We had a long weekend for Ugadi (Hindu New Year) and didn't want to be in Bangalore (27-30 Mar '09). Sharan, in addition, was keen to get back to his photography practice. Ooty and Coonoor – the twin hill stations in the Nilgiri range 
of the Western Ghats seemed to be the ideal choice given the distance by road and (more importantly) fine weather. On one hand I was skeptical - Ooty had gotten too commercialized over the past years and wasn't a "get-away" in the real sense. On the other hand it was around 9 years since I had been there last. Additionally we had never been to Coonoor. Since we decided and booked in the last minute we got accommodation in 3 different places for the 3N-4D vacation. No cribbing on this one as each place was unique in its own way - First at Destiny's Farm (Avalanche Valley, 30 kms off Ooty), next at King’s Cliff (in Ooty) and lastly at Taj Gateway Hotel (Coonoor).
Note: Destiny Farm and King’s Cliff are part of Little Earth Group (http://www.littlearth.in/)
Fact File:
Distance: Ooty by Road - Coimbatore (80Kms), Bangalore (275 Kms).
Getting there: There are ample of buses and trains from either of the cities. Nearest Airport is Coimbatore.
Best season: February through May, September-October
Know more from:http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/OOTY.HTM or http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/Coonoor.htm
In and around Ooty:
We didn’t go to ANY of the typical tourist attractions (Botanical garden, Centenary Rose Park, Ooty Lake, Doddabetta, etc) as we had been here earlier. Instead we visited the not so popular tourist destinations like the Bee Museum and Green Shop of Keystone foundation. Keystone Foundation is known as an organisation concerned with honey management and marketing for communities (Kurumba and Toda tribes in Nilgiris for e.g.,) without compromising the sustainability of bee's community itself. (http://keystone-foundation.net/web/).
We also visited the Wax World – a private wax museum that has been the poor man's Indian Madame Tussades for years. We had never heard or seen it before. The museum included statues of usual and famous Indian personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, J. Nehru, Mother Teresa, Shivaji, Subhas Chandra Bose among others. Some of the wax statues were hilarious, some terrible and a few were very creative.
We drove around Red Hills and Avalanche Valley – very picturesque hill ranges with acres and acres of tea estates (literally till you can see the horizon) and many unspoiled lakes and ponds all around. But its very disheartening to see that forest area has been cut down for these tea estates.
We tried a couple of very popular restaurants which came recommended – Earl’s Secret at King’s Cliff on Havelock Road (Continental – Very good) and Shinkhow on Commissioner's Road (Chinese – disappointing, may be we didn't order right)
In and around Coonoor:
Acres Wild – is a 22 acre, family-run organic and (homemade) cheese making farm. Their goal is to shape an eco-friendly, holistic and self-sustaining life style for themselves a
nd share this experience with others in hope that others adopt it too. (http://www.acres-wild.com/). This place is run Mansoor Khan and family. His wife, Tina, excitedly explains the process of cheese making. She said she started this only because of her love for Cheese. Cheese can be bought from outlets in Ooty or Coonoor. Mansoor, an avid environmentalist, not only passionately shows around his environment-friendly farm but also keeps you gripped with his views on the global warming phenomenon. Rhea, the darling pet around, is as enthusiastic as Mansoor to show the place.
We never realized that it was Mansoor Khan who was the director of popular Bollywood movies like QSQT, JJWS, AHAT (all with Aamir Khan), Josh (with SRK) and co-producer of Jaane Tu Ya Jane Na (with Imran Khan). Apparently he is Aamir Khan's cousin and Imran Khan's uncle. Shows how much of Bollywood we know. Mansoor moved to Coonoor from Mumbai after being fed up with city life.
We shopped at NeedleCraft (in Singara Tea Estate) - known for its exquisitely hand-embroidered pillowcases, cushion covers, bedspreads, bedsheets and handkerchiefs. Though they are steeply priced, Naaz (the owner) insists that she is just selling on behalf of various local women's welfare organizations and proceeds go to their betterment.
We went to some typical touristy places since it was our first time in Coonoor:
- Railway Station: A quaint little station famous for the Niligiri Mountain Railway. The toy train runs between Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalyam through the pristine Nilgiri mountain range.
- SIM'S Park: Botanical Garden in Upper Coonoor with trees as old as 150 years and haven for bird watchers
- Laws Falls: 7kms towards Mettupalayam, worth a skip
- Dolphin’s nose view point: 10kms, has a panoramic view of Catherine Falls
- Lamb's rock view point: 8kms, on the way to Dolphin’s
- Droog Fort: 17 kms, Old Tipu Fort of which only a couple of Walls are remaining, drive to Nonsuch Tea Estate and walk 4 kms through it
Note: Take your vehicle to Droog Fort only if it’s an SUV as the roads quite bad. It’s a beautiful 1 hour walk (one way) for those who prefer it.
Unlike Ooty, there aren’t any restaurants in Coonoor. You may land up eating in the resort/hotel you are staying at. But we did ask some locals around for some typical Tamil food and they directed us to a no-frill restaurant called “Hotel Sri Lakshmi Veg” (off Coonoor Bus Stand). As assured by these locals, we had typical and very delicious Tamil Thaalis. It was a welcome break from days of North Indian, Continental and Chinese food we had during the trip.
So the usual destinations turned out to be a good decision afterall. We saw parts of Ooty never seen before and Coonoor turned out to be a "must return to" place. There are too many in that list already and another much much longer list of "must visit before Armegaddon"... Wonder when and how we'll ever cover everything... *SIGH*.
Here is a link to our photo album:http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=akshatakaranth&target=ALBUM&id=5319718423183780881&authkey=Gv1sRgCIeExsyxmc2EQw&invite=COW4rtoF&feat=email
of the Western Ghats seemed to be the ideal choice given the distance by road and (more importantly) fine weather. On one hand I was skeptical - Ooty had gotten too commercialized over the past years and wasn't a "get-away" in the real sense. On the other hand it was around 9 years since I had been there last. Additionally we had never been to Coonoor. Since we decided and booked in the last minute we got accommodation in 3 different places for the 3N-4D vacation. No cribbing on this one as each place was unique in its own way - First at Destiny's Farm (Avalanche Valley, 30 kms off Ooty), next at King’s Cliff (in Ooty) and lastly at Taj Gateway Hotel (Coonoor).Note: Destiny Farm and King’s Cliff are part of Little Earth Group (http://www.littlearth.in/)
Fact File:
Distance: Ooty by Road - Coimbatore (80Kms), Bangalore (275 Kms).
Getting there: There are ample of buses and trains from either of the cities. Nearest Airport is Coimbatore.
Best season: February through May, September-October
Know more from:http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/OOTY.HTM or http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/Coonoor.htm
In and around Ooty:
We didn’t go to ANY of the typical tourist attractions (Botanical garden, Centenary Rose Park, Ooty Lake, Doddabetta, etc) as we had been here earlier. Instead we visited the not so popular tourist destinations like the Bee Museum and Green Shop of Keystone foundation. Keystone Foundation is known as an organisation concerned with honey management and marketing for communities (Kurumba and Toda tribes in Nilgiris for e.g.,) without compromising the sustainability of bee's community itself. (http://keystone-foundation.net/web/).We also visited the Wax World – a private wax museum that has been the poor man's Indian Madame Tussades for years. We had never heard or seen it before. The museum included statues of usual and famous Indian personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, J. Nehru, Mother Teresa, Shivaji, Subhas Chandra Bose among others. Some of the wax statues were hilarious, some terrible and a few were very creative.
We drove around Red Hills and Avalanche Valley – very picturesque hill ranges with acres and acres of tea estates (literally till you can see the horizon) and many unspoiled lakes and ponds all around. But its very disheartening to see that forest area has been cut down for these tea estates.We tried a couple of very popular restaurants which came recommended – Earl’s Secret at King’s Cliff on Havelock Road (Continental – Very good) and Shinkhow on Commissioner's Road (Chinese – disappointing, may be we didn't order right)
In and around Coonoor:
Acres Wild – is a 22 acre, family-run organic and (homemade) cheese making farm. Their goal is to shape an eco-friendly, holistic and self-sustaining life style for themselves a
nd share this experience with others in hope that others adopt it too. (http://www.acres-wild.com/). This place is run Mansoor Khan and family. His wife, Tina, excitedly explains the process of cheese making. She said she started this only because of her love for Cheese. Cheese can be bought from outlets in Ooty or Coonoor. Mansoor, an avid environmentalist, not only passionately shows around his environment-friendly farm but also keeps you gripped with his views on the global warming phenomenon. Rhea, the darling pet around, is as enthusiastic as Mansoor to show the place.We never realized that it was Mansoor Khan who was the director of popular Bollywood movies like QSQT, JJWS, AHAT (all with Aamir Khan), Josh (with SRK) and co-producer of Jaane Tu Ya Jane Na (with Imran Khan). Apparently he is Aamir Khan's cousin and Imran Khan's uncle. Shows how much of Bollywood we know. Mansoor moved to Coonoor from Mumbai after being fed up with city life.
We shopped at NeedleCraft (in Singara Tea Estate) - known for its exquisitely hand-embroidered pillowcases, cushion covers, bedspreads, bedsheets and handkerchiefs. Though they are steeply priced, Naaz (the owner) insists that she is just selling on behalf of various local women's welfare organizations and proceeds go to their betterment.
We went to some typical touristy places since it was our first time in Coonoor:
- Railway Station: A quaint little station famous for the Niligiri Mountain Railway. The toy train runs between Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalyam through the pristine Nilgiri mountain range.
- SIM'S Park: Botanical Garden in Upper Coonoor with trees as old as 150 years and haven for bird watchers
- Laws Falls: 7kms towards Mettupalayam, worth a skip
- Dolphin’s nose view point: 10kms, has a panoramic view of Catherine Falls
- Lamb's rock view point: 8kms, on the way to Dolphin’s
- Droog Fort: 17 kms, Old Tipu Fort of which only a couple of Walls are remaining, drive to Nonsuch Tea Estate and walk 4 kms through it
Note: Take your vehicle to Droog Fort only if it’s an SUV as the roads quite bad. It’s a beautiful 1 hour walk (one way) for those who prefer it.
Unlike Ooty, there aren’t any restaurants in Coonoor. You may land up eating in the resort/hotel you are staying at. But we did ask some locals around for some typical Tamil food and they directed us to a no-frill restaurant called “Hotel Sri Lakshmi Veg” (off Coonoor Bus Stand). As assured by these locals, we had typical and very delicious Tamil Thaalis. It was a welcome break from days of North Indian, Continental and Chinese food we had during the trip.
So the usual destinations turned out to be a good decision afterall. We saw parts of Ooty never seen before and Coonoor turned out to be a "must return to" place. There are too many in that list already and another much much longer list of "must visit before Armegaddon"... Wonder when and how we'll ever cover everything... *SIGH*.
Here is a link to our photo album:http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=akshatakaranth&target=ALBUM&id=5319718423183780881&authkey=Gv1sRgCIeExsyxmc2EQw&invite=COW4rtoF&feat=email
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Ooty is very nice and wonderful place. restaurant in ooty
ReplyDeleteNice trip. Thanks for sharing. Set amidst lush and green tea plantations, Coonoor (Kunoor) is an ideal escape. A paradise for hikers, trekkers and nature buffs, the hidden beauty of the town will astound you. Birdwatchers are in for a special treat with spectacular species of birds like the cormorants, pipits, thrushes, parakeets in abundance. Check out all Coonoor places to visit.
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