Exploring Ooty

Best place for me to go in this summer was Ooty. The maximum temperature was 19C there. Me & a friend started in two bikes on Thursday morning by 7PM and reached Ooty by around 1.30PM. We took the Kanapura road instead of the busy (& boring) Mysoore road. Reached Gudalpet by noon and it was very hot by then. From there we crossed Bandipur forest, which is always one my favorite place to drive. This is the fifth time I am going through this forest. Thrice in car and twice in Bike. Twice to Ooty and thrice to Wayanad. Read about them here:

1. Wayanad in 2011
2. Ooty in 2012
3. Wayanad in 2014
4. Wayanad again in 2014

Bandipur Forest

To Ooty there are two routes from Gudalpetu, one is the famous 36 hair-pin road and the other one is via Gudalur. We went uphill to Ooty via the 36 hair pin road and came back via Gudalur. Its really a pleasurable ride if you have a powerful bike and can really bend it to negotiate the hair pin corners.

Masinagudi Ooty road

Evening we went to Doddabetta. The usual mistake people going to Ooty make is they roam around within Ooty town - with the boating or the garden. Actually you have go outside town to places like Coonnor, Kotagiri etc. to discover wonderful places. Doddabetta is on Kotagiri road, 8KM from Ooty town and it is the highest peak in South India. You have to walk about 3km to reach the view point but there are some local bikes also available to carry you if you are lazy to walk. From the view point we can see Coimbatore town, Ooty town etc.

way to doddapetta

View from Doddapetta

Another must visit place is the Tea facorty which is also on the Doddabetta road. Here you will get to taste fresh chocolate and five different varieties of tea.

View from Ooty Tea factory

Next day, Friday morning we drove towards Kotagiri and then further to Kodanadu. On the way we saw the famous Kodanadu Estate which belong to Tamil Nadu CM. We were fortunate enough  (don't ask me how) to go inside and have a glimpse of the beautiful estate and bungalows. From there we proceeded till the road ends. The view from there was awesome. Click here for the Google map location. You could see a river in the map, same river can be seen in the picture below. Next to the river is the famous Sathyamangalam forest and then Karnataka border. This is where the notorious Veerappan was living or rather ruling. As you can see in the map there are no roads, its just the river and forest.

Kotagiri and Kodanad

View to Sathyamangalam & the river

Same day evening we went to Emerald Lake and Avalanche Lake. Unfortunately Avalanche lake closes by 3.30 PM and we were late. Emerald lake is also a must visit and a great place for camping with a tent. It was not very crowded and you could drive your car/bike close to the lake. This is a common film shooting location so chances are there you must have seen this place in many films.

Emerald Lake

On Ooty Emerald lake road

Saturday morning we started back from Ooty via Gudalur.  The road was good & traffic was less. On the way back we made occasional stops at the Barren hills and Pykara waterfalls etc. Reached back in Bangalore by evening 5pm only.

Barren hills on Ooty Mysore road

Pykara Lake & Gudalur Mysore road

Click here for the complete route map.

Wayanad Bike Trip

Finally at this peek of summer I did my longest bike trip - to Wayand from Bangalore, about 300+ KMs. There was a plan for a trip in car with my friends which got cancelled at the last minute so I thought why not go alone in Bike. This is my second visit, read about the first visit here. Friday around 10.30 I started from Bangalore, took occational stops and reached wayand by 6 in the evening. Stayed at my friend's place and returned on Sunday. The solo drive through Muthanga wildelife sanctuary in Bullet was unforgettable. The roads were excellent - clean and empty with frequent curves which made the bike ride really joyful. Bangalore-Mysoore highway ride was tiring as it was very hot.

Muthanga is known to people from Kerala more for the police firing incident happened in 2003. I took a stop for a cup of tea at Muthanga after crossing the Kerala border and asked the him about the incident. He told me it was the result of a political drama where one party encouraged the Adivasis to occupy reserved forest land and then the government had to forcefully remove them. Anyway that was a real bad chapter in the history of Muthanga.

Not much photos this time, everywhere it was dry and hot. The forest was better though. I was little scared to stop inside the forest, I saw many deers and a bear too. Hera are few photos.

Driving through Muthanga Forest, view from cockpit

Pulpally Forest

Muthanga Forest

Wayand Cricket Stadium

Mysoore, Ooty & Connor

Had a wonderful drive to Ooty via Mysoore during the Diwali long weekend, Last Diwali it was Mumbai trip. From ooty we drove to "Connoor" 15km away from Ooty & stayed there. Connoor is also a hilly area similar to ooty but neater and less crowded compared to Ooty.

Got so many good photos, here are few.

St. Philomena's Church & Famous Tipu's Palace in Mysoore

On the way to Ooty early morning from Mysoore. We went via the wonderful Bandipur forest, but didn't stop anywhere to take photos.

The famous 36 Hair pins road to reach Ooty. Can use only 1st or 2nd gear for climbing down, it was that steep.

Botanical Garden,Ooty                      Identically constructed houses in Ooty

 

Towards Lamb's rock, Connoor. This is near thick forest area which happened to be a famous film shooting location also.

Sim's park Connor              

Near Dolphin Nose, Connoor