Ooty is one of those quiet and unassuming destinations which are exceptionally serene and peace-evoking. If you had to pluck out one holiday destination from the list of the top Indian hill stations, then it better be Ooty, for nowhere else in the country can you get so much of tranquility and so much of charm.
If one flips through the list of places to visit in Ooty, then he would be surprised by the abundance of greenery which this verdant town has got up its sleeves. Tucked safely in its arms is the Botanic Garden which, many say, (and rightly so) is the best in the country. If the lilies and the eucalyptuses do not inspire much interest within you, then you should visit this park to pay adulation to the fossil trunk which is as old as 20 million years.
Ooty’s remarkable charm works through you like a sip of steaming coffee on a cold frosty morning. There are several tea plantations which are perched over the Nilgiris, sitting with mock vanity in and around Ooty. The huge spread of these plantations is a big lure for anyone who has a bit of wanderlust embedded within him.
Just on the outskirts at a distance of barely 2 km lies the Centenary Rose Garden, which is another pretty little park for nature-lovers. Most tours to Ootyusually include this attraction, though it is not as inviolably reputed as the Botanic Garden.
There is more for the nature lovers since Ooty is nothing but a basket of fruits, flowers and butterflies in their shining veritable glory. Do not forget to drop by at the Pykara Lake which sits just 19 km from the town and is a popular tourist attraction. The lake’s neighbor is the Pykara Falls, an enchanting waterfall of rhapsodic beauty.
If you hop a bit around Ooty, you can run into some equally fabulous destinations like Kotagiri which is a less popular cousin of Ooty. Nestled at around 31 km, it is a serene hill station where nature stays stranded for most part of the year.
If you fawn over scenic beauty, then Coonoor would be another place worth going. It is the most popular hill station on the Nilgiris (after Ooty that is). With an impressive repertoire of viewpoints and plantations, Coonoor will surely leave you spellbound.
