Voyage 361

Adieu to Ooty : A Road Trip to Nilgiris - V Last day of our road trip to Nilgiris, started towards Gudalur packed with lots of attractions to cover. We were delighted to see the weather being good to us at least on the final day of our trip, clear blue sky without any mist or rain. Nilgiris Our first stopover was at Sandynulla or Kamraj Sagar dam , can be viewed from the highway itself. Sandynulla or Kamraj Sagar dam After about ten minutes’ drive from Sandynulla, we stopped at the Tree Park or the pine forest located on the right side of the highway. This is also called as the 6 th mile shooting spot . The walk through the pine forest was very much soothing. Beyond the trees you can have a view of the typical slopes of Ooty grasslands. 6th mile shooting spot Another 15mins drive from 6 th mile, is the Wenlock downs of 9 th mile shooting spot . This is a must see, with beautiful panoramic views of the grass slopes, lake, and grouping of various species of

Excursion to Avalanche : A Road Trip to Nilgiris - IV This was supposed to be the most thrilling out of the whole trip as we had planned for Avalanche Eco-tourism ride. As we woke up from the bed, the valley view from our room greeted us with beautiful slopes of tea estates, resembling a sleeping beauty. Having had a pleasant walk into the tea estates, we started our ride to Avalanche.  Tea estates of Coonoor We had a stop at “The Culinarium” about 8km from Coonoor, to pack some delicious lunch. It was past 12.30pm when we left from the restaurant. The Culinarium restaurant on the Coonoor-Ooty Highway Unfortunately our maps on Google had shown us a shortcut route, which later turned out to be a nightmare. It took us through ketti, instead of the normal Ooty route and later there were few roads closed due to heavy rains the previous week, we had to take the Manjoor road, instead of going back to Ooty. We then crossed through Baramula, Meekery, B. Manihatty and Pala

Fairytale ride to Dolphins Nose: A Road Trip to Nilgiris - III After a heavy and delicious buffet breakfast we left towards the Ooty- Kattabettu-Kotagiri Highway. Our destination for the day was Dolphins nose and the toy train. It was misty outside with less visibility, so we had a disappointing start. Trust me this excursion was an out of the world experience with panoramic views of the beautiful valleys and tea estates throughout the journey. I couldn’t drive for more than ten minutes continuously without stopping my car, only to venture out and experience the beautiful valley views. The mist started to reduce with better visibility as we proceeded, and our first stop over was just after a ten minutes ride. Our first view point About 5km from Accord Highland hotel on the right side of the highway is another view point with amazing valley view. This is near the Neeli Malai Residency, T Mynalai and stopped for 10mins for snaps. View of plantations near Neeli Malai

Thrilling ride to Ooty : A Road Trip to Nilgiris The drive from Masinagudi to Ooty was the most thrilling experience I ever had, anyone who had driven to Nandi Hills and Chamundi Hills may not find it so difficult. This route has a well-paved road, with safety measures covered with safety railings at steep edges and mirrors on every hairpin bends. Don’t forget to switch on your car lights; it helps the incoming traffic to spot your vehicle in mirror. The entire route was mostly covered with thick fog even during afternoon and was slightly raining too, so couldn’t enjoy the view of the valley below. Masinagudi to Ooty route elevates through Kalhatty Ghats from about 900m to over 2200m above sea level (ASL) crossing 36 hairpin bends. At half way we stopped at a tea shop and had hot chocolate tea, it was a wonderful experience in the chilling weather. After about an hour of journey from Masinagudi, we came across a bridge at Kalhatty Falls and stopped for a while to enjoy the

Masinagudi Jungle Trails : A Road Trip to Nilgiris - II All set and packed for a long road trip to Ooty, left Bangalore late at 8am. What to pack for a long road trips?? Click here The motive of the road trip was to voyage around less explored and adventurous places, rather than popular and easily accessible tourist destinations. To avoid Mysore traffic, we tried to explore another route from Mandya through Somnathapura to Nanjangud, but it turned out to be more tiring and longer route. We reached Bandipur forest check post only by 2pm. Driving through Bandipur forest is a pleasure, with good road conditions, greenery around and spotting wildlife was more exciting. In an intention to spot wildlife, and to maintain silence in the forest, we were driving steadily at 15kmph speed without using horn. We could spot a lot of deer herds, elephants, black bear, boar, Grey Langur monkeys and peacocks.  Peacock spotted on the Bandipur Mudumalai stretch Elephants of

What to pack for a long road trips?? Gadget essentials: Camera, tripod, battery, charger, filters, lenses Mobile chargers Headset Travel bank Bath & Bed essentials: Towels Bed sheet & Blanket Toiletries Makeup kit Tissue papers & wet tissues Trimmer kit / shaving kit Hairdryer Other Travel essentials: Medicines & first aid kit Notepad & pen Swiss Knife/similar Matchbox/lighter Outdoor Floor Mat Umbrella Torch Sun shades Outdoor games like TT bat/ball, Badminton bat/shuttlecock, Big Airball Indoor games like cards/UNO, Housie-Housie, etc. Snacks, fruit juice, energy drinks, and chewing gum. Water can / water bottles Mosquito repellant cream & cards Sandals/flats and Shoes/sneakers Swim suit or polyester dress if you planning for getting wet Car essentials: Car documents like RC book/smart card, Insurance copy, DL, and Emission test copy Car battery Jump starter Car mobile charger Car mobile holder The list

Ooty Road Trip Route and Road conditions Bengaluru - Mandya - Somanathapura - Nanjanagudu - Gundlupet - Bandipur - Theppakadu - Masinagudi - Bear Mountain Jungle Resort - Vibudhi Malai Murugan Temple, Sholur - Accord Highland, Ooty - Ooty Botanical Gardens - Accord Highland, Ooty - Kattabettu - Yedapalli Hatti - Coonoor - Dolphin’s Nose - Coonoor Railway Station - Toytrain to Ooty and back to Coonoor - Sunvalley Homestay Coonoor - The Culinarium, Coonoor - Palada - Avalanche Forest reserve office - Emerald Avalanche Lake - Ooty FernHill Sterling resort - Sandynulla - Tree park 6th Mile - Wenlock Downs 9th Mile Shooting Medu - Pykara Lake - Needle Rock View Point - Gudalur - Mudumalai Forest - Theppakadu - Bandipur - Nalpak restaurant, Mysore - A2B food plaza - Bengaluru Distance covered on non-ghat roads : 552 km Distance covered on ghat roads : 250 km Total distance covered 802 km. Avg mileage achieved 18.1 km/ltr. Highlights of Road condition: Route Road Cond