Bandipur, we stopped at a spot which we thought was very beautiful and deserved a better look. We took some photographs there , however our enthusiasm was cut short because we were told by a forest guard on a patrolling jeep that we were not allowed to stop and take photographs. We continued our journey but on the way we couldn't resist taking some photographs from our car while on the go.
After some time we bid adieu to Karnataka and entered the Madumalai Forest Reserve, Tamilnadu. Driving further, we reached the juncture where you have to decide which route you would like to take. One is short and oft taken while the other is longer and less preferred. For me both were equally new because this was my first self drive to Ooty. This situation reminded me of the iconic poem by Robert Frost -The road not taken (Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference).
Since , I had decided that I will take route through Gudalur , I trusted my instincts and went ahead with the plan. For almost a Km my plan seemed counterproductive as the road was really in a bad shape and we were almost on the verge of turning back , but I, somehow, didn't want to comply and hence persisted with my plan. Driving further the road improved and then from there on the road was just delightful, till Ooty. I must add that this route is in fact easier for new drivers as there are no sharp curves or steep inclines, this route is just magical.
(The initial bad stretch of road towards Gudalur)
( However, after a Km or so the road was excellent all the way to Ooty)
We were not in any hurry and hence we drove at a leisurely pace of 40-50km/hr , enjoying the scenic drive. We stopped at few places to take pictures and then after Gudalur we parked at a tea shop just because of its beautiful location. We had two cups of tea each and took some pictures and then carried on our journey till we reached Paykara lake in Ooty. While driving towards Ooty on this route you will see a board indicating that you should take right to go to the historical Paykara Boat house. The beautiful and enchanting Paykara Lake is just 1 km from this diversion. But the road is really torturous , at least for small cars like the i10.
We reached Paykara lake at around 12 Noon, the weather was cold and cloudy , we hired a boat for Rs 500/- and enjoyed the ride which was roughly of 20-25 mins. From Paykara the road to Ooty is very scenic, lined with beautiful red wood pine trees. We reached our destination , the Lake View Hotel, in Ooty at 1:15. I must mention that the Lake View Hotel is more of a resort than a hotel and it is awesome, It is so beautiful, located right in the lap of nature, that if you stay there and come back it still would be a great holiday.
(paykara lake ooty)
(Hotel lake view Ooty)
We freshened up , had our lunch and then started for the botanical gardens, the last time I went to Ooty I had missed it so I had kept it as our first spot. I personally didn't enjoy the garden for a variety of reasons apart from the fact that I was tired. The garden has some beautiful trees but its flower collection is not great.
We came back , had dinner and slept. Got up early next day , took some pictures of the resort, had breakfast and then we went to Coonoor. Coonoor is known for its tea plantations and we wanted to visit a tea factory. We went to High Field Tea Estate in Coonoor which also has a tea factory. The factory that day was closed because of Ganesh Festival, we still explored it , took some snaps , tasted and bought some masala tea and then came back to our hotel. While driving back from coonoor we came through Wellington ( a defense area ) , the road through Wellington is much better and is also scenic.
(Pics from Botanical Garden Ooty)
(High Field Tea Estate Coonoor)
We checked out from our hotel at 2pm , had lunch and left for Bangalore. While driving back we decided to take the other route i.e. Ooty- Masinagudi-Madumalai-Bandipur-Mysore-Bangalore.
When we reached the juncture where the road forks out - one towards Gudalur the other towards Masinagudi, this is just after you cross the bridge on the dried portion of the Sandynulla Lake, we asked some locals , just to verify, about the road towards Masinagudi . They warned us that the road is very dangerous because it's a plunging drive and it has 36 hair-pin bends. We still went through this route as I knew the locals were exaggerating. This route is plain fun, it was great driving through the 36 hair-pin bends. We stopped at a place called Bison Valley view just before the 34th bend , but it was useless. We kept on driving till we crossed Mandya, after which we stopped at a Coffee Day to get some energy ( caffeine) . Continuing the journey we reached Bangalore at 10:30.
(National Bird , spotted in Bandipur during our return trip)
(Some more pics from our return journey)
Thank you.