Ooty-Gudalur-Mudumalai Travelog

Journey through Ooty, Gudalur and Mudumalai Wildlife Reserve

We reached Coimbatore by the Sabari Express. From the railway station we took an autorickshaw to the Interstate Bus Depot. The fare was round 20 rupees. There are frequent buses from Coimbatore to Ooty. We boarded one of those State Road Transport
buses. It was a 4 hours journey and the bus fare was only 15 or 20 rupees.

Alternately you can hire a cab from Coimbatore to Ooty. The cab drivers were asking for 1200 for the cab - If you are many people, you can share the fare.

We reacherd Ooty and stayed at Hotel Darshan. Have given the contact details of the hotel in another blog post. Serach for it on the blog. A lovely place just on the edges of the Ooty lake. Very easy to go boating.



We stayed in Ooty for 2 days. Visited the Botanical Garden, the Thread Garden, went boating on the OOty lake, shopped for tea, essential oils and spices. The weather was pleasant with a slight drizzle.

We then hired an autorickshaw to take us from Ooty to Mudumali Wildlife Sanctuary. We planned to make Gudalur our base camp and visit Mudumalai.



The auto drive from Ooty to Mudumalai via Gudalur was the best part of the journey. The auto driver took us to less visited scenic spots. We trekked to a view point that looked dangerous and lonely...But it was fun...



We visited the 9th Mile, Pykara
waterfalls, Kamarajsagar Dam, Pine forests, Eucalyptus forests, Golf Course and a few scenic view points. The best being the Frog Hill view point.



At Gudalur we put up at Jungle Home. It is on the edge of the Mudumalai Wildlife sanctuary and was a nice place. They had goose, fowl, rabbits, pigeons, turkeys and some other exotic birds on the premises.

You can contact them at the following address to make your reservations

Jungle Home
12, Evergreen Street,
1st Main
Behind Shiva Temple
Udayanagar, Bangalore
Ph: +91 80 2851 6050
Mob: + 91 9448485160

The Jungle Home owner arranged for a night safari where we spotted - bison, elephants, spotted deer and sambhar deer.




The next morning we went for a jungle safari. There are bus saafris conducted by the Wildlife Department. Bus frequeny - every half an hour. The ride is for about 45 minutes or so... spotted some animals again. There is an Elephant camp in the jungle. We saw some elephants from a very close range there.



There are some jungle huts within the Jungle, for which prior booking has to be done with the Wildlife departnent of Mudumalai.




The Mudumalai Wildlife sanctuary is contigous with the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. Our return journey was from Mudumalai to Bangalore by bus - the route is through the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary and we spotted a lot of animals on this route too.

Tourist places in and around Ooty

Distance from Ooty to Ooty lake, Botanical Garden, Wendlock Downs, Kamarajsagar Dam, Pykara Waterfalls, Segur waterfalls, Avalanchi and Doddabetta peak. The Botanical Garden is especially a very lovely and enjoyable place. The waterfalls are also a very frequently visited attraction.

Tourist Places around Gudalur

Places to see in and around Gudalur. Gudalur is the nearest place to Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary

Naduvattam Mountain Range near Ooty

Places to see in the Naduvattam Mountain Range

Ooty Travel Map - Places in and around Ooty

Ooty Toursit Map



Other travel Maps listed on the blog

Valley of Flowers

Valley of Flowers Trek Route

Kanha Tiger Reserve Map

Ooty Travel Map

Botanical Garden in Ooty

The Botanical Garden in Ooty, spread over a sprawling 22 hectares had a very humble beginning. It began in the early 1840s as a small plot of land where vegetables were grown for the residents of Ooty. The then Governor of Madras Residency converted it into a public garden and the services of WG McIvor from the Royal Botanical Garden of Kew was enlisted. He was the one to plant the first mulberry tree in the garden.



Over the years a multitude of species of flowering herbs and shrubs from across the globe have been planted in the garden. The garden is one of the oldest heritage botanical gardens in the world. It lies on the lower slopes of the Doddabetta peak and has a terraced layout.



A lovely well maintained lawn greets you as you enter the park. The tall graceful trees seen here have been introduced from different countries. Right next to the lawn is the Italian garden consisting of crescent lily pond with colorful flower beds. You can access the conservatory and top garden from here.



Some of the attractions in the garden are the - 20 million year old fossilized tree and the monkey puzzle tree (so named because the monkeys cannot climb this tree).

The Monkey Tree


An annual flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held in the month of May at the Botanical garden.



A must visit while in Ooty.

Some quick facts
Garden started in - 1848 AD
Average Annual Rainfall - 140cm
Maximum Temperature - 28 deg cel
Minimum Temperature - 0 deg cel
Altitude - 2250 meters
Area of the garden - 22 hectares

Hotel Darshan, Ooty

Hotel Darshan
(Lodging and Boarding - Veg)

- Overlooking the OOTY lake
- Just 1 km from the railway station and bus stand
- Nearest airport at Coimbatore - 90 kms

Types of Rooms

- Prince Honeymoon Suite - Carpeted
- Super Deluxe Rooms - Carpeted
- Deluxe Suites - Carpeted
- Deluxe Economy Rooms
- Group Accomodation

Facilities

- Running Hot and Cold Water
- Room Service
- Room telephone
- Colour TV with Cable Connection
- Laundry
- Doctor on call
- Travel Counter
- Car Parking

Location

Near Ooty lake boat house
OOTY
Niligiris - 643001

Phone: 0423 - 2443378, 2443807, 2452288, 3299696

In Calicut you can contact - 0495 - 2766007

Nilgiri Products (Shopping) in Ooty

Sagar Super Market - Nilgiri Products in Ooty

Deal in the following Niligiri Products

1. Eucalyptus Oil - For cold, cough and headache
2. Lemon Grass Oil - for Gastritis
3. Winter Green oil - For joint pains
4. Camphor Oil - For chest pain and asthma
5. Clove Oil - For asthma
6. Citridora Oil - For hair care
7. Almond Oil - for skin care
8. Pure Sandalwood Oil
9. Nilgiri Attar
10. Saffron
11. Mountain Mist Honey
12. Nilgiri Tea
13. Nilgiri Coffee
14. Nilgiri Dry fruits and Spices
15. Spice Oils
16. Home made chocolates

Drop them a letter regardinf your requirements and they will execute the order through VPP.

Show Rooms in Ooty

1. Opp Botanical Garden Car Park
2. Charring Cross Complex, Garden Road
3. Opp Lake Park, Lake Road

Contact Number - 0423-2440876
0423-2447762

Thread Garden in Ooty

Thread Garden - An Innovative Creation

This unique and innovative creation is a result of varied and sustained scientific and artistic observations and experiments, in developing natural looking plants and flowers making use of self developed techniques under the "Hand-wound Embroidery system" without needles or machinaries with specially selected and developed materials.

All parts of a plant such as flower petals, leaves and stems are fully wound with thread using a shaped canvas bases inside for flowers and leaves and steel and copper wires for stems keeping a machine made perfection avoiding any overlaping or knots or any gap between the windings.

The Thread Garden is located opposite the Ooty Boat House just adjacent to Hotel Darshan.
The entry fee as on 12th August 08 was Rs 10 per person.
Camera Charges - Rs 15


Address:

THREAD GARDEN
North Lake road,
Opp Boat house
OOTY
TAMILNADU
INDIA

Tel : Office : 0423 - 2445145
Res : 0484 - 2306641
Mobile : 9447215111

Wax World Museum & Art Gallery, Ooty

Wax World Museum & Art Gallery is a collection of life-size look-alike wax statues that speak of Indian history, heritage and culture.

Wax World – Ooty
Coonoor Road
Ooty - India

Tel: +91-9790 343296
91 - 94866 32233

Email: info@waxworld.in