Wanderlust Tales : Road Trip to Ooty, Tamil Nadu

OOTY

Ooty, a popular hill station finds itself in the heart of Nilgiri hills and is deemed as the queen of hill stations. 👌

Every bit of the location is engulfed in beauty and one can only imagine why some classic movies have been shot in the exotic locations of Ooty. To name a few - films like Roja, Guru, Sadma ,Dil se were shot here.

It should be on your must-visit bucket list - one of the most exquisite locations. 💚

Ooty a land of hills, lakes, falls, wildlife sanctuaries - a land filled with panoramic views. WOW! Just embrace the beauty in the camera of your eyes. 👀

The endless beauty - the cloudy misty atmosphere, breezy weather, the lusty green valley - words would fail to describe the beauty of this place. 😊

Your date with nature. 💖

PLACES TO SEE:

• Pykara Lake
• Pykara river
• Pykara falls
• Tea plantation
• Needlepoint
• Coonoor
• Kamaraj Dam
• Pine trees of Pykara
• Madumalai wildlife sanctuary
• Bandipur tiger reserve
• Shooting point

HOW TO GET HERE:

Oooty is located at about a distance of 300kms from Bangalore.

There are two routes that you can take - one via Gudalur and the other is via Masinagudi.

While leaving from Bangalore we took off via Masinagudi. This road is a tricky one - it has around 36 hairpin bends. Only if you are an experienced driver and your car is in good condition, go via this road.

The 36 hairpin bends that you would need to cross. Be wary! 😓

While returning we took the road via Gudalur - which is an easier road to drive on.

Take any routes but make sure that your car is well serviced, and please pay special check on the brakes. Do make sure to take breaks so as to not heat the engines and the brake system.

Drive extra carefully, because the beauty around is super scenic, but one moment off the wheels and God save you. So be extra CAUTIOUS!!

"Nazar hati, durghatna ghati!"

The best part of driving to Ooty is that you actually, like actually - you cross the state borders. You literally step into the land of Tamil Naidu - where you will see big hoardings of the state label. Strange how just a board defines territories.

There are two wildlife sanctuaries that you would also cross - one is Bandipur which is in Karnataka, and the other one in Madumalai wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Naidu.

The drive through the sanctuaries is serene.  You can spot few animals here and there. And the trees are in plentiful. Although it is said, in the night you can sight tigers as well.

Try not to step out of your car for catching better glimpses. The roads are quite lonely and it is best not to try to explore the unexplored. 😷

One thing you must note - you must not drive through Bandipur post 20:00.
Basically, after dawn, they say it is not so safe to drive through. Anyway, they do not even allow cars to go through after this time. You can also spend the night at Bandipur, they have resorts and other special arrangements to spend the night there.

Bandipur tiger reserve:

We entered into the land of Tamil Nadu.

Madhumalai tiger reserve:

Entering Ooty:

Cheers to life!!

~Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

P.S.All the above photos have been clicked by me.