A Guide to Ooty

Recently we had a visit to Karnatka which extend from Banglore,Mysore,ooty to Coonoor in Tamilnadu.
Durai was our Guide cum chauffeur who was all along during the six days visit.
we started our journey from the capital city Delhi by 1330 AI flight.But the decision of departure during day time was not good as we arrived there by 1630hrs.One has to take care the travel distance of 60 Kms from New Airport to the city centre Majestic.It was a heavy rain during 1700hrs at Banglore and traffic came to a total halt during this period since 3 hrs.we lost a day here due late arrival and water logging in the city.
On arrival at majestic we stayed in a budget hotel Shree Trupti Hotel,Gandhinagar.It is an adjacent lane of Majestic.One can enjoy lot of restaurants around this with all the taste of Mughlai to Chinese.

we hire a taxi Tata Indica with a Driver (Sh Durai)who later on proved to be a very good guide during our complete tour.Early in the morning,we planed to visit Mysore.
At Mysore,The places to visit are
Tipu Sultan Museum,
Shree Rangnath Swamy temple,
Chamunda Hills,
Vrindawan Garden,
Mysore Palace,
Philomena church and of course the city of Mysore itself.

Parking of cars are not a problem at all the tourist places with a nominal charges of Rs.10/=each and everywhere we have to pay for Still Digital camera charges of Rs.10/=except one or two places where one has to pay Rs.20/=

Mysore palace is a place to must see where one has to pay entry fee of Rs.20/=for adult and child up to age 10 years is free.Timing is 1000hrs to 1800hrs.

Vrindawan garden is place where one should visit only after 1700hrs so that one can enjoy the garden and thereafter musical show which starts at 1900hrs to 2100hrs.Here one has to pay Rs.50/= for the digital camera.Video Camera are charged @Rs.100/=
This takes around 2 to 2 and half hours for the trip.

Philomena Church is one of architect marvel.This is a church i saw where live confession of the devotees.One can visit this any time.this is the only place where you do not have to pay an entry fee.

It is advisable to get your booking first for the hotels in Mysore and avoid visiting Mysore and Ooty on saturday & sunday.Hotel rooms are costly and one can find a weekend local rush on these places.

Ooty is approximately 180 km away from Mysore and it takes around 6Hrs by car to pass through Hilly terrain and the forest of Mudumalai.

Bandipur is a place on the way to Mudumalai forest while going for Ooty.One can enjoy Safari at Bandipur and enjoy the sight of wildlife.

Gudlur is a place(49 km before Ooty) famous for Nilgiri tea and many herbal plants in the area.One can see a wide spread beautiful tea garden in the area.People here are Keralite though it is in tamilnadu.Kerala border is just around 20kms away from here.

Pykara falls(22 Km before Ooty)It was a fall but one can see it in full flow only in rainy season.Here also one has to pay Rs.2/each as entry fee.One has to walk down to 2km from the place of parking.Honestly,it is not worth to waste your time.

Shooting point just 11km before Ooty is worth for photography.One can halt its driving for an hour and shoot for your long cherish memory.

Ooty
It is a small busy town on the hills.There are many places worth visiting such as-
Botanical garden,
Rose garden,
Boat house,
One must taste and carry home made chocolate here.

Dodabetta

This is a place 15 km away from the Ooty.This is a highest peak as being told to us on this Nilgiri.

Coonoor

This is again a smaller town on the hills 18km away from the Ooty.I found this place is much more peaceful and of scenic view than Ooty.
Places to visit are
SIMS Park,
Lambs view,
Sleeping lady view,
Dolphin nose and
View point.
View point is a place from where one can shoot the virtual images of hills view which look like above stated view.