LOCATION OF OOTYCouched amidst
those gorgeous blue mountains of southern India, there is something special
about the erstwhile British township of Ooty. Year after year, it draws
tourists, adventure enthusiasts, honeymooners and the film industry like
bees to nectar. Sure, many wise travelers believe that Ooty is a dumpyard, a
degraded, over-rated hill station, and so on. Nevertheless, the wiser one
will see how Ooty can soothe strung-up nerves and become the backdrop for a
wondrous holiday.
Ooty nestles in an amphitheatre created
by four majestic hills—Doddabetta, Snowdon, Elk Hill and Club Hill.
These hills are part of the Nilgiri ranges that are really the meeting point
for the Western and the Eastern Ghats. But why the ‘blue’
mountains—one would naturally wonder at the name. Do rest assured, when
the lavender-blue flowers of the famous Strobilanthes cover the hills in
floral profusion, it would be time to stop wondering, for it is these
funnel-shaped blossoms that are the reason for the name.
Although
signboards all around scream and beg to make people call this 36-sq-km hill
resort Udhagamandalam, their pleas obviously fell on deaf ears. Ooty will
always be Ooty to everyone. As the blaze of the afternoon sun gives way to a
nippy evening, one can make his way towards the nearby lake. This part of
Ooty was once a huge bog with a west-flowing stream. In 1824, the lower part
of the stream was converted into a lake. Though the lake seems ordinary
enough, what really gets the tourists all excited is the warmth and buzz of
activity in the vicinity. There is a boathouse where rowboats and motorboats
can be had on hire. A Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation venture, it
remains open from 8 am to 6 pm. Sitting at the edge of the lake and watching
the sun dipping down to herald darkness, is a soothing experience, to put it
lightly.
The beautiful Botanical Gardens are, in a word, Ooty’s
milestone. Reaching the sprawling maze of greens and blooms, up northeast of
the township, one’s first thought is of the incredible influence of
British rule in India. And these images, reminiscent of the Raj, were all
over Ooty. Not surprising, considering that the hill resort as we know it
now was founded by the British, in the early 1800s, to serve as the Madras
Government’s summer headquarters. The Botanical Gardens of Ooty,
established in 1847, are much like the typical, manicured and planned
gardens one sees so often. But the real beauty of the place is its plants—an
amazingly diverse array with trees, shrubs and herbs of a mindboggling
number of species. And the flowers were really something to write home
about. Was it the altitude—Ooty nestles at 2240 m above sea level—and
the rarefied air, or the lack of polluted air that gave these flowers an
added shine and gloss? They smiled from everywhere as one ambles about the
lovely, spread-out profusion. The fossil tree trunk that one sees here is
believed to be 20 million years old!
The great charm of Ooty is
not so much the specific tourist destination; it is, in fact, the long
lovely walks that it offers. Anywhere you go, the serenity of the Nilgiris
will be all around you. Specially the strategic points from where one could
either see Ooty or the view all around, like Snowdon, Ketty Valley, the
Wenlock Downs and, of course, Doddabetta. Further, one could hire a horse
either near the boathouse or at the Savoy—for a slightly more
exhilarating excursion in and around town.
Ooty is a haven for the
seeker of sports, adventure or otherwise—from hiking and riding to
fishing for trout and playing tennis and snooker. Then, of course, there is
the gorgeously scenic golf course tucked away in the northwest almost
straight across town from the Gardens. Many avid golfers believe that the
links of the Ooty Gymkhana Club are among the best in the world. Then there
is the Race Course, in the heart of town. Today, Ooty has shot up on the
demand charts of the Bombay (Mumbai) film industry, and with the southern
filmmakers already there, the resort faces quite a glut of starry stuff.
With a large number of popular hill stations of the Himalayas snuffed out or
made inaccessible by violence and political upheaval, Ooty is now a hot spot
for the filmwallah. So you mustn’t be rattled to find your peaceful
walks punctuated by sudden crowds and an outlandishly attired couple running
around a grove of eucalyptus tree.
The eucalyptuses are quite a
part of the Ooty landscape. They even fuel a small oil industry, so it is
common to find eucalyptus oil in the shops at Ooty. These tall, lanky trees
seemed much at home on the slopes around. Many a traveler may feel that Ooty
and the Nilgiris lack the awe, mystique and drama of the Himalayas. One can
only feel sorry for the cynical traveler who failed to catch the pulse of
Ooty’s charm. More so the Nilgiris. For the lush green serenity of
these southern hills of India would be difficult to find anywhere else. A
summer of peace and uncluttered, cool days is what the Nilgiris offer, with
their resonant echoes of a rich and tangible Dravidian culture.
A
CUP OF CAMELLIAAll along the hill slopes in the Nilgiri Mountains,
you will find that omnipresent, glossy, stout bush with fragrant white or
pink flowers and a melodious name camellia (Camellia thea). Tea, brought to
the Nilgiris in the 1860s, is amongst India’s most prominent plantation
crops, what with the country being the world’s largest producer,
consumer and exporter of black tea. This is perhaps why the slopes of the
Nilgiris, all round Ooty, Coonoor and the like, seem to have tea bushes
almost like a second skin.
Processed
tender leaves and leaf buds compose the tea of commerce. This agro-industry
flourishes on the hillsides of the Nilgiris and experts say that tea growing
at a higher elevation would have a flavor superior to that growing at lower
heights. This flavor and distinctive character of the popular beverage is
from essential oils and alkaloids present in the plant. But then, all this
is after a long manufacturing process that is carried out in industrial
units on the plantation itself or nearby. From harvesting to curing, rolling
and fermentation, to drying and grading, the process is delicate and
tedious. There are minor variations depending on the kind of tea being
produced. The delicacy of the job of picking ‘two leaves and a bud’
is perhaps testified by the fact that pickers are always women or children.
And so, it is the camellia bushes, with their sheen and gloss that
green the Blue Mountains, providing raw material for a huge industry and
employment for many in the land of the Strobilanthes.
AROUND
OOTY Ooty has the singular distinction of having many places around
that are worthy of a visit, or sometimes even a halt. Heading east from the
southeast of Ooty will take one to Coonoor and Wellington, two very
beautiful townships. Coonoor, though small, had much to boast of Sim’s
Park, Lamb’s Rock, Dolphin’s Nose and generally pretty landscape.
Wellington, of course, is a typical army township, clean and smart. Coonoor
may easily charm one enough to stay longer, with its lush, tea bush slopes
and attractive British houses.
About 28 km from Ooty, towards the
east, is the 26-sq-km Kotagiri, incredibly picturesque, amongst the first
townships of the British and a great place to visit. From Kotagiri one can
even proceed to the Kodanad View, Catherine Falls or Rangaswamy Peak, all
famous for their natural beauty.
The famous Mudumalai Wildlife
Sanctuary, 67 km from Ooty, stretches over 321 sq km. Traveling to Ooty from
Mysore and Bangalore, one passes the sanctuary with its dense vegetation
crowding the banks of the lovely Mayar River. Herds of wild elephants, or
lone tuskers, a great variety of birds, cats, snakes, and deer are known to
live in these cool, dark jungles of the Nilgiris.
Ten kilometers
out of Ooty is the great Doddabetta Peak, the highest in the Nilgiri chain
of mountains. Doddabetta stands at 2623 m and if your trip is made on a
clear day visible all around you will be Coonoor, Wellington, Mettupalayam,
and Coimbatore. If it’s an exceptionally crisp day, you might even see
Mysore.
Avalanche, Upper Bhavani, Mukurti and Pykara are all
places that are near Ooty and must be seen for their scenery. The reservoirs
at Avalanche and Upper Bhavani are excellent waters for angling with the
rainbow trout in particular abundance. All these places have an attractive
mixed landscape of forests, shola-grasslands and tea-filled slopes.
Finally,
for the scientifically curious, en route to Avalanche from Ooty is India’s
largest radio telescope. So also the Hindustan Photo Films in the Wenlock
Downs, the only factory of its kind in India, manufacturing sensitized
photographic materials.
IN THE WILD The
region is a treasure of wildlife, with some animals even native to these
southern mountain ranges. There is that deep-voiced Nilgiri langur
(Presbytis johnii) with its shiny black body and yellow-brown crown. The
Nilgiri langur happens to be one of the five langur species found in India
and Sri Lanka. These langurs of the Nilgiris are often found in the sholas,
which are amongst their favourite haunts. It’s in the sholas that you
can also see the lion-tailed macaque.
The shy, timid and
hard-to-spot Nilgiri tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius) also has its home in these
blue mountains. This animal has pride of place in being the only wild goat
to inhabit any region south of the Himalayas. It has a short coat, dark
yellow brown in color, and prefers to inhabit craggy regions above forest
level. The Nilgiris are home to a great variety of carnivorous animals like
tigers, panthers, jackals and hyenas. Elephants, wildcats, civet cats, giant
squirrels and mongoose are also part of Nilgiri fauna. The Nilgiri marten,
nightjar, hill mynah, and golden oriole are some of the region’s
avifauna. In essence, this range of mountains harbors a massive diversity of
animal life.
GETING THERE Coimbatore,
105 km from Ooty, is the nearest airport. Indian Airlines has flight to
Coimbatore from Bangalore, Cochin and Madras.
The Blue Mountain
Express to Ooty is from Mettupalayam (47 km). Mettupalayam can be reached
from Coimbatore by the Tea Garden Express.
All important towns of
Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka are connected to Ooty.
