Day One:
We started from Bangalore in our car on 10th April at 11 O clocks by own car. We took nice road and reached to Mysore road through nice road. It was very beautiful drive on nice road. On Mysore road we took our first stop at Kamat hotel and has very delicious south Indian food, after that we did not stop at Mysore and took bypass route to Ooty. The road is single lane road with lots of speed breakers, so after driving on that road we finally took our second stop at Café coffee day near Gundalpet.
After spending 15-20 minutes at the Café Coffee day, we started again and after driving few kilometers we entered Bandipur forest road. The road is very scenic and you may find beautiful sight of animals and birds like deer, elephants, peacocks etc. The road was in good condition even within the jungle and we really enjoyed that scenic road.
After Bandipur we reached Tamilnadu border and again there was jungle road but this time name was Madhumalai jungle road. After crossing Madhumalai forest road, we got a junction where one side goes to Ooty through Masingudi and other side also goes to Ooty via Gudlur. Both the roads are good, through Masinagudi is shorter route ( 35 KM) but has very steep 36 hairpins and other road through Gudlur is less steep but it is longer route ( around 65 KM). We took shorter route and driving through hairpins was little scary, I was driving mostly in first and second gear but it was fun to have that experience.
We reached Ooty around 6.30PM and found this hotel near main road itself and checked in to it. https://tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Review-g297679-d4005487-Reviews-Hotel_Sunpark_Grand-Ootacamund_Tamil_Nadu.html Hotel was very good and staff was very courteous. Ooty was very cold at evenings and kids were feeling cold, so after checking in we took out warm cloths and decided to go for dinner and shopping to nearby shops. After taking dinner we came back to hotel at around 9.30 PM and that is how we ended first day of our Ooty tour.
Day Two: Next day morning we started at 9.00 AM from hotel, went to Saravana Ooty south Indian hotel, had good breakfast and then headed to Dodabetta (highest mountain place of South India). The road to dodabetta is not very good but we kept going to the hilltop and after reaching there, we felt it was worth driving to those roads as view from the top was amazing, there were so many view points and we took nice photos from all those views.
We also enjoyed ice cream in that cold weather. Our next stop was Tea factory, We saw how tea was made in the factory and last we bought tea from that tea factory After tea factory we went to Botanical garden, a huge 22 acres garden is also a heaven for bird watchers where a variety of birds, both seasonal and year-round residents, can be sighted. After taking lots of photographs in the garden we went for lunch and after lunch we headed to Ooty lake for boating and other fun. Ooty lake was crowded and fun place, you can hire paddle boat, row boat or motor boat. We were tired to we hired row boat. We remembered “Maine pyar kiya” film shooting song “Dil Diwana” that was took place here.
We also enjoyed toy train ride around the lake. Last we drove to rose garden which was again very beautiful place to visit for taking pictures of variety of roses, large landscapes and scenic beauty. Around 6.45 PM we reached hotel and ordered dinner at hotel itself and that is how we ended day two of our Ooty tour.
Day Three
Morning we started again at 9 AM to same sarvana hotel for breakfast and after taking breakfast we drove to Coonoor, The serene hill station of Coonoor lies in the arms of the Nilgiri Hills. This picturesque retreat is covered by grassy meadows, tea bushes, a profusion of sunflowers, marigolds and rhododendrons, all growing wild. Coonoor is essentially a small tea garden town where the weather remains pleasantly cool throughout the year.
The main attraction was being in the tea garden and driving through road that goes from multiple tea gardens. Our guide told us that file “Saajan” shooting happened here and so many other films also has same location, It was very pleasant, very refreshing and wonderful drive to Dolphin Nose view point. One can also see different shapes in the rock, Falls, beautiful Nilgiri hills etc. After coming back from that scenic drive we had lunch in Quality inn in Coonoor itself and then spent 2 hrs at Sims park. Kids enjoyed in that park and did paddle boating in that park. We finished the day again at 6 O clock and went for dinner at Nagar hotel and had very good dinner.
Day Four
We checked out room hotel and after having breakfast we took the Gudlur route to reach Mysore. There were so many scenic points along with the road and we stopped at multiple places, took pictures of beautiful lake, Pine trees, Hilltop etc. After that we started driving back to Mysore at 12 PM and in between we took breaks at Gudlur and Mysore, Kamat hotel and reached home by 9 PM.
Travel Tips:
If you are driving then it’s about 300KM, and be warned that route through Bandipur is closed at night and they let vehicles only after 6AM. There is however another route which is shorter but have more hairpin bends. Be careful with Speed breakers you may around 100 speed breakers All attraction in Ooty closes by 6 PM, So plan accordingly Food was ok at Ooty and while coming back there were no good food joints till we reached Mysore.