You might be wondering, why to a hill station like ooty during the monsoons month in India? We normally tend to head to hill stations in winters to enjoy the cold or summers to get a respite from the heat. Initially, this trip to Ooty just happened for me in the monsoons. Since, it was a sudden plan. When we decided to pack our bags and head to Ooty over the next weekend in August, 2010, almost on a spree. Since, this happened to be a long weekend (off on Friday) and we wanted to make the most of it.
Reaching Ooty
We took an overnight bus to Ooty from Bangalore. And , we actually reached Ooty early next morning, as early as 4am itself. The story is a bit funny. Although most of the buses put a travel time of around 8 hours between Bangalore and Ooty, mostly they drive like crazy at night and the trip ends earlier than expected. Since we were not aware of this fact. So, we were happily sleeping when our bus came to a halt and the conductor started shouting for the tourists to get down. Actually, even after waking up, it took us some moments to sync in that we had already reached Ooty. It was still totally dark outside while we had expected to reach by 6am or later.
Nevertheless, we got down the bus. Then we called our resort, Sagar resort ooty booked via agoda. in the wee hours at 4am in the morning to see if they could send us a vehicle for pickup. And, our resort was courteous enough to not just send the vehicle but also allow an early checkin. We had to wait for a little while for our cab. Once it arrived, we started for the resort and reached there by 5:30am in the morning.
First Impression
We were anticipating we would freshen up , have breakfast and then fall asleep due to the overnight travel exertion. But to our surprise the freshness in the air and the beauty of the surroundings stole away all our tiredness! We were all ready to explore the place by 10 AM and we headed for a full day site seeing. Upon reaching the resort, we first got fresh and rested for a while. Today, we ordered room service for breakfast. After a simple breakfast, we decided to head out and explore the queen of the hill stations.
We were mesmerized by the beauty of the hill station. There was a fresh layer of green everywhere. The flora and fauna of the land were flourishing in all shades of green after the kiss of rains. Vast stretches of tea and coffee plantations were on their bloom. Wild flowers had blossomed on every nook and corner. The whole place was washed into freshness.
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| beautiful resort garden |
The endeavor with clouds
Since this was monsoon season, there were clouds everywhere. The beauty is that clouds lie very low on the hill stations. So much so that the clouds hung over the tree branches and into the valleys below us. And we experienced the whole process of the cloud formation. Soft flakes of white would come from nowhere and start surrounding us. It felt like they were gliding right through us. And, we tirelessly watched and felt the clouds all through our 2 days stay here.
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| cloud cloud everywhere |
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| clouds hung over tea estates |
Also, while we were boating into the Ooty lake, it started drizzling for a while! But look at the picture below, it was so beautiful all around. The mystic atmosphere, the soft drizzles is something I really loved. We held an umbrella while we went on boating into the lake. And, it did feel more romantic than general.
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| boat ride in ooty lake |
Site seeing
We had hired a cab from our resort (Hotel Sagar Resort) and we went to various sites on our two days site seeing in Ooty. The reception of the locals, the tea offered at the roadside shack and the aroma of the spices and the fresh vegetation filled us with warmth and happiness where ever we went. In short, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and 2 day roaming around in Ooty during the peak monsoons in August.
It did rain a little here and there as we went through the sites. Like the boating above. And when we went to visit the botanical garden, we had to take shelter in a glass house for a little while when it rained. But the good thing is that it never rained more than half an hour at a stretch and more than once or twice a day. And as soon as it stopped raining, we went on exploring the place. And it seemed to get more beautiful with each rain.
The trip back
Third day when we started our volvo journey back from Ooty to Bangalore, the journey was as fulfilling and exciting as the destination had been. Half of the day long journey was through the winding hills. The scenes were simply mesmerizing. We saw bunch of clouds hung on tree branches in the valleys below, green stretches of mountains, livestocks in the pasture lands of the valleys, birds perching on the trees and what not!! At places there were patches of mountains covered in shades of pink and red and yellow flowers amidst the green blanket. Sites to behold forever….
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| A misty morning |
So, in conclusion, we will like to say, do romance the queen of hills in the monsoons and live the experience once..you will be compelled to do it again and again 🙂 Since you will meet fresh green hill stations, covered in layers of greenery, beautiful clouds and fresh warm tea to have right in the middle of the tea station.
General tips on visiting Ooty
- Ooty is well connected via road to all the major surrounding towns including Bangalore, Mysore and Coimbatore. It’s a pleasure to drive here.
- You can as well take an overnight bus from one of these places to Ooty. The AC bus journey is quiet comfortable. You can book online from KSRTC website or also from other websites (for private buses)
- Carry one jacket or sweater. One warm cloth should be enough most of the time except for extreme winter months.
- You can easily do a tour of most of the sites worth seeing here in one day.
- Do book a resort or homestay a little farther to the main town if you want a relaxing holiday. After seeing the town, you can spend some time even in your resort. Like we did in hotel sagar resort.
- You should try some locally made chocolates in Ooty, they are really delicious.
- If you have time, you can as well visit nearby places like some waterfalls, 6th mile and 9th mile.
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I enjoyed your article. Some great points on the various options. This blog got the contents that helped me a lot into travel tips. Thank you for sharing this valuable article. And I would like to share it with my friends.
Thanks so much Anjali
Ooty is the best weekend destination from Bangalore. I love to go there. Your post brought back so many memories.
The resort is really good to have taken care of you in the early hours of the day.
You are right. Of all the hill stations that I have visited in South India, my personal favorites are Munnar, Kodaikanal and Ooty in that order.
The lush greenery of Ooty during monsoons is breathtaking. And the clouds looks extremely fluffy and surreal. The pictures are just amazing.
How interesting to travel during monsoon season. Love the clouds. I was under the impression that during monsoon season it literally POURED all day every day. I can see that was extreme as your photos don’t indicate that at all.
What a beautiful spot to visit. Seeing the greenery landscapes is always my kind of vacation. I love that you have featured a ton of these places on your blog because they feel like an escape and great place to spend your weekends in!
I am lucky to be currently living at a place which is surrounded by such green places and hill stations at a distance of 100-400 kilometers. Definitely lots of choices for weekends
Fresh green hill station, fresh warm tea straight from the depot sounds to me the place to be, and looks like you guys had a great time. Now I know a lot of things to expect when visiting. Thanks for the tips!
Looks like a lovely getaway! Monsoons are always neat, Are you still live in Arizona and it was my favorite time of year. It’s always awesome to see mother nature kick some serious butt!!
Looks like you had a great time 🙂 That is great that the hotel could come and collect you and then check you in early! I am so grumpy when I travel overnight! Boating into the Ooty lake sounds like fun and you’re right – that photo is stunning!
I hate it when an overnight bus arrives at 4am, especially when it’s unplanned. It was great of the resort to pick you up and check you in though, imagine if you were stuck at the bus stop waiting all morning! I knew there were tea plantations up there but not coffee. The weather didn’t sound too great but also not too bad, the clouds over the plantations made for great photography.
You are right..before time is also troublesome at times 🙂 But we were rescued by the resort. And we totally enjoyed the clouds
Your trip to Ooty looks like a lot of fun. How nice of your hotel to pick you up and let you in early. Always a pleasant surprise after a night bus trip. I’d love to see the waterfalls
One day
That’s wild that the night bus trip is so much shorter than the daytime trip – makes for a pleasant surprise if you think you still have a couple hours to go! That’s great that the hotel arranged both pickup and a early check-in! I always want to relax in the room for a bit after spending time travelling.
same here Courtney. And the hotel being totally supportive of it, made the stay even more special
Wow how lovely of your resort not only to arrange a pick up at 4am bit to allow early check in as well. I’m not a massive fan of bus travel and tend to avoid it if I have any choice. 8 hours would kill me so luck it ended up being less!