Ooty - a romantic getaway . Review on Ooty

Ooty

Ooty, known for its pleasant climate and beautiful landscape, is a popular destination for honeymooners.  This beautiful place was described by PanditJawaharLal Nehru as the “Queen of Hill Stations" and truly it deserves this name.

‘Ooty’(the shortened form of Ootacamund) is the capital of the Nilgiris district. The name ‘Nilgiris’ means "Blue Mountains” and this name comes from the eucalyptus trees growing here that give the mountains a blue tint. ”. This city welcomes you with the aroma of eucalyptus filled in the air.

Ooty is situated at an altitude of 2, 240 meters above sea level. As you reach Ooty, you will feel the climate change and your lungs will feel the fresh air. This was a popular summer retreat of British during the colonial days.

Though this place is commercialized now, you can still feel the chilled climate in this hill station and also enjoy the scenery of tea plantations spread across many acres.

Other attractions of the city are the Summer Flower Festival held at the Botanical Garden and Tea and Tourism festival.  Make sure to add this to your itenarary when you visit.

Places to visit

Doddabetta Peak:

As already mentioned, Ooty is surrounded by thick Nilgiri forest. To get a better picture of this, you need to go to the highest mountain peak of nilgiri – ‘Dodabetta’(meaning: Big mountain). This is at an altitude of 8652 feet. When you reach this place, you will be mesmerized by the view of the Nilgiri hills. It will be great if you happen to be here during sunrise or sunset.

Botanical gardens:

Ooty Botanical Garden was built in 1847 Coimbatore district collector, John Sullivan. This beautiful and well maintained garden has different species of flowers to offer you. You need a lot of energy to go around this 50 acres garden or else you can just relax on the vast green lawn.

We were luck to visit the garden just after the Summer Festivals held in May. We could see a variety of flowers displayed and it was a visual treat to us.

Lake:

The song form Maine Pyar Kiya ‘‘Dil diwana. bin sajna’’ made the artificial ‘Ooty lake’ as the honeymooners favorite spot. Experience this romantic boat ride in amidst cool breezes and a beautiful landscape.

Connor

If you think Ooty is beautiful, then you will have to visit Conoor to experience more. Conoor is about 19 kms from Ooty and this is a place to visit because of its picture perfect scenery.

The best way to enjoy the beauty of the beautiful valley is to travel through the toy train from Ooty to Conoor. You will be spell bound by the view that unfolds during this journey. But remember to book your ticket in advance if you want to avoid standing in a long queue.

Dolphin’s nose

This is a peak that resembles a Dolphins nose, and is another view point in ooty. Thick fog blocked the view for us, so just came back seeing the thick fog covered all over the place.

SIMS Park:

Another park with lovely landscape. A walk around this park holding your partners hand will make this trip a memorable one.

Tea Factory:

Visiting High Field tea factory will give you gyaan of how the green tea leaves turn into the dark brown tea powder. The Step-by-step explanation is worth listening.

Click a snap of yours in the vast spread tea plantation for your memory of ooty.

Food

South Indian food:

Hungry? Then go for the authentic south Indian food. Try out the tasty South Indian thali at the famous Saravanas. Idli and dosas with tasty samabar and chutney are also available here for you to taste. Also heard a lot about Hotel Nahar’s, you can try out this too.

Tea and coffee:

Ooty is surrounded by tea plantation. For tea lovers you have a variety of flavors like lemon, masala, clove, cinnamon, classic leaf etc. Try out the chocolate and masala tea, they are awesome.(at high field tea estate).

Chocolates:

Another attraction of ooty is the home made chocolates.  You will love the taste…yummie…

You get these yummy chocolates in different flavors like Fruit n nut, rum n raisin, cashew. You can buy these from Temptation. If you visit the government tea factory, you have another chocolate store there which is a total scam. The packets don’t contain the chocolates that you asked for!

Oil:

Nilgiri hills is home for many herbal and medicinal trees.

·         eucalyptus oil – for cold

·         camphor oil – for pain relief

You can shop for these at horticultural shops and government vending points at Botanical gardens.

Woolen clothes:

Ooty is a place to visit in all the seasons, but it can get chilly for people not used to the cold weather. If you have not got any warm clothing, no need to worry. You can buy woolen clothing at an affordable price.

You can buy woolen caps and scarves at the lakeside. Its fixed price so no point bargaining.

Others:

·         Ooty apples

·         Carrots

·         Strawberries

Hill Country resort:

Staying at this resort made our Ooty trip a special one. I was here to celebrate my birthday with my hubby and had a wonderful time that will be remembered for ever.

Hill Country resort, situated at a beautiful location will give you a lovely view of the Ketty valley from your cottage window. I spent most of the time just looking out of my room window as I couldn’t get enough of this beautiful view.

Resort manager and restaurant guys were very helpful and took a lot of effort to arrange for a romantic candle light dinner and cake for my birthday.

Don’t forget to taste their Mushroom masala. It’s just awesome.