Udagamandalam, fondly known as Ooty or Udhagai, is a charming hill station in Tamil Nadu state of South India. It served as a summer capital for the British in the past and it is definitely a refuge for locals and tourists alike in hot Indian summers.
While in Ooty, you must do the below list of things to get a taste of this heaven.
Top 5 things to do in Ooty
1. Botanical Gardens
These gardens are more than a 150 years old and flaunt cool trees and plants to show the time’s worth. These botanical gardens are home to many greenhouses with plants from around the world. You can find beautiful flower beds all around the gardens. The highlight here is the India map shaped out of small plants and flowers. You would need at least an evening or about 3 hours to totally savor this green bounty.
2. Ooty Boat House
This huge lake is manmade and marvelous. The entire lake is surrounded with tall Eucalytus trees which makes the air very pleasant. Boating on this lake is a must do for all visitors to enjoy the beauty of this lake. There are pedal boats, motor boats and row boats to choose from. There is a small amusement park and toy train ride in the park at the boat house too. Of course, you would need to spend at least 3 days to enjoy all that Ooty has to offer.
3. Tea factory tour
Ooty is famous for its tea and it is not a surprise that the tea factory tour and a visit to the adjacent Tea Museum is part of savoring Ooty. The tea factory tour takes you through the journey of tea leaves from being dried to be sorted and dried into tea dust. It takes about an hour to roam in this area and at the end you will be given a brilliant cup of tea made from the tea dust you just saw being processed. You can also buy a bag of tea for taking back home.
Also read: Ooty, the queen of hills
4. Toy train ride
Imagine being chugged along India’s only rack railway line, a 1000 mm metre guage line through dense forests, beautiful green valleys and tunnels and reaching Ooty at the end. This is what you experience when you take the toy train aka Nilgiri Mountain Railway from Mettupalayam to Ooty. This is a must experience ride of your life if you can spare half a day for it. Thankfully, there are many top hotels in Ooty for you to stay and enjoy.
5. Doddabetta peak
This is the highest point in Ooty and Doddabetta is the fourth highest peak in South India. You should visit this spot to enjoy amazing views of Ooty. There is quite a crowd up here in peak holiday season but don’t let that deter you. You will find a watch tower which has a glass covered area from where you can watch the valley and enjoy its beauty.
I would have loved to see a picture of the Ooty tea factory! I love the whole experience of picking and drying tea, plus enjoying it with good company.
Definitely was the highlight of our trip too!
True, will look up my archives to see for a pic!
That is a really beautiful place, never hear of it before. Doddabetta peak is a very beautiful view.
It is lovely indeed
What a beautiful place to visit! Looks like there is so much to do as well. India is one of my bucket list places. I’ll have to be sure to add this to the list too!
Awesome, enjoy!
The train ride sounds so much fun! It looks like a beautiful place and your photos are stunning
I am always surprised that I have never been to Ooty yet (though I know it myself!!) but I do need to make it a must visit on my next trip to India
Lovely to hear that!