If you want to add a dash of Bollywood in your Ooty trip, don't forget to embark on the famous "Chaiya Chaiya" track from Dil Se. Let me confirm your guess, yes... it is the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site... Nilgiri Express. Nilgiri Express waiting at Ooty station We heard a lot about this train and the track. So when we planned for Ooty, we purposefully included Coonoor... just for a ride on this train. The desire was so strong, it made us procrastinate our Ooty trip because we didn't get tickets of this train. So, for this trip, my wife made advance booking around 2 months back. The reason is, the train has only three reserved compartments and they get sold out like hot-cake. Although, unreserved tickets are available on the very day, but there is a mad rush for a proper seat. We booked two first class tickets in Uam Onr Passr (56139) which leaves Ooty(Udagamandalam) at 9:15 am. Consider yourself lucky if you get a seat on the right side of the train while going from Ooty to Coonoor and exactly opposite on the way back. This is because most of the scenic valleys show up on this side of the train. There are a total of 4 stations between Ooty and Coonoor, though the train won't be halting for long in these stations. All these stations are like small toy stations. The train passes through several tunnels, beautiful lush green valleys, eucalyptus forests, tea plantations. It goes very slow, just like any other toy trains, so that you can enjoy all of these, take snaps, store them in your memory for eternity. Visit the travelogue for pictures:
https://thetravellerweare.blogspot.in/2012/05
It's nice to see that the government has preserved this track so well. Some pointers to help you in your planning: First Class fare: Rs. 255/person Train name/number(Ooty->Coonoor): Uam Onr Passr (56139) (train back to Ooty is also there) Schedule departure: 9:15 am (other successive timing are also there) Time to reach Coonoor: 1 hr 15 min (approx) Bon voyage.
