We recently took a trip to Ooty- the Queen of hills. It was a very impromptu tour. We booked our hotel around 1 AM and left for Ooty at 3 AM. We were craving for a short road trip and were keen on Pondicherry. But, we both had been to Pondicherry before and this was my first trip to Ooty so decided on Ooty. Basically, a random plan the result of which-

The packing was not thoughtful, it was really cold and rainy.

Most hotels were booked, and we got a room in Club Mahindra Derby green but the room was very tiny and the price was double.

But the best part was it was starting of monsoon in Ooty so it was drizzling lightly most of the time and believe me its the best time to be in Ooty. Where everything looks so fresh and green, you just fall in love with nature.

The drive from Bangalore to Ooty is really scenic especially after Mysore or maybe I was sleeping up till Mysore whereas Mehul was driving. It took us roughly 6 and a half hours to reach Ooty. We took Mandya route to reach Mysore, and then through Gundulpet (where we found lots of sunflower fields) we reached Ooty and in between was Bandipur and Masinagudi stretch where you get to drive inside the jungle reserve and you’ll for sure get to see a lot of Deers, Monkeys and if lucky then Bison, Elephant, Peacocks. Its a really beautiful and peaceful journey and its closed from 10 PM to 6 AM. So, if you planning for Ooty do keep that in mind. And to reach Ooty you have to take 36 hairpin turns, so do take motion sickness tablet if you suffer from one.

Places to visit in Ooty

1- Tree park– The Thalakunda region have a huge Pine forest which is a view on its own and the drive between is remarkable and there is an area called Tree Park, where you can visit and roam around the tall pine trees.

2- Shooting point– There are few shooting points like the 6th mile, 9th mile which are known points where few movie scenes have been shot.

3- Rose garden– Its the biggest Rose garden in India, with around 3600 varieties of roses. The garden is very huge and we couldn’t cover all of it.

4- Botanical garden– We are not park kind of people, its a very huge park but if you have seen a lot of parks you can totally skip it.

5- Moddys– Ooty is famous for homemade chocolates. You can find a lot of options throughout Ooty. We couldn’t decide where to buy it from, a quick google search gave us a few options and we chose Moddy’s. The chocolates here are amazingly good (eating one while typing ;)). We bought Dark Almond, Choco Truffle, Double Chocolate Brownies. And the best thing to try there is HOT CHOCOLATE, I am still craving for more.

6- Local Fruit market– I am adding this one cause I was super happy to find Mangosteen and Rambutan in local street shops, outside the botanical garden. So, if in Ooty – do eat the tropical fruits!!

What we missed but you can try-

Avalanche lake– It’s quite far and according to google maps the drive was of one and a half hour one way so we skipped it as we didn’t have that much time.

Pykara Lake– As we had to take the Pykara lake route we thought to give it a visit but it was raining heavily when we reached so we skipped it.

Dodabetta peak– As it was quite cloudy, we missed it but if the weather is clear do visit it.

Stone house– It’s closed on Monday so couldn’t visit it.

Toy train– Really wanted to take a ride. Maybe, next time.

Fernhill Royal Palace– Came to know about it later.

Coonoor– We thought to visit it some other time but its a nearby place and if you have time in hand you can surely visit Coonoor and spend a day or two there.

While returning back to Bangalore we took around 8 hours cause the hairpin way is a one-way route. So we took the Gudalur route, which Google was not showing as its one and half hour longer route. We left Ooty around 2 PM and Reached Bangalore around 10 PM.

Few More Photos From our trip