Destination Ooty

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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

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