When u think of hill station in Northern India you think of snow-capped hills but when you think of hill station of Southern India the first and foremost is only Ooty. Yes, the most famous and people’s first choice be default is Ooty. Settled in Bangalore now, we also thought of going there for a 3-day road trip, but instead, we chose Coonoor for our stay as it is on the outskirts and away from the hustle-bustle of the city.
Location & Connectivity
Coonoor is a small town near Ooty which is a very famous hill station of TamilNadu. Ooty which has always been a very famous tourist hotspot destination is always on the bucket list of travelers but being too commercially exploited people are looking for alternate options these days, thus Coonoor has come up.
It nestled between Ooty and Wellington has also been famous for movie shootings whether Bollywood or Tollywood. Coonoor is only 20 kms from Ooty. Many tourist buses and taxis organize a one-day trip for Coonoor, even the famous toy train runs between Ooty and Coonoor at regular interval which itself is an experience.
Once under the rule of British govt which acted as the summer resort for them, today Ooty is a headquarters of the Nilgiris district of TamilNadu and a very famous hill station because of its environmental conditions which are favorable throughout the year. It is
- 86 Kms from Coimbatore
- 130 Kms from Mysuru
- 156 Kms from Kozikode
- 265 Kms from Bangalore
Geographically it is located very close to the borders of Karnataka and Kerala, thus easily accessible to people from all these states as well. It is very well connected with the bus service and people also prefer that. Ooty have many famous tourist attractions like the
- Ooty lake
- Botanical garden
- Tea factory and tea garden
- St Stephan’s Church
- Ooty toy train
When you venture towards the outskirts of Ooty you can find other small towns & attractions like
- Wellington ( Wellington Lake and War Memorial)
- Coonoor ( Sim’s Park, Dolphin Nose, Tea gardens and factory)
- Avalanche and Emerald lakes
- Doddabetta Peak
Places and many but it all depends how much time do u have and what kind of places you like to visit.
Feel our experience
To view the hands-on experience, watch our video
Our story our way
We started on Friday morning at 6.35 AM. The homestay was exactly 300Kms from our place. We reached Ramnagar at 8 AM. Being the major highway it has many eating joints en route till Mysore. We stopped for a quick breakfast at Udupi Sri Krishna Bhawan at 9 AM. We reached Bandipur at 12, Journey through Bandipur has always been excited and amazing for me, an expectation of seeing even a deer excites me but being hot couldn’t spot much.
The road towards Ooty passes through The Bandipur National Park in Karnataka and Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu. We have a clear demarcation of even the National Parks while passing through. Admiring the forests around and clear and sunny sky above we started ascending on the mountains. The hairpin bends were like a roll-a-coaster ride. We decided to visit a few places in Ooty on the same day only because of less crowds.
We missed the cut for Kalhatti falls which lies exactly on the way. Then out of other places which I searched, next we headed for Toda village. That was a bit of disappointment as shown on the internet. But as every experience counts this also so that I can give u the actual account. There was only one hut that too almost ruined. As we were looking around an old lady came outside and invited us in. It was in a very clumsy state. She told some stories, showed us their traditional shawl, ask us to wear that and get clicked. Anyways while leaving we would have given her something but then she started demanding as well. Anyways we just finished from there and headed forward.
Thinking of the complete rest the nest day we thought of taking kids to the Wax Museum and The Chocolate Factory, which we, fortunately, found just beside each other. Even a bhoot bangla there was also fun. We decided to have a simple lunch their only. There were many games in the compound like shooting, rings, etc. Altogether it was a very good and engaging place according to kids.
Then we headed to Coonoor via Kotagiri- Katabettu Road. And if you take my words believe me that drive was beautiful and mesmerizing. We reached at 4 PM and enjoyed the beautiful evening amongst nature.
Ooty –Coonoor route
There are 2 ways to go to Coonnor from Ooty
- Route 1 Ooty to Coonoor via NH 181. This route is commercially developed thus the fastest route(20 Kms) taken by most of the people.
- Route 2 Ooty to Coonoor via Kotagiri- Katabettu road. This route is lengthy(32Kms) but lots of greenery and scenic beauty. We preferred this.
The Nest Coonoor- our nest for 3 days
A homestay far from the hustle-bustle of the crowded city, that was just of our kind. Although it is situated right on the road there was peace and silence all around. The Nest has 6 rooms having different views, location & privacy. A common dining hall where the simple and homely food is served with love. Garden & bonfire places give you a reason to relax. At the back of the homestay is a big tea garden. To be true I really felt we are at home.
You can contact Mr Sriniwas the owner of the place at # 09886396007 or can also visit the website http://www.nestcoonoor.com/index.html
With no intention of going anywhere we were relaxed but then Mr. Sriniwas, the owner suggested to us some options which we couldn’t resist. Mr. Mansoor Ali Khan, the famous director has a farm in Coonoor, which has a cheese factory as well where his wife takes cheese-making classes for the guests who stay there. Thinking that it will be a different experience for the kids we went there.
The farm is beautiful and simple. The cheese factory not so big but has many exotic varieties of cheese which u can even buy. The lady Ms. Mary the in-charge there just explained to us about all the processes involved and time taken. By chance, we even got to meet Mr. Mansoor as well. Kids were excited.
After that, we decided to have our lunch at the 180 Mciver restaurant where the shooting of Kapoor & Sons took place. It’s a beautiful 150 yrs old English property converted into a hotel. A huge beautifully decorated garden outside acts like a cherry on a cake.
Next on the list was the famous toy train, although we first thought that we will go to Ooty and return on the same as well but later changed our plan. Only me and my kids will go on the toy train and my husband will reach Ooty in our car and then we will return. Which was indeed fun. Since we had the time and St Stephens Church was open so we thought of giving a visit there also.
The toy train
The biggest attraction of Ooty is the toy train which runs from Ooty to Coonoor and passes through 5 stations Ooty- Lovedale-Ketty- Aravankadu-Wellington-Coonoor and takes 1 hr 20 minutes for one way journey.
2 Types of Ticket
- First Class Rs 270
- Second Class Rs 85
Not a major difference between the coaches and glass widows only that First class seats are a bit more comfortable. You can either book these tickets through IRCTC or directly at the counters at these railway stations.
This UNESCO railway line built by Britishers is a 1000 mm meter-gauge railway which still have the steam locomotives
The next day was calm we only had to return to Bangalore and nothing else to do. We chose back to return via Kotagiri road ditching the normal NH181 because the highway was too commercial and no scenic beauty. En route saw vegetable hawkers with fresh vegetables so bought instantly.
As mentioned earlier the return route to Bangalore is via Gudalur, it was comparatively lengthy but had many tourist spots to explore like
- Pykara lake & Boating
- Kamraj Dam
- Needle viewpoint
- Eucalyptus tree forest etc.
Since we started from Coonoor at 1 PM and didn’t know about the long route so we skipped these places which if you have time and plan, can explore very easily.
We stopped for late lunch at Hotel Harithagiri, Thurappalli, at the start of Mudumalai National Park. The simple dal and jeera alloo were too good to miss. A coffee after that was refreshing. Then we didn’t stop anywhere for dinner and reached back to Bangalore at 10 PM. Last time it was elephants but this time a family of deers who steal the show when they just crossed in front of us.
Wellington
Another beautiful small town around Ooty is famous as it is a kind of Army town as it has the Staff College there. A beautiful Wellington lake, a war memorial are the places to visit. Even the toy train passes through and stops at Wellington station for a minute.
One very important points to keep in mind
- The onward and return routes are different after Bandipur while traveling from Bangalore
- Onward route: Bangalore- Mysore- Bandipur- Masingudi- Theppakadu- Mavanalla- Hullathy –Ooty( Total 265 Kms)
- Return route: Ooty- Pykara-Naduvattam- Gudalur- Masingudi- Bandipur- Mysore- Bangalore( Total 305 Kms).
To Sum up
It was altogether a wonderful trip. Though we could not cover all the places whatever we did we enjoyed every bit of it. As the weather is also favorable and is a complete holiday for all age groups of people.