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July 29, 2010

Ooty – The Hill Station with Timeless Appeal

One of my friends work as a dubbing artist for National Geographic Channel, which gives her a chance to know about the various interesting events and destinations. The other day she called up and said that she did a program on Ooty and was really mesmerized by its natural beauty and attractions. It’s a great tourist destination to visit. So we a group of five friends packed our bags and flew down to Coimbatore international airport and from there we drove to Ooty.

Ooty - The Hill Station
Ooty is an enchanting hill station of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ideally located in the gorgeous green hills of the Nilgiris, this destination attracts tourists from across the globe. It is a famous summer retreat of incredible India. It was established in the 19th century by the British.

We stepped into this wonderful land in the morning when it was enveloped in mist and offering breathtaking views of rolling hills. It was refreshing to the hilt. I felt as if a wonderland has straight away come out of a fairytale book.

We were booked in the Lakeview Hotel which offers picturesque views of the lush green surroundings, lovely lake and mesmerizing terraced slopes of a hill. It is the largest hotel in Ooty. We stayed in a luxury cottage and the experience was great. Our guide told us that many Bollywood movies have been shot in this hill station.

Ooty Tour offers attractions like rolling hills carpeted with lush green vegetation, orchards of plums and peaches, terraced tea gardens, captivating lake and a beautiful garden with a wide variety of floral species. Ooty hill station is located at an altitude of 7, 347 feet above sea level. It attracts tourists round the year as it is blessed with salubrious climate throughout the year.

We strolled through the aromatic tea gardens which was such a refreshing experience. The workers at work in the tea gardens were plucking tea leaves. We chatted with them and they told us that there is a special technique of plucking the leaves. One old man at work showed us how to pluck only the typical two leaves and a bud from the tea plants. He also told us that the tea plants have an average life span of 100 years. Well this is something I didn’t know.

Next we headed towards the Ooty Lake. On the way to the lake we stopped at a tea shop where we relished masala tea. It was really very tasty. The boy at the shop also asked us to taste the chocolate tea. We had it for the first time and the taste was quite good. We even bought some tea packets from the same shop which I relished for a long time after coming back to Delhi.

Ooty Lake is one of the most famous attractions of Ooty. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by green surroundings. We enjoyed boating amidst refreshing surroundings on the lake and then headed to the Botanical Garden. Walk through this garden and you will be greeted with overwhelming views of the colorful flowers and birds. Here I found myself close to nature. While exploring the garden our guide told us that during the month of May the garden serves as a venue for the famous Flower Show. Well, Ooty is truly the baby of Mother Nature.