Exploring nilGIRIs

Well, just after completing my Exploration of Kerala, the 2nd week, this was happen.
We are a group of 4 and people call us, of course,  4-Idiots. 

1). Giri

2). Naveen

3). Nithya

4). Marsh Whesly

The plan was all started here. It was a weekday but our college semester holidays. Naveen came to my home in a hurry to convey that there are some work in Ooty regarding his dad’s business. His dad wants him to help in this during his semester holiday. Himself, Nithya and Whesly came to my home. I said I just want to put these words in my dad’s ear. He won’t refuse me at all, but it’s better to be a good child always. Till my daddy’s arrival from his office, we all 4 were playing carrom and just planning about exploring Ooty. Post 8pm, my dad arrived, we explained about the plan. He said to proceed and also with his help, we got some good information about in and around ooty. 

We pre-booked the following, just 2-3 days before our departure. Thank god there was some availability’s in the train.

1). Chennai to Coimbatore : 12675 - Kovai Express (Rs. 190 per head).

2). Coimbatore to Chennai : 12676 - Kovai Express (Rs. 190 per head).

Since Whesly’s house was quite distance and outer the city, he came the before night itself to my house for the stay.

16 June, 2016 (Thursday) :

The journey started @ Chennai Central Railway Station. It was around 3am, when we both woke up with excitement. Nithya and Naveen joined us within next 1 hour. We booked a cab with Fastrack and left to Central RS. The train’s departure time was 6:15am and we were well in advance. 

The train started to leave the station and we had our breakfast in the train. It was around 8 hours journey to Coimbatore. We were gossiping and planning for the upcoming week in this whole train journey. 

It was around 2pm, when we arrived Coimbatore. 

We had our lunch @ Hotel Annapoorna, which serves tasty Tamil Nadu Meals for Rs 80. This restaurant is just opposite to the Coimbatore RS (2 mins walk). Completing full meals, we got Tamil Nadu Govt Bus to Kethi (Ketti). 

Ketti also called Ketti Valley is a small town nestled in a large valleyof Nilgiri Hills. Ooty is a beautiful place and there is no doubt about it. But have you ever tried exploring its outskirts? If not, then let me tell you that the beauty of places on its outskirts is more alluring and striking than that of the main town. These hidden unexplored corners certainly make for mesmerising weekend destinations on account of their uncrowded environment and lush green surroundings. If you do not believe me, then you must plan a trip to Ooty now and visit its nearby town Ketti. This small village is all set to charm you. Scroll down to learn more about Ketti, its attractions and how to reach it. 

Ketti is a small settlement in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and is located at a distance of about 12(main road)+6(forest) km from Ooty. Even though it is situated in the vicinity of Ooty, one of the most popular hill stations in the country, it is well known only amongst a few tourists and off-beat travellers. It is mainly popular for its industries, such as Pony Needles, Ambica Tea Factory and Mushroom Factory. However, unknown to many, it houses some of the most beautiful places in the state. Being nestled wonderfully in the midst of a lush green valley, it provides its visitors with the panoramic beauty of luxuriant hills and thick vegetation. As it is an uncrowded and uncommercialised spot, it harbours an unpolluted atmosphere with a cool breeze.

There is a lot to do while in Ketti. On one hand we can capture the beauty of its beautiful meadows and witness the majesty of the surrounding hills and on the other hand, we can explore the lifestyle and culture of the locals inhabiting the region. We can also go trekking and camping in the nearby hills and visit the beautiful temples and churches of Ketti. But we must be aware of their lifestyle and culture of the region. It will be very much easy if we know any people who lives in Ketti and approaching via that person gives us some sort of comfortable and freedom. So, don't you think a visit to this hidden hamlet would be a soothing and an everlasting experience.? Come on..

We arrived @ Ketti around 7pm, when we landed Ketti. There was a TATA Sumo waiting for us to pick up and drop @ Ketti Village, which was 6kms deep inside the forest. It was fully dark and all we can able to see with the help of car’s headlight was forest forest and forest. 

It was a 20mins drive to Ketti village. We met Mr. Saravanan, who was the business partner of Naveen’s father. He maintains carrot and mushroom in his land. We met him and he was fully knowledge about in and around ooty location. 

It was a small motor room in the middle of a village land, where we completed our dinner (Dosa with Chilly Powder). The room contains only 1 bed, a small television, cooking materials and that’s it. Even the door was simply a iron sheet. Completing our dinner, we were ready to leave that room towards the house, where we are going to stay. That house was on top of a small hill and the road was like a circular bend. We have to come out of that room, get the mud road, walk for around 500 meters and reach the house. 

Opening the door, to our surprise, we witnessed a hug tiger which was bigger and it’s eyes in that moon light was twinkling like a star. We closed the door immediately and all got panic. Later after 30mins, we came out and walked silently to the top hil to the house. Later that night, on discussing with Mr. Saravanan, we came to know about many things about Ketti. Since Ketti was in the mid of dense forest, it is very easy to witness any wild animals just after sunset. 

It was late night, but listening to the words from an experienced man about that ketti circle was worth and informative for us. Ketti people use to follow many things. I’ll list down some point’s which ketti living people use to follow as their culture.

1). Ketti born boy/ men should not get marry to Ketti born girl / women. They use to respect each other as brother’s and sister’s. Instead, they should marry any other girl / women from any other nearby village. The one who breaks this, will be punishable by throwing them out of that ketti, without supporting for anything in future.

2). There is a temple, where all ketti people and other nearby people use to come and meet during a festival. The festival was during January month and there will be 5-6kms road, full of trucks, vans, cars.etc rushing towards that temple on a hill.

3). The one boy / man, who volunteers himself to become as temple priest for the period of 12 years will be appreciated with an house and some lakhs and lakhs of money with food and other medical expenses in his future after he successfully completed.

4). Completion of those 12 years includes, 364 days alone in a year to be alone in that temple, taking care of himself for all his personal needs like preparation of food, dress washing.etc. And the 365th day, when the festival arrives, he has to be the one and only responsible person to do all the formalities to the god in that temple.

5). The priest also needs to be neat and clean and away from women throughout his lifetime.

Additionally point about Mr. Saravanan’s past year’s life before becoming as a farmer,

 Mr. Saravanan lived in a dense forest on top of a hill, to guard the land areas for 3 years. Those 3 years, every night he use to witness Bear, Elephant’s, Fox, Tiger, Leopard, even sometimes Black Panther. During night time, the whole circle will me noiseless and even a pin-drop sound away from 500 meters can be audible it seems. Every night, it was like catching our own breath for the next day to live.

It was late but listening to those valuable information about ketti people lifestyle and cultures produces goosebumps. Later, we fall asleep and next day morning when we woke up,the best sleep and morning it was with no any external environmental noise, except birds tweeting voice, dense inside a forest surrounded by nilgiri hills.

17 June, 2016 (Saturday) :

It was around 6:30am when we all woke up. There was only common collection of bathrooms and restrooms to use in that whole ketti village. But it was very well maintained. It was in the mid of that motor room size house and the house where we stayed at the top of an hill (in that circular road). 

Getting freshen up and completing our breakfast, we started around 10:30am in our TATA Sumo. 

It was un lucky that the Tyre got punctured while in the mid of our travel towards to main road. 

But we managed to repair that soon with the available car stepney. 

We reached the ketti main road by 11:30am and arrived DoddaBetta by 12:30pm. 

Doddabetta is the highest mountain in the Nilgiri Mountains at 2,637 metres (8,652 feet). The name derived from two Kannada words, Dodda means Big and betta means Hill, making it Doddabetta. There is a reserved forest area around the peak. It is 9 km from Ooty, on the Ooty-Kotagiri Road. It is a popular tourist attraction with road access to the summit. It is the fourth highest peak in South India next to Anamudi, Mannamalai and Meesapulimala. The peaks Hecuba (2375 m), Kattadadu (2418 m) and Kulkudi (2439 m) are the three closely linked summits in the west of the Doddabetta range near to Udagamandalam. Don’t miss the view from the watch-tower available here. There is also a small children’s park and lots and lots of flowers collection’s available. The entry ticket prices Rs 20 per head. It was a great time as we spend around 1 hour here, with fun-filled among friends. 

Completing our visit to dottabetta peak, we left for Ooty Boat House. Charges are as follows..

But with the help of some recommendations, we got a 4-seater pedal boat without any time limit. We pedeled till the end of the lake to and fro nd it was a nice experience for us. 

We rided for almost 1.5 hrs and around 4:15 pm, we noticed about the availability of cycling just near the entrance of boat house. It was an amazing adventure for us with zig-zag wooden pathways over the broken and fell-down trees. Cycling costs just Rs 100 for 1 lap and 1 lap takes nearly 5-7 mins. It is a must try option near the boat house.

Completing cycling, we just glanced the nearby shops, did some common shopping and left to Botanical Garden. It was around 5:15pm, when we entered the Botanical Garden. It charges Rs 15 for an adult as entrance fee. 

Spread over an area of 55 acres the Government Botanical Gardens are undoubtedly one of the most sort after tourist attractions in Ooty. No tourist will leave Ooty without a visit to the well organized, well maintained botanical gardens. Maintained by the Horticultural Department of Tamil Nadu, the present day Botanical Gardens is divided into 5 sections.

They are the Lower Garden, which has the fern house which harbors one hundred and twenty seven species of ferns, the Lower Garden, which contains the rose garden, a lot of natural floral carpets and natural ponds, the Italian Garden, laid down by Italian Prisoners of War from the First World War, the Conservatory, which has lots of groups of flowering plants and the Nurseries, which contains a series of glass houses which contains innumerable varieties of exotic plants. The Flower show held as a part of the Summer Festival in Ooty is a must see if you happen to visit Ooty during that time.

Another main attraction in the Botanical Gardens is the Fossil Tree trunk which is twenty million years old and the Toda mund or the Toda hill. On any day you will find innumerable number of families just chilling and enjoying the warm sun and children playing around in the gardens.

It was around 7:00pm, when we left the garden and searching for dinner as we felt tired and hunger. We came across an normal restaurant near@ Ketti in the main road itself. Completing our dinner, we left to the ketti village in the same car. It was around late night 12, when myself had some digestion trouble with the dinner. Even everybody experienced the same. We came across some information again from Mr. Saravanan that the restaurant’s in and around ooty won’t tastes good also not much hygienic. Myself vomited all the food which I had has my dinner. For others too, stomach upset. 

As al waken up by that time, Mr. Saravanan said..” Come on guys.. We can go for a short walk around ketti village”. We are already scared witnessing a tiger just 2 days back. But at the same time, we all are much excited too. So we just jumped out of our bed and started to walk. There was some scariness about the Forest Bull, which use to roam all over that area. We walked towards a small hill once again, which contains a local temple too. It was around 30-40 mins of walk. Later, we came back and fall asleep.

The nexy day, we had some bulk of placesto visit, all towards Ooty-Pykara-Mudumalai Route. We skipped our breakfast, instead had some fresh juice and started our journey. 

We started the day by visiting Pine Forest. This picturesque location has so much to offer for tourists of all ages and one of the magical wonders is its scenic canvas of tall and magnificent trees.

It is a famous shooting spot in Ooty. The soaring pines, breathtaking views and a pleasant atmosphere makes it a perfect base for filming various movies. Several Bollywood hit films such as Qayamat se Qayamat tak, Khuda Gawah, Sadma, Dil and Deewana have been shot here. You can also witness the stunning vicinities of this forest in a Tamil song, Dheena.

Visitors from all around the world visit this place to recollect those old Hindi memories on their Ooty tour. So, make sure you do not miss it whenever you plan your trip to the Queen of hill stations.

Nestled in between Ooty and Thalakunda, the Pine Tree Forests boasts of a good collection of orderly planted pine trees, which ranges from 3 meters to 80 meters in height. Overlooking the Sandy Nulla Lake, the most abundant species of the pine trees that exist here are the Siberian Dwarf, Ponderosa and Potosi Pinyon. While a few of the trees are about to cross 1000 years of age, most of them are already 4000 years old.

Here you can stroll around the place to spot the squirrels, moths and goats in the forest. Watch a wide variety of colorful butterflies flying in the air or dance to the melodious chirping of mountain birds. What else do you need? Just pack your bags and get ready to make the most of this location.

Completing our visit to Pine forest, the next location is Shooting Spot, which is not even half a kilometer rom Pine Forest. Also called Wenlock Downs / 9th Mile Ooty, Shooting Spot is a scenic tourist spot, 15 km (i.e. 9 miles) away from Ooty. The location boasts of vast meadows sprawling out to, what seems like infinity.

Once upon a time, it acted as a hunting ground for the British and the Europeans. But now, 9th Mile is one of the most spectacular tourist spots in Ooty. The place also appeared in many Indian movies like Deewana, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Raja Hindustani and others. And the locals, thus, nicknamed 9th Mile as Shooting Medu.

9th Mile Shooting Point Ooty offers you breathtaking and unobstructed views of the Nilgiris afar and acts as the perfect spot to spend a few hours away from the noisy city life. Climb up the view point to adore the 360-degree views of the neighbourhood, as the area is dotted with Shola forests and as gorgeous as these grasslands are, so relaxing the drive towards it is.

It was around 11:15am, when we left the Shooting Spot and moved toward the next spot, Pykara.

Originating in the Mukurthi peak, Pykara is  located 20 kms away from Ooty in the Ooty-Mysore road. This spot has been developed into a thoroughly enjoyable picnic spot by the addition of a boat house and restaurant.

The dam and power house built across the river also ensures hydro electricity to the population. Declared a heritage site, the Pykara lake is one of those "must see" sights in Ooty. As the river flows down the mountains it forms two majestic waterfalls the first one fifty five meters in height and the second one even higher at sixty one meters.

It is preferable to stay away from the lake and falls during the monsoon. Especially, the falls are very unpredictable during the monsoons as the level of water might rise suddenly without any forewarning and can result in catastrophe for any tourist caught unawares.

Completing Pykara, we marched towards Mudhumalai National Park, which is in Ooty-Mysore road.

The Mudumalai National Park, one of the first forest ranges to be declared as a National Park is located in the Nilgiri district in the border of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The park is located in the Ooty-Mysore route and can be entered from both Ooty and Mysore. The National park was recently declared a Tiger Reserve with a population of about 50 tigers.

Mudumalai National Park is one of the most critical ecological systems in the country, with Bandipur National Park and Nagarhole National Park to the north and the Wayand wildlife sanctuary to the south and between them they house more than 500 species of animals, birds, reptiles and even more species of insects. Needless to say the place is breathtaking and captivating for anyone who appreciates nature.

As you ride through the forests you are bound to see elephants roaming freely in the wilderness and different types of deer for starters. As you move deeper into the jungle, if luck favors you, you will see many endangered species of birds and animals.

High on the list of endangered birds are the vultures. Monkeys like the Grey Langurs are common in the forest. You also find varieties of snakes like the Great Indian Rock Python, Spectacled Cobra, Pit Viper and so on.

In addition to animals like tigers, elephants, panthers and deer among others, you find a scores of amphibians and many exotic birds, like different types of parrots, eagles, vultures and some others which you have never seen in your life, and will never see anywhere else. It is said that 13 percent of all mammal species in India are present in Mudumalai National Park. The Indian Giant Squirrel, the Flying Lizard, Indian Leopard, which are in the endangered list are found here.

Trees like teak, sandalwood, mahogany and also bamboo grow uninhibited and tall, almost cutting the sunlight even when the sun is high in the sky. So it is advisable to reach the reserve during noon or just after noon and also carry alternate sources of light with you.

The Mudumalai sanctuary connects the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats together. The Moyar River runs through the reserve and you are assured to see a large variety of fauna coming there to quench their thirst. The park is one of the very few places in the country where you can see the animals in their true natural habitat, where you actually see the tiger with all its ferocity. A must place for a true nature lover.

The Forest Department maintains many forest houses at various locations inside the park which is provided in a first come first serve basis and they need to be booked in advance by calling the Ooty office of the National Park.

Mudumalai National Park Entry Fee :

Completing our visit to Mudumalai National park around 4pm, we started back towards Ooty and in the  middle, we halted for having a cup of tea. Climbing the Ooty Hill from Mudumalai route, we came across 38 hairpin bends. Even ben we stepped up over the hill and the temperature keps decreasing. Around 6pm, we entered Ooty main and visited Malaysia Murugan Temple. 

Carved into the hillside and set among the picturesque forested hills, Elk Hill Murugan Temple offers views of the town of Ooty. Dedicated to the god of love and war, the temple features a large statue of Lord Murugan and several smaller statues of other deities from the Hindu pantheon. The meditative surroundings and calming atmosphere attract visitors who come to enjoy some peace and quiet. Be prepared to climb a flight of nearly 85 steps to reach the top of the temple. This is the oe and only replica of Malaysia Murugan Temple around the world.

With the blessings of Lord Muruga, we left the location. We brought some vegetable’s and did some shopping in Ooty and ended the day. 

Night, we all cooked together along with Mr. Saravana and Co, had some delicious food with Rice and Vegetable Kuruma and Pickle.

After closing our eyes, it was silent and blank while we lyedown the bed. All of a sudde, we heard massive noise outside. Opening the door, we witnessed Forest Bull simply throwing ta standing bike from up-hill, towards down with it’s horn. All people started to make some noice to make the bull run away from the village. It was very scary to witness such kind of experience, but it was very adventurous. We enjoyed the moment and slept late night.

Next day morning, we waken up early as it was the last day of exploring Nilgiri’s and the remaining leftover is none other than, Coonoor. 

We skipped our breakfast, had some fresh juice’s and started the day. In TATA Sumo, we arrived Sim’s park. From here, we cut-off the car and it costs around 5000 rupees for the past 3 days of travel. 

Entering Sims Park doesn’t cost much, Rs.30 per head. 

With 1000 plus species of colourful and vibrant flowers, the Sim's Park is a well-maintained botanical garden where one can enjoy nature at its best. An excellent and delightful visit for fun seekers, sightseeing lovers and photographers, the Sim's Park lets one spend some quality time amid lush greenery. Spread over an area of 12 hectares of land, the park is mainly divided into 4 sections as a small Lily pond, a rose garden, a boating area and a flowering plants area. It boasts of an array of trees introduced from different parts of the world and has walkways lined up with beautiful flowers. Other highlights of the park include Handsome Ornamental tree, Queensland Karry Pine and Rudraksha Tree.

Completing Sim’s park visit around 12:30pm, we got an auto along with the driver Mr. Murugan. He was very friendly, knowledge about the surrounding location’s, also mingling nicely with us. While driving, he was driving in a zig-zag manner in a hilly empty road, to increase the fun. He was sharing his personal experience. He is a guy from Madurai, who loved a muslim girl (of cource, he is an hindu). Both loved eachother, but in that girl’s house, they didn’t accept this inter-religion love. So, they came ran away from Madurai to Ooty. Not they are having 2 children naming girl is Mumtaj and boy Sivan. What a story the man has created, impressing the current and upcoming future generation people..!!

Coming back to our exploration, at first we came across Lady Canning’s View Point, which is also known as Bakasuran Malai. 

The location had 3 great different histories. We also got some additional information from Mr. Murugan too.

1). Bakasuran Malai is a historic hill located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Coonoor, where there is a fort believed to be present inside the hill. Archaeologist analyzed and found sculpture words written in a place, in which it was found that there are 100 doors / walls present to get inside the fort. They also found 99 doors but it’s difficult to open. The 100th door is still in search. 

2). The fort was used as an outpost by Tipu Sultan in the 18th century. It contains a tunnel, which directly links with Mysore Palace.

3). The mountain shaped like a sleeping pregnant lady. She is believed to be Catherine, who suicide herself as her father (king) killed her lover. Catherine is believed to jump from the top of a hill, near waterfalls, which is not called as Catherine Waterfalls.

The next spot is the Dolphin Nose. Here, we can witness the Catherine Waterfalls clearly There is also Telescope available, which shows us 3 views. One is Catherine Waterfalls, followed by Forest Tribe House, and Kodanadu Hills View Point.  

Telescopic View of Catherine Waterfalls :

Available @ Dolphin's Nose @ the Cost of Rs. 5/-

Later, we visited Lamb’s Rock, which offered us great views of Ooty Valley. It has a view of the Coimbatore plains, tea estates and coffee estates. We’ve to walk for 500meters inside a little dense forest region. Here, we can witness a panoramic view of Coonoor, the tea and coffee estates, lush greenery, thick forests covered by clouds and the plains of Coimbatore under one roof. It is undoubtedly a nature of delight for experience seekers.

Eucalyptus Oil Manufacturing Process :

At last, while on the way back to coonoor, we came across the guesthouse of kollywood cine-stars like Vijay, Simran, Vivek, Ajith.etc. 

Ajith :

Simran :

At last, we reached back Coonoor around 4:30pm. 

Completing our visit to the famous Sims Park with Photography, Boating, Exploring unknown trees and flowers, and a visit towards Kotagiri Road, we left the place with memories. Last but not the least, when a person visit coonoor, the first thing people use to ask was Varky and Cookies. And when it comes to Varky and Cookies, it’s none other than National Bakery, Coonoor Market Center, Coonoor. It was around 4:45pm, we visited the National Bakery, purchased all our needs (Varky, Cookies, Sweets and Chocolates) for individual’s friends and family. National Bakery is the famous traditional one people look for, when it comes to Varky and Cookies. We also had some Varky and Cookies, along with some sweets in the bakery itself. 

Post purchasing our needs from Coonoor, we didn’t get any other option to return back to ketti village, as we settled down our car while arriving itself.

What we thought was to hire an anto or a even a cab. But wince we got some day light time, one query popped up in our mind. ”Why can’t we walk like a trek.?”. Yep.! We decided to cover those 6kms of forest route by walk. It was from Ketti Main -> Aravangadu -> Ketti Village. 

It was a very good and adventurous experience for almost 2 hours. We don’t even know the route to reach the village. Also, we don’t have enough change in our mobile phones. We are also very much scared about the wild animal’s as we experienced and witnessed them in near past days. We just tried to remember the route in our mind on seeing the Google Maps until the mobile charge become dead. We came across a huge foot ball ground in between two hills, while climbing. At last, we reached the Ketti Village around 07:15am in the dark.  We all were tired and we quickly completed our dosa dinner and slept soon. 

Next day morning, we waken up around 7:15am. We got refreshed, and ready to say bye to ketti People and Nilgiris. 

Around 9am, we left the Ketti Village with full of memories. 

By 09:25am, we got bus to Coimbatore and reached by 12:45pm, which is well in advance compared to the departure time of the train. We completed our lunch for the day @ same Annapoorna Restaurant and got the train on-time.

Thanks to Mr. Saravanan an his friends who treated us as a part of them and taking care of all the things we need. 

Thus, we all’re back to our routine college days.

In this trip, the word we covered all the part’s o NILGIRIS. Ooty you Beauty.!! You are too good than what we’ve thought. One must have to plan and segregate at least 5 days to a week, for a complete visit of NILGIRIS.  See you all in my next travel. That’s it about this exploration. Hope you guys enjoyed and got some information about the thing you need. Contact me for any travel related queries or helps anytime. You can fin it under menu. Signing-off from this trip. buByeee..!!