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You can read the previous posts on Trip to Ooty: Day 1 and
Trip to Ooty: Day 2: Part 1: Ooty Lake – Boat House, and Thread garden, Ooty

Ooty is known by many names: Udhagai, Udhagamandalam and Ootacamund. After Thread garden, our next spot was Ketty or Ketti valley view. Ketty valley view is located on the road to Coonoor. This idyllic spot is a cluster of tiny villages that extend to the plains of Coimbatore and Mysore plateau. Well, in this point the guide provided a lot of info about Ooty and Coonoor. There was a railway line visible from there, which connects Mettupalayam to Ooty. He told that the shooting of the song “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from the movie “Dil Se” was shot here.

Another point he made that the shooting of the movie “Roja” was mainly done in Ooty and Coonoor. There was a telescope house and they charge Rs. 10 per head to view the valley from the telescope. The view from the telescope was amazing.

For more photos of Ketty valley view, click here.

Our next spot was Conoor. Coonoor is the second largest hill station in the Nilgiris, surrounded by tea plantations, at an altitude of 1839 meters (6034 feets). It is located at a distance of 19 kms from Ooty. Its climate is milder than Ooty. It is a very popular weekend gateway for the people in Coimbatore. Coonoor is essentially a small tea garden town where the weather remains pleasantly cool throughout the year. The first spot in Coonoor was the tea garden. Well, there were a lot of tea gardens but I liked the Singara Tea Garden. It was all green and beautiful.

Our guide told us that only the typical two leaves and a bud are plucked from the tea plants for the tea manufacture. He also told us that the tea plants live for 100 years and then after that new plants are put in their place. I took a nice shot of the tea garden:

Check out these videos:

Then, our driver stopped at a tea shop and I ordered a masala tea for Rs. 5. Wow, that was the best tea I have ever tasted. He also gave us chocolate tea to taste and it was also nice. They were also selling tea packets and I took half kg. of masala tea for Rs. 80 and half kg. of chocolate tea for Rs. 90. I still drink a cup from those packets daily and they are delicious. Whenever, you go to Coonoor I recommend you to take these tea packets. They are awesome.

For more photos of Tea garden, click here.

Then, we moved to Lamb’s Rock. Lamb’s Rock or suicide point is another viewpoint that is ideal for taking pictures and is a wonderful picnic spot. It is 9 kms. From Coonoor and is known for the splendid views it offers of the plains of Coimbatore and the tea states in the surrounding areas.

Our next spot was Dolphin’s Nose. Dolphin’s Nose is around 10 kms. away from Coonoor and is an excellent viewpoint. From Dolphin’s Nose one can have a magnificent view of St. Catherine Water falls. You can also have a panoramic view of Kotagiri Hills, and Mettupalayam plains. It is because of the shape of the hill the place is called as Dolphin’s Nose:

From here, you can see a nice panoramic view of the St. Catherine Water falls:

I also took a nice video over here:

For more photos of Dolphin’s Nose, click here.

It was about 3.00 pm and we were very hungry. I took bread omelette and a water bottle, as these were only available. After that we had a nice one hour drive and finally our driver stopped at a restaurant for lunch. I ordered chilly chicken and chicken biryani. It was a quick lunch, as we had to move to Doddabetta Peak. Doddabetta ( Big mountain) is the highest peak in South India. It is 10 kms from Ooty It lies at the junction of Western and Eastern Ghats. The height of the peak is 8640 feets above MSL. Annual Rainfall : 125 cms/year. Temperature: Max. 19 degrees and Min. 0 degrees Celsius. Season: April-June, September, and October. Animals: Bison, Panther, Hare, Wild Boar, and Barking Deer. Plants: Medicinal Plants like Jeranium, Tulasi, Eucalyptus, Chinnaner, Chitriodora, thymes, etc. There is an entry ticket for Rs. 5 per head.

There is a telescope house but due to the bad weather it was closed. I took a video from the top:

There’s a nice garden near the telescope house:

After that, Lucky purchased some wooden key rings and we went to the place where our bus was parked. To my amazement it was all foggy, the whole place was covered with dense fog:

For more photos of Doddabetta Peak, click here.

It was 5.30 pm and our driver told that we need to skip the Botanical gardens, as it was getting dark. Well, we agreed, as we needed to catch a bus at 9.45. Also there are a lot of places like Sim’s park in Conoor and Pykara dam etc. that I wanted to see. Actually, one day was not enough and I want to come back again to Ooty. We came back to hotel at 6 pm and we packed our bags and got ready for the bus stand. Due to rains there was no auto, I inquired in the reception but he also told the same thing. So we walked till the bus stand, which was the only option. The bus stand was very close by and just after ten minutes we reached there. Then, we had dinner in a nearby restaurant and got into our bus. We were tired and slept in the bus nicely. We reached Bangalore at 5.30 in the morning. Our first Ooty trip was over but I really want to come again to check out the amazing valleys, dense vegetation, and mystical fog in the greenish wonderland, Ooty.

Related posts:

1. Trip to Kanyakumari: Chapter 12: Maruthuva Malai or Marunthuvazh Malai and View Tower: Part 2
2. Trip to Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram: Chapter 11: Photos: Part 2: Ancient rock cave and flowers
3. AdmirableIndia.com – India Travel Forum
4. Trip to Tawang: Part 5: Darjeeling
5. Trip to Kanyakumari: Chapter 13: Mathoor Hanging Bridge: Part 2