Ooty is a place you should visit. it's called the "Queen of Hill stations".it is pollusion free and a feast to eyes. the green hills, the cascading water falls and tall trees is a delight. there are many places to visit like Botanical Gardens, Lake, Lamb's Rock, Doddabetta Peak. A rose garden in 50 acres with thousands of veraities of roses. Madumalai Wild Life Santuary and Pyakara Dam is nearby and a number of cinema shooting and picnic spots. The narrow gauage train from ooty to mettupalayam is a must to travel. coonoor is nearby and you can see Dolphins Nose, Avlanche and Zoological Garden. I preferred the Sterling Fernhill Resort to stay. it is okay for a tourist interested to see the places. Its situtated in an area of six acres and surrounded by picturesque hills and the houses on the slopes of the hills. you can reach the place from Mysore,Coimbatore and 290 km from Bangalore. you find many other hotels in the city. Best Season is Aprit to June.Also from September to October. Have a beautiful and satisfying holidays.(children have many attractions to enjoy at Coonoor, Botanical Garden and Ooty Lake)
Ooty city looks quite grotty but the surrounding areas of the Nilgiris are superb. However in the coming holiday season it will be packed and crowded. Ooty is best enjoyed in the off season. Hotel Tamil Nadu is a reasonably priced hotel in a good quiet location but close to the main commerical hub. tamilnadutourism.org gives more details. In Ooty visit Dodabetta Peak area, the botanic gardens and the lake but go early if you are in peak season. Better still, hire a car and proceed along the Pykara Rd. Tip: To avoid the tourist places, go about 100m ahead of the spots, cut through the forest and enjoy the place in cleanliness and solitude. You can do this at "Pine Forest" - dont stop, go ahead and cut through later all the way to the Kamaraj Sagar lakeside, At 9th Mile meadows, again go ahead and cut through you will have a vast expanse of beautiful meadows with the same view all to yourself. Also visit Pykara falls but only if the water is released from the dam as otherwise in this season it will be Pykara rivulet! Also its a 1km walk from the main road. Do visit clean Pykara Lake and go boating there instead of at Ooty Lake which is filthy sewage water, unfortunately unless you reach really early you wont be able to avoid the crowds in season. You can also do a side trip to Mudumalai WLS via Thalakundah, or combine it with the Pykara visit. Take a train ride from Ooty to Coonoor or vice versa or both ways, the scenery is very different from the road journey. Visit a tea garden if you havent before. All the tour operators are in Commercial St and Charing Cross, also nr the Station where they may be cheaper. You can buy tea, spices, chocolates, fudge [from King Star] and excellent bakery products everywhere. There is a Toda tribal settlement on the top of the botanic gardens if you are interested. You can also do a day trip to Emeralde lake about 30 km away from Ooty, its very beautiful and pristine.
Hi, Ooty as said is `Queen of Hill Stations' , is a beautiful place. I happened to visit it in November, 2007. I agree that commercialisation has taken its toll but still Ooty is a nice place for vacation. We stayed in Darshan Hotel opposite to the lake. It was little away from the town (1.5km.) but you can have wonderful view from each room of the hotel. You can take a local sight seeing tour from the hotel or from any tour operator but make sure you get front or middle seats. Do not board the bus if you are asked that you will be accomodate later in better place. You can also book in advance railway to and fro journey by Nilgiri Railway from Ooty to Coonoor (departs at 9.00 hrs. arrives back at 12.00 hrs.). You can enjoy nice view from the train.
Ooty is a nice place by nature. But the TN government doesnt look like giving importance for the maintanance. Its badly maintained. City Roads are really horrible. Some of the famous places are dirty.
Ooty is definately worth one visit.The pollution here is no different from other hill stations.Some spots are crowded , like the lake , where it is more like a village fair.The lake, as rightly pointed out by someone, is sewage water.But the Rose Garden, Dodda Betta, and Botanical Garden are all worth visiting.You may give the tea factory visit a miss, its nothing but a money spining nexus between the tour operator and the factory owners. Don't forget to visit Conoor.The Taj Garden Retreats are the best places to stay in both Ooty and Conoor, you can get excellent package deals if you book well in advance.There is flower show in May and it can be very crowded then , so avoid that time.
Give Ooty a miss, its a horrible concrete jungle. drive through to Wellington which I've heard is beautiful. I made the mistake going there once, never again.
