Famous Tourist places in Ooty and Coonoor

There are many famous tourist places in Ooty and Coonoor. Ooty has been one of the oldest known hill station for Indians and this travel guide to Ooty draws up the perfect itinerary for you to enjoy all the famous tourist places in Ooty and Coonoor with limited time on hand. I recommend these based on how out of ordinary they are, keeping away from the crowded spots especially if its not one of the best (like the botanical gardens here) and giving you an opportunity to experience the culture and heritage too.

This post covers

• Lunch at Place to Bee
• Thread Garden
• Breakfast frenzy at Adyar Anand Bhawan
• Toy Train Ride from Ooty to Conoor
• Drive through the Nilgiris (Pine and Eucalyptus forests) to enjoy the view from Doddabetta peak

Ooty is a really commercialized hill station and much more touristy than Kodaikanal and Munnar, the other 2 hotspots for driving in the Nilgiris. You may want to take a look at the top 5 places in Kodaikanal, here. The super famous tourist attractions in Ooty and Coonoor include Botanical Gardens, Doddabetta Peak, Upper Bhawani lake and the like. I went at some of these and did not see myself returning again. The Botanical Gardens for instance, was large and more like a good picnic space with sprawling lawns and thats where it ended for me, especially having seen many much more beautiful gardens all over the world.

The experiences I have chosen are a mix of hidden gems and places on all Ooty tourist list.

LUNCH AT PLACE TO BEE
Place to Bee is not your run of the mill family restaurant or a regular cafe you find at a secluded corner.It’s an eco-sensitive slow food cafe and bees conservatory rolled into one. Tucked inside the Keystone Foundation’s little bee museum, it serves some delicious pizza, crepes and pasta along with their signature honey focused dishes, made from locally sourced ingredients. One of the very few eco-oriented cafes in Ooty. Read more about Place to Bee here.
I am a foodie and a nature lover as you must have already gathered, and thus I really liked the concept of this place and decided to include it in this travel guide to Ooty.

THREAD GARDEN
Concept: This is a completely women made garden: 50 women from Kerala used 60million metres of thread in 400 shades to create these flowers, leaves and stems over 12 years. Looking from a feet away, you will not be able to distinguish a real flower from the one made with a thread. It is not an embroidery, painting or printing and it doesn’t use real flowers either. It’s a unique concept of making 3D flowers with threads wrapped around canvas pieces for flower petals and leaves.The scale and size of the flowers is kept in mind which goes a long way in making these look real.

The wide variety of flowers in this garden include Lupin flower, Water lilies, Orchids, Tiger lilies, Astros, Bird of paradise, Gladius, Rhodo dendrons, Nilkurinji strobilanthus, Coxcome flowers, Gerberas, Adanium, Giant water lilies and Tulips.

This may not be one of the most famous tourist places in Ooty and Coonoor but it surely is one of the most unique ones I have ever seen.

Anthony Joseph is the man behind this unique concept. There is a small souvenir shop attached to the garden if you would like to take a thread flower home.
Location and Opening times: Located right opposite Ooty lake and the Boat house, it opens at 9am in the morning.

Guided tour: It is self explanatory to a large extent and there is a sort of guide also who gives a brief introduction and helps with the names of the flowers. One can visit the whole place within 15-20minutes. There is an additional charge of Rs20 for taking photos and otherwise the entry fee is just Rs20.

TOY TRAIN RIDE FROM OOTY TO CONOOR

One of the most scenic train rides in India, this was made famous by the popular Bollywood song “Chhaiyya Chhaiyya.”

It is again one of the must do things on everyone’s list. Make sure to make the booking in advance through the IRCTC website. You can refer to the Nilgiris Toy Train website for schedules from Ooty to Conoor and back, which can help you in planning your trip.

The morning train at 9:15am usually has only 40 unreserved seats for which one has to be in the queue from as early as 7:30am. Hence pre-reservation is recommended.

The journey to Conoor is 1hr 10minutes long and if you don’t intend to spend much time in Conoor, you can return back the same day from Conoor to Ooty by the 12:35pm train. In case you’re hungry, there is a Hyderabad Biryani House very close to the Conoor station where you can eat / get biryani packed. It is one of the most famous biryani places in Ooty offering sumptuous portions and options for both vegetarians and non vegetarians.

SHOPPING FOR HOME MADE CHOCOLATES, FUDGE AND VARKEY (a special Ooty biscuit) 
Check out these specialties at one of the renowned and old shops like Kingstar and Moddy’s (also known as Modern Stores selling the Moddy’s brand of home made chocolates). Places like Ooty and Mahabaleshwar have a thriving home made chocolate and fudge industry. Some of the fudge in these bakery shops of Ooty are really delectable and hence included in 5 must have experiences in Ooty.

DRIVING THROUGH NILGIRIS (PINE AND EUCALYPTUS FORESTS TO DODDABETTA PEAK

A travel guide to Ooty can’t be complete without this. Doddabetta Peak is one tourist destination on all the tourist destination lists for Ooty. There are a few things to note about this place: Being a little away from the city and accessible through a long flight of stairs only, this sees relatively less tourists than a botanical garden. Having said that, if the weather is misty or rainy, none of the views are visible which makes the whole experience for nothing (well almost). It is worthwhile to check the weather conditions in Ooty on the days you’re planning the trip to check on the monsoons or rain showers. The one site which I always use is Accuweather. It gives the weather condition for each day is very accurate even upto the next 3-4 months.

Since it is a small peak, its a bit chilly at any time of the day especially during the winter and spring months. This place is not stroller friendly at all and hence you might think twice before coming here with a baby.

Once you reach the observation area, there is a narrow staircase that takes the visitors to the observation deck. While there are telescopes which are installed to be able to the view the scenic beauty, there is an additional charge for it and more importantly not all of them are functional.

What we loved was actually the drive and the fresh air you soak in, thanks to the Pine and Eucalyptus forest. 

BREAKFAST FRENZY AT A2B

There is one last thing that’s worth experiencing if you are up for it: The Breakfast frenzy at Adyar Anand Bhawan (A2B). Breakfast is a crazy time at A2B and often you have to find a place to sit on your own. Ordering is just as crazy as is the self service part of it. During the other times of the day, the servers do wait the tables, however with breakfast rush (especially on a weekend), servers also give up. The food is excellent to say the least!