Adieu to Ooty : A Road Trip to Nilgiris

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 trees.

Gorgeous slopes of Wenlock downs

Scenic views of 9th mile shooting medu

Shades of trees

We continued our journey towards Pykara falls and after reaching the place, got to know the river is dried up so we decided to drive to Pykara Lake.

Pykara Lake Boating house

Pykara Lake is about 1km from the Highway; having relaxed for a while we started at 2.45pm to last destination of our road trip, which was Needle Rock view point. As it was already late and we had to reach Bangalore, so we didn’t go for boating at Pykara.

About 25mins ride from Pykara Lake, was a picturesque spot near TR Bazaar and we couldn’t resist, so we parked our car and went on to explore the lake. This was a perfect spot for photograph, with a lake, green grass, lovely trees, clear blue sky, and mountains in the backdrop.

Picturesque spot near TR Bazaar on the Ooty-Gudalur HWY

We spotted a roadside waterfall on the highway and on other side of the highway was a view of the Mudumalai forest below.

Roadside waterfalls on the HWY

We reached our last attraction of our road trip, Needle Rock View Point. Time was already 4 past, so we were not sure to trek to the view point, having thought many times we decided to go for it. The place is maintained by the forest department; a 500m trek from the highway takes you to the needle rock view point, and also has a well paved pathway.

Looks like heavens are opening their doors

The view from the needle point is amazing with a 360 degree panoramic vision. At the Karnataka side is the forest view at lower flat grounds and on the TN side is the view of higher Nilgiri hills, which makes it special. Also Gudalur can be spotted from here. The views stretch across Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Mudumalai National park and Bandipur National park, giving a vision of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states from the view point. Wasn’t it special and a perfect place to end our journey. 

It was time for the sun to go down forming magical shades of light through the valley