Ooty...just name of the place, and I begin feeling the cold wind chilling me to the bone...I smell that healing aroma of the Eucalyptus...
I have been to this place just thrice, but every time, what I enjoyed most was the journey to Ooty. Coincidentally, all the three times I went up from Bangalore to ooty via Mysore. The city of Ooty was quite a disappointment for me atleast! But then, every city where a hill-station exists is quite pathetic...Shillong...Mt. Abu...Darjeeling...to name a few! However, the drive to Ooty was/is something that pales in comparison to the filth and the disorganization of the city.
The tall Eucalyptus trees that grow on either side of the road are quite impressive to look at. These trees paint an awesome picture in the daytime when their dense foliage lets very little of the sun rays to reach the floor. At nights, these same trees seem to stretch their outstretched arms to the dark skies...as though praying...!
The hills covered with tea plantations always left me with mixed feelings...joy, because the evenness of the trees made the slopes look majestic and serene; and sorrow, because on other slopes trees of different kinds abound with their colourful leaves adding life to the forest around it.
If you are planning on visiting Ooty for the first time, I would suggest you take a package tour. That way, you get to see all the places, and you get to decide what you like and what you dont. So that the next time around, you can take a taxi, bus, train, or some other means of getting there, and then plan on where to go and how long to stay there!
Again, as I always say, as in all hill stations, walk around once you get there. That way you will see a lot more!!