Nilgiri Travelogues PART II - Coonoor. Review on Coonoor

This is second of my two-part travel account of Ooty and Coonoor’s 2005 tour. First section covers my experience of visiting Bandipur, Mudumalai, Ooty, and Pykara. Second section covers my experience of riding Ooty-Coonoor toy train and visiting Coonoor, Tea Estates, Kotagiri, Ketty Valley, and Red Hills area.

If Ooty is popularly known as “Queen of the Hill Stations” then Coonoor should be considered as “Princess of the Hill Stations”. As happens most often, princesses are more adorable, cute, and lovable compared to queens. In the same breath, Coonoor is more adorable, cute, and lovable than Ooty. If Ooty gives you glimpse of what ultimate hill stations can be as mountain town with winding streets, trains of eucalyptus trees, green lush valleys and meadows, chilly atmosphere, serene lakes and gardens, fresh mountain air, misty mountain slopes, terraced town then Coonoor is same as Ooty with paradise of fog-wrapped tea plantations.

Day 3

On third day morning, we woke up early morning and decided to visit Coonoor valley and ride Ooty-Coonoor toy train. We asked our driver to drop us at Ooty railway station and pick up at Coonoor railway station. Ooty-Coonoor toy train is delightful treat and once in a lifetime experience for any tourists as it’s winding up and down on the hills through many hair-raising curves and tunnels offering endless panoramic vista of Ketty valley. We didn’t ride beyond Coonoor but many say Coonoor-Mettupalayam train journey is even more breathtaking because of its endless foggy scenic vista of tea estates in eastern slopes of Nilgiries and more adventurous because of its rack-and-pinion railway system.

Once we came out from the Coonoor railway station, my first impression of Coonoor was like usual Indian rustic town bustling with busy bazaars. Once we drove out of the busy market area and climbed up through winding lanes to upper section of Coonoor town, we could differentiate it as a hill station. We enjoyed south Indian breakfast. Within minutes on Coonoor-Dolphin Nose road, there are endless tea plantations and tea estate gardens on gentle sloppy hills. Unlike Ooty, Coonoor’s mist wrapped valley is more breathtaking because of its ever-changing landscapes, cooler climate, and foggy weather. As we were driving to Dolphin’s Nose point, we stopped at numerous tea estates and tried different kind of tea and coffee. It was one of the best tea I ever had in my life in cool misty weather.

We continued on winding road through misty mountains and reached Dolphin's Nose Viewpoint situated just about 10km from Coonoor. From the overlook, you can get a splendid view of the valley, rock resembling Dolphin’s nose, and the mist wrapped hilly areas. On the clear day, one can also have a magnificent view of the St. Catherine falls across the valley on Kotagiri side. Our next stop was Lamb's Rock about 9km from Coonoor. This is small hike from the parking lot but two impressive overlooks offer stunning views of the Coimbatore plains including Mettupalayam town and the tea estates on the slopes.

Once we came back Coonoor town, we enjoyed our afternoon at Sim’s Park. This beautiful park was laid out in 1874 on the slopes of a deep ravine with winding footpaths, lily ponds, and thousands of different species of trees. Just like Ooty’s Botanical Garden, Sim’s Park is famous for its annual Fruit and Vegetables show in May. After Sim’s Park visit, we said good-bye to Coonoor and drove towards Kotagiri for famous Kodanad viewpoint. In Kotagiri, one can visit 250 ft tall St. Catherine falls, just 8 km away from Kotagiri on Kotagiri-Mettupalayam road. One thing you have to remember is that you can’t drive all the way up to falls. You have to hike last 3 km from the parking lot to the foot of the falls. We skipped visiting closer look of St. Catherine falls, drove past Kotagiri town, and enjoyed our evening at Kodanad viewpoint on northeastern edges of the Nilgiris about 16km from Kotagiri. Here one can get a panoramic view of the Rangaswamy Pillar, Rangaswamy Peak, and aerial view of small villages, blue hills, hairpin like Moyar River, Mysore plains down below from the watchtower. We spent more than an hour overlooking ever-changing landscapes at sunset from the Kodanand viewpoint and drove back to Ooty via Kotagiri-Ooty road.

Day 4

On fourth day morning, we drove out on Ooty-Coonoor road for panoramic view of Kitty Valley. There is a state sponsored overlook station where you can get guided view of Kitty village and surrounding vista of lush valley. One of the most famous sights are opening of toy train tunnel from mountains where Shahrukh khan atop train was singing Dil Se's Chaiyya Chaiyya and green-roofed white framed St Micheal Convent Church where Saajan's climax was filmed.

Once we came back to Ooty town, we head for RedHills Area on Ooty-Emerald-Avalanche road. Red Hills area is amazingly different than its other Nilgiri siblings like mist-wrapped Connoor, wilderness of Mudumalai, and glamour of over-exploited Ooty. Red Hills area is situated about 28 km from Ooty and located in the southwestern slopes of the Nilgiries, bordering the famed Silent Valley of Kerala and Mukurthi National Park. Red Hills area provides permanent natural beauty of vast grasslands, dense forests, endless ridges of mountains, and crisp blue lakes in an ecologically fragile zone of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve where no more development will ever happen. Red hills area known for heavy rainfall in every summer and it is home of eight crystal clear magnificently beautiful lakes – Emerald, Avalanche, Upper Bhavani, Parson’s Valley, Pothimund, Wesern Catchments 1,2,and 3 lakes. Many of these lakes are easily accessible from Ooty-Emerald-Avalanche road and many of them can’t be accessible without hiking or trekking. We drove up to Emerald on Ooty-Emerald-Avalanche road and enjoyed breathtaking panoramic views of calm blue waters of Emerald lakes from the road. Because of time crunch, we couldn’t drive further all the way to Avalanche but I will definitely make sure I allocate at least 2 or 3 days to explore Red Hills area in future Ooty’s itinerary. If you really want to explore Red Hills area then book a trekking or sightseeing tour and hike through the absolute wilderness along the breathtaking pathways that go all around the valleys.

Perhaps one of the cheapest ways to enjoy hidden gems of Nilgiris is riding buses from Ooty and Coonoor bus stations. Go to Ooty and Coonoor bus station and ride to Ooty-MuduMalai-Bandipur-Mysore, Ooty-Pykara-Mukurthi, Ooty-Ketty-Coonoor, Ooty-Kotagiri, Ooty-Emerald-Avalanche, and Coonoor-Mettupalayam buses and enjoy breathtaking beauty of mountains, lakes, and villages in surrounded countryside. One of the most common sights is an endless unique terraced village of natives all over the Nilgiri Mountains.