Pykhara Falls - Ooty

One of the many "must-see" sights is the Pykhara Falls. Approximately 28 km from Ooty, these beautiful falls are worth a visit.

It took us about 3 hours for a round trip to this place from Ooty. Everything we found on the way there was awesome and breathtaking. The views are magnificent. There is a shooting meadow on the way to the falls. It was there the film songs were shot most of the time. There is nothing up the hill there except for the grass and again, the views. I hyperventilated on my way up the hill. All in all an amazing experience which I'm sure if I had not done then, I would never have been able to do it later.

We found this beautiful golf course on our way to the falls. It was vast and never ending. We wondered how anyone could put the ball in the hole without letting it fall among the huge trees in the middle of the course. I'm sure it is one of the toughest courses to play on.

Once we reached the place, we had to walk another 2-3 km to reach the falls. Luckily it was not up hill. There were many steps to climb down though and I cursed myself on my way back up to have shown so much enthu to get down all the steps to take that perfect picture of the falls. I'm not sure still if I got that shot. But I'm sure I couldn't have gone any further down, not that I couldn't but there weren't any steps any more.

The falls weren't as huge as we expected but at the same time we were not disappointed at what we saw. It was worth everything getting down there and seeing those falls.

There was one disppointment though, that we couldn't go the Pykhara boat house which is told to be very beautiful. We planned to go there again in our next trip. When we do, I shall post about it too. In case you go there before I do, please do share the pictures with me.

I hope you liked the pictures and do visit the falls, without fail, when in Ooty.

Have a great week ahead.

R

St. Stephen's Church - Ooty

I apologise for keeping you people waiting. I have started working and most of my time goes into my work. I hardly find time to write posts, try out new recipes as I used to before and I do not find time at all to chat with T. That is very bad, considering we spent atleast 2 hours a day in the past 6 months using our gtalk to chat.

This beautiful 170 year old church stands tall on the Church Hill Road. It was very near to the place we stayed. Having passed by the church almost everyday, we didn't realise this was what we were looking for until we were told by the manager in the hotel, as this was on the last day's list of places to be visited. It was so peaceful inside.

The one thing you notice about this church is that it has been built in a British fashion. No wonder, as this was built by the then Britishers ruling this part of Tamil Nadu. Did you guys know that Ooty was the favourite holiday destination for them when they were ruling this part of the world?

The huge wooden beams in the church were made from the wood brought from the palace of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatanam. The woods was carried by elephants all the way from Srirangapatanam to Ooty. It was one of the many reasons we went to see the church. The people there are so proud of the church for its heritage. I some how found it to be more interesting than the St. Phelomena's Church in Mysore.

Do visit this church when in Ooty. Have a great week ahead.

R

Ooty'Beauties - The Centenary Rose Garden

The rose garden in Ooty is a feast to your eyes. Different types of roses with their weird names, lined up just for you. I have a suggestion for the people taking care of the garden. If only they could plant roses of same variety at one place and in groups, that would give an amazing look to the garden. We spent 2 hours in the garden clicking every kind of a rose. We just couldn't leave the place.

Heritage ( Botanical ) Garden - Ooty

Heritage garden was the first place we visited in Ooty. You might think you have seen many like this before but it has it's own natural touch. The huge Eucalyptus trees with their heavy trunks , the fossil tree trunk, the Italian garden are some of the things you wouldn't find everywhere. The flora and fauna there are exquisite and it's worth every penny you pay to visit Ooty.

The garden is part of the bio-reserve. Did you guys know that Nilgiris is a bio-reserve. Now I didn't know this until I went there. What a dumb idiot I am. You might not take more than an hour in the garden if you are not too much into gardening and related stuff.

Beware of the monkeys in the garden. We also bought some oils and spices in the garden which was being sold in a van. We were told by the lady in the garden that it was a Govt. van. Also the oils you find outside the garden might be a little costly and not as pure as the ones you find inside the garden.

On our way to the garden, there was a Tibetan market from where we bought sweaters, woollen gloves and half caps. There is a famous shop in Ooty named Mohan's which would be your one stop shop for everything including antiques but the Tibetan market is a better bet for warm clothing. These Tibetan people have been there since 1930 as told by the lady from whom we bought the warm clothes.

Coming to the garden, I felt it wasn't being treated the way it should have been at some places, like the pond which had lotus leaves and some plastic bottles thrown in. Did you guys know that the Nilgiris is a plastic free place? I didn't know that too until I got there. Anyways, when I saw the pond, my heart was broken.

This fossil tree trunk seen in the above picture is 20 million years old and it was carried by rivers and deposited in the rocks and the outer woody covering was replaced with silica to preserve the tree trunk. Isn't it interesting? The wide varieties of trees and flowers found here are itself very interesting that is what makes the garden a worthy visit.

All in all a must visit place for all the nature lovers.

Till the next post, take care and happy blogging !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R

Snooty Ooty

Hello Everyone, I have been to Ooty and Mysore the past week along with my husband and we had an amazing holiday. I just can't wait to share all my experiences and the places I visited in and around the Nilgiris.

So here it comes. We took a trian to Coimbatore and then took a bus to Ooty. Coimbatore is the nearest railway station to Ooty which connects to all the main cities. It was almost a day's journey. You can get a bus easily from the main bus stand in Coimbatore to Ooty. To get to the local bus stand, we took a local bus from the railway station.

You can take a train from Coimbatore which connects to Mettupalayam and from there you can take the toy trian to Ooty but the train from Coimbatore leaves at 7:20 in the morning and we reached way too late to catch the train on time. Not to get disappointed. You can always take the toy train ride from Ooty but make sure to reserve in advance.

The bus journey from Coimbatore was just amazing. This was my first trip to any hill station and I was very excited and the bus journey just added on to my excitement. The bus passes through Mettupalayam, Coonoor, Wellington and then reaches Ooty. It would take 3 hours to get to Ooty from Coimbatore. The ghat section has breathtaking views. A thoroughly enjoyable ride if you are not scared of heights as I am.

I'll leave you guys with these pictures for now till my next post. Keep watching this space for more on Ooty and Mysore. Trust me you are going to find a lotta stuff you didn't know.

Till the next post keep smiling!!!!!!!!!!!!

R