Destination Ooty

-
The best part about traveling to Ooty is that the drive through Bandipur, Mudumalai and Masinagudi is worth every minute spent on the road. Time and again i have heard that the drive through these jungles lead to more sightings than taking a safari through the interiors. And we were not disappointed. Like always the spotted deer gave us company all along Bandipur. Mudumalai proved to be even better with our friends elephants, peafowl, langurs, wild boars among other animals dropping in along the highway and greeting us with an smile. I am so tempted to get preachy on how people don't respect the distance factor but let's leave it for another day.



As long as we are conversing about roads, it was enlightening to realize that the flat 2d google map is no match for the roadways on the hills. What looks like a straight road will have its curves and leave you wondering where to take the next turn. Was is it just me or has anyone experienced the same.

The queen of hills is certainly not a road that is less travelled. It is like all roads lead to the blue mountain. Now someone great said if you come across a fork in the road, take it. And so i did. The fork led me to the hidden treasures of the mountain. Who said the road to success, wait treasures was easy. All it meant was a drive through scenic hills as long as one could overlook the concrete jungle topping the green carpet . A glimpse of emerald and avalanche lake will make you want to be on this road all your life. Did i overdo the road echo? Ok let me get off the road and get back to the hidden trial to the treasure.



The secret treasure is Upper Bhavani Lake and i hope it remains the way it is. The department for once has been smart and restricts the number of people visiting the lake. Its pristine waters and the rolling green hills holding it was breath taking. Is this India? I could not believe it! See for yourself.





















After the trip to upper bhavani, the rest of the stopovers seemed unimpressive. But the toy train ride, pykara lake , the drive through the tall Niligiri trees enveloped in fog did not disappoint as much.




The place we crashed for three nights was Tulip elk hill. The choice was not ours but driven by some vouchers we had. Nothing much can be said about the place except that it was a little high on the hills and had the view of the town and the race track.

Next time i visit these parts, i will choose a place away from the town so that it doesn't feel that one is part of the concrete jungle up on the hills.

Date : November 2013
Place : Ooty, Tamil Nadu

Tip :  Stay as far as possible  from the town.
First : Pristine waters in India without a single man made structure in sight!
The travel connection :  Rawness in its totality!


Location: Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Destination Great Rift Valley

-
Image
The one Sunday we had during the visit did not allow us to visit Masai Mara but the trip to Lake Nakuru more than made up for it. I have always associated Africa with a lone tree standing majestically in never ending expanse of openness. My excitement on the possibility of seeing such a tree was limitless.We started the drive from Nairobi early morning and slowly started leaving the buildings behind. The buildings were slowly and steadily replaced with species of trees I was seeing for the first time. Maybe it was that lonesome tree in my dreams, but the changing landscape was something I had never experience before. Yes! I was in Africa! We were told by our driver cum guide that we had to drive through the Great Rift Valley to reach Lake Nakuru National park. I was clueless what it was till the plains showed itself through Acacia trees. The breath taking expanse of nothingness is broken only by the escarpments. We were told it contains multitude lakes, active and dormant  vol
Read more

Destination Aihole

-
Image
The cradle of Hindu temple architecture, Aihole or Aryapura was the destination to learn and experiment on the temple architecture. Under the patronage of early Chalukyan kings, the Chalukyan style of temple architecture was refined here between  the 5th and 8th century.  The preview of Aihole given to us by the guide at Pattadakal was enough to excite me about visiting the ancient school of architecture, You wonder if you have arrived at Aihole as the narrow lanes leads you into the chaos of a village life but the complex of ancient structures in various states of disintegration  make you think you have time traveled. The proximity of the timeworn stone monuments and the present day village dwellings raised a lot of questions. The encroachment of these temples was even more intriguing. Be it the cattle housed in these structures, smoke bellowing out or the colorful clothes drying on a line between intricate carved column, all of it just amazed me. When we arrived at one of the b
Read more

Destination Punakha Dzong

-
Image
If I had to choose my favorite structure, It would be the bridges without any hesitation. Bhutan renewed my fascination for bridges with their traditional cantilever bridge called the Bazam. Tintin's knowledge about architecture was limited. My questions on the location of  the toilets, kitchens inside the Dzong  or how the water supply/ drainage worked  and other queries must have driven him mad or made him think that the mountain air had made me go bonkers. So my hopes of understanding the bridge through Tintin was futile. Punakha Dzong is undoubtedly one of the most elegant structures in Bhutan.  To get to the main building , one has to cross Mo chhu through one of the most beautiful bridges I have come across so far. Most buildings in Bhutan are a replica of their ancient self. Due to natural calamities or fire, almost all the prominent sites in Bhutan have been rebuilt in the recent years. The Punakha bridge is no different. You can read more about it here. http:/
Read more