Mystical Mountains of Nilgiris. Review on Coonoor

BGM CREDITS:- Maestro Illayaraja -Munram Pirai(Sadma), Punnagai Mannan, Sundari(Thalapathi)

*Sojourn at Nilgiris-2

Coonoor:-**  At lower altitude and lower profile than Ooty, Coonoor has its own splendour with wonderful Oak Trees spread & Tea Gardens intermittently and very pleasant climate for livelihood. The smell of eucalyptus as you enter Coonoor town cures you of all ailments.

We took the ride to Coonoor on a Sunday afternoon when Ooty was packed to the brim due to flower show and the ride took us past the adjoining valley stretching vast horizons and beautiful landscapes. With heavy traffic, parking on the road on the Ghat was a hindrance. We crossed the famous Cordite(Rifle powder) Factory built in 1904 at Aravankadu.

The lower trough of Coonoor is the bustling commercial place typical of South Indian Towns and the busy market place with plenty of vegetables and fruits to buy.

Sims* Park

*At the upper crest of Coonoor lies the beautiful Sims Park built across 12 Hectares in 1878.The beauty of the Park lies in its lovely terrace mound cultivation of plenty of rose plants and as you go to the lower bund, you cut across huge Oak trees to spend pleasant time in the evening hearing those chirping birds amidst bee hives and the buzz of children. The park has that unique mystique with some of the oldest Trees which has taken many Centuries to reach its present shape. One of them is The Elephant tree which resembles an Elephant foot.

12 kms down from Ooty lies the Dolphins Nose, view point for experimenting Newton;s laws on Human Body. The Journey down to Dolphins is simply breathtaking overlooking the enchanting Catherine falls acrossKothagiri hills and the Mettuplayam town at the other side. On the way, we cut across the splendid panoramic view fromLamb’s rock.

Other major attraction is the Fruit Garden which we missed as it was already dark when we returned to Coonoor town. The ride back to Ooty was jammed totally by the huge backward rush of Vehicles after the flower show.

Nilgiri Tip 1**:- If you want to enjoy the Country side, stay outside Ooty.

Earlier in the morning, we left for the Pykara to enjoy the Countryside of Ootacamund. It is in the westerly direction passing through the railway station and after 3 kms, you find the Famous Hindustan Photo Film Factory which has lost its place in film market with imported films getting popular.

We cross the junction which splits Masinangudi and Gudalur routes and take the rusty road for another 12 kms and take the lane from Main road into the Glen Morgan. The huge stretch of Tea estates are sight to behold with the terrace cultivation. Across the Morgan lies beneath the Pykara Power house on Singara which is reached by ropeway and is the highest Power House point in India. It is prohibited to enter this sector.

Nilgiri Tip 2:- For youths on adventurous travel, the best mode is biking except that it may hit you badly if holed to the rubber or pocket without fuel.

Pykara* Lake

We take the main road back and cross another small lake and the sixth mile shooting point to reach the scenicPykara **overstretching in winding curves of water across some magnificent trees to form a picture perfect backdrop for our hour long boat ride in more pleasant waters. Once back to the shore, we tried our hands; sorry legs to pedal on smaller pedal boats enough to give pumping exercise and refresh the lungs with the fresh air of Country side.

6th Mile

*We for a change tried diametrically opposite sides of the Sixth Mile, the most popular shooting spot in Ooty. The climb up was eagerly drawn into wonderful riveting landscapes, scores of meadows which were half green(due to summer) with the backdrop of thick Pine trees and dense forestation and misty Mountains. It was drizzling just enough to have jolly ride on Horses, me and my kid trying few tricks of handling the Horses. It was a mile ride into the meadows just to get that click from the Horsemen.

For the movie front, scores of movie songs-Thalapathy Sundari, Aaru, Sachin and Krish were filmed on this spot.

Nilgiri Tip 3:-** Enjoy the refreshing vegetables and fruits that are available on Country side.

The bumpy ride was enjoyed by us back until we reached crowded Ooty for the Lunch.In plenty were the bites of Carrot fresh(which you will not find in any outlet or Vegetable vendor) from the Country side. In fact it occupied a major part of our diet apart from Raw Mangoes.What we missed was the visit to Mukurthi further from Pykara just to catch up with Coonoor

Travel-

By Road –Coonoor is 18 kms down east to Ooty cutting the Ketty valley. Plenty of Buses and 40 minutes Journey.

Pyakara has to be covered with private Vehicle to enjoy the different spots Alternately the Gudalur bus stops at Pykara.

By Rail:- Nilgiri Mountain railways takes you on a wonderful journey from Ooty to Coonoor four times a day which again we missed.

Stay in Coonoor is more inexpensive than Ooty.

Nilgiri Tip 4:-If time has no limits, the Country side can be explored in detail by taking permission from the EB officials and Forest officials. All they want is rupaiya.

Thanks for watching and reading.