The queen of nilgiris Ooty has a plenty to offer to honeymooners,couple in love or anyone as such. This place in Tamilnadu is among one of the most popular honeymoon destination in India. Lofty mountains, dense forest. sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea estates greet the honeymooners very affectionately. The whether is extremely pleasant throughout the year and an astonishing change of vegetation can easily be noticed as you move ahead from Kallar to Coonoor. Not just the nature and peace honeymooners can rediscover each other at this place. The tranquility and greenery leave an everlasting impressions on honeymooners. In Spite of being a popular tourist destination Ooty is never over crowded with people. You can always find a quiet corner for you in the city. The appeal of Ooty is very retro,very vintage. The acquisition of Ooty during raj Era is still very visible and the buildings,places,art,culture and everything else is very influenced with British Era. Bhawana and Abhishek had their honeymoon in Ooty and she still can’t get over the experience that this place has to offer

She says” a trip to this Nature’s garden has everything mesmerizing.. starting from saga of human possibilities in form of Nilgiri Mountain Railways and vast swathe of tea gardens, to mesmerizing sites where human imaginations take a flight like pine forest pykara lake 9th mile avalanche lake, lamb’s rock, hill towns of connor-wellington-lovedale-many more. The views are breathtaking, my personal favorite being Suicide Point..which reminds me of very famous poem recited by AB Bachchan in movie Anand.. “Maut..tu ek kavita hai! “

Top things to do

The Toy train

It tops the chart of things to do in Ooty. It’s a fun experience and you can’t stop singing Rajesh Khanna old songs.It covers a distance of 46 km in 5 hours and takes you to a journey filled with pictursqe views. Also known as Nilgiri Mountain Railway toy Train was started in 1899 but still continues to bemuse the touristars.

Ooty Lake

Ooty lake is another worth the experience though this place famous among families with kids as just not the boating but also picnicking around the lake is one of favorite activities tourists involve themselves in here. There are lot of eateries around and various joy rides and swing for the kids but as it continues to be a very popular tourist destination in the area. So honeymooners should also go there once.

Botanical Gardens

A Nilgiri hill station must see. The Gardens, divided into several sections, cover an area of around 22 hectares, and lie on the lower slopes of Doddabetta peak. The garden has a terraced layout.For more than 160 years, foreign and local travelers have strolled the lush green lawns of the garden, admiring the stunning variety of flowers, ferns and orchids. The botanical gardens in Ooty is home to many rare species of trees. Chief among them are the cork tree, the only one of its kind in India. The paper bark tree, the monkey puzzle tree and an old fossilized tree (estimated to be 20 million years old) round out the other rare species.

The other points of interest in Ooty

Doddabetta Peak: highest known peak

Rose Garden: beautiful huge garden of roses

Thread Garden: magnificent place which displays artificial flowers

Emerald Lake: It is a part of the silent valley and is beside the Red hill nature resort which is a best picnic place of the region.

Dolphin’s nose : Interesting Rock formations

Kalhatti falls Bellikkal : ‘Bird Watcher’s Paradise’ as it gives you a bird point view of the whole valley.

Trekking : A favorite sport of the area, trekking has gained admiration with the tourists in the recent years.

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How to Reach

By Air

Coimbatore is the nearest domestic airport from Ooty which is well-connected with most of the Indian cities. You can also take a flight from Bangalore (which is 295 kilometres from Ooty) as Bangalore airport is connected with most of the cities across the globe. There are regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai connecting Bangalore and Coimbatore. Once you reach the airport, you can take a taxi or bus from there to reach Ooty.

By Bus

Ooty is a major tourist attraction of South India. You will get both government and luxury buses from Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai to Ooty. These are overnight buses and the journey is quite comfortable. Note that a special government bus leaves daily at 5pm and 7pm from Calicut and it takes just 6 hours to reach Ooty.

The nearest railhead is Mettupalayam, 40 kilometres from Ooty. There are trains from Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore and Bangalore connecting Mettupalayam. Some of the popular trains are Ooty Udagamandalam Passenger train, Mettupalayam Udagamandalam Passenger train, Mangalore Mail and Mangalore Express. From here on, you can also board the heritage train known as the Nilgiri Mountain train which takes you uphill on an exciting journey. However, if you wish to reach faster, take a taxi from the railway junction.

The best part of a road trip to Ooty is that you drive through the reserve forest area and stunning scenery, and that surely is some experience. If you wish to drive from Bangalore to Ooty there are 2 routes you can take: via Mysore or via Chamarajanagar. Finally you reach Gundlupet, the border town and enter the forest road amidst Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. Look out for elephants on this stretch!

When to plan a trip

Though Ooty has a pleasant weather throughout the year but the ideal time would be to visit in between months of April to June and September to November. It’s little cold mostly.

Where to Stay

There is no dearth of hotels in Ooty which caters to all  the budget ranges. You can either book it through various online travel portals or google Ooty hotels and call the hotels directly for reservations suiting your requirements.

If beach destinations like Goa or  Andaman are not your type pf honeymoon neither does the Manali or Kerala suits your mood then Ooty is the place for you to chill,relax and indulge into your spouse at the complete tranquility of nature. Here are the links for making your honeymoons and travel a little easier.

Top Honeymoon Destinations in India

Jabalpur: an incredible part of Madhya Pradesh!

Andaman Islands: the beach capital of India

Kashmir: A nature’s paradise!

image credits : From the honeymooners themselves!