This is the southern most tip of India where Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal meet. It is spread across an area of 1672 sq. km. The tip of the boundary lays the famous Kanyakumari temple. During full moon day you can see the sun setting and the moon rising simultaneously.
It is surrounded by Majestic hills and plains. The sea forms a colorful border with the sea shores fringed with coconut grove and paddy fields. There are few patches of red cliff with undulating valleys, mountainous terrain and the inter-oven sea coasts makes it a amazing holiday destination.
Places to visit
Vivekananda Rock Memorial – This place is surrounded by all the sides by sea. It has two memorials viz. Vivekananda Mandapam and Shripada Mandapam. Vivekananda Mandapam was built in the memory of Vivekananda and has a wonderful meditating center. Shripada Mandapam is a holy place and it’s believed that the footprints on this rock belongs to goddess Parvathi and this was the place where she did Tapas when she was a Virgin to fulfill her wish of getting married to Lord Shiva. When you visit this place make sure that you do not miss out on this place.
Udayagiri Fort – This fort was built in year 1741-44 under the supervision of King Marthanda Varam. The part which you should never miss out is the brass gun, 16ft long bored as a 22 pounder. It is said that this gun could not me moved for few yards with the help of large number of people and as many as 16 elephants. The district administration with the help of Forest department have set up a Biodiversity park here where you can see more that 100 species of trees birds etc.
Mathur hanging trough – It is longest as well as tallest trough bridge in Asia. It was built in 1966 with a height of 115 feet and a length of one kilometer at a cost of around Rs. 12.90 lakhs in those days. It is shouldered by 28 huge pillars.
Padmanabhapuram Palace - The ancient historical town Padmanabhapuram is one of the four municipalities in the district is 55 Km. south of Trivandrum, about two km. east of Thuckalay and 35 km. from Kanyakumari on the Trivandrum-Cape Comerin road. This town is surrounded by a fort with an area of 187 acres. The ancient capital of Travancore might be constructed before AD 1601. The palace with an area of seven acres is situated in the very centre on the Padmanabhapuram Fort, amidst hills, dales and rivers. The palace which is situated in Kanyakumari District is under the control of a Curator of the Archaeological Department of Kerala Government. The fort which was built with mud originally was dismantled and reconstructed with granite by Maharaja Marthanda Varma. The height of the walls varies from 15’ to 24’ according to the inclination of the ground.
Time of Visit
The best time to visit is on the full moon day in April. On this day you can find the sun set on one side and moon rising on the other side simultaneously. It’s better to avoid visiting this place during May till July due to sultry weather.
Transportation:
Air – The nearest airport is Trivandrum.
Train – You have a railway station in Kanyakumari
Road – This place is easily accessible by road. For local transportation you have taxis, auto rickshaw’s which are available.
Make sure that you are carrying sun screen lotion whenever you are visiting this place.
Places to Visit in Tamil Nadu - Ooty
Udhagamandalam or popularly known as Ooty is located 7,349 feet above the sea level in the mountain ranges of Nilgiris. It’s known as the Queen of southern hill resorts in India.
Places of interest
Botanical Garden – It was established in the year 1848. It has more than thousands of varieties of plant species. A must visit place on a trip to Ooty. When you visit this place make sure you do not miss out on the monkey puzzle tree (monkey can not climb this tree), 20 million year old fossilized tree, fern house. There is a flower show which is held in the month of May which draws lot of public from all across the world.
Ooty Lake – It covers an area of one and a half square miles with a beautiful railway track running along one bank of the lake. Boating in this lake is also a major tourist attraction. In the month of May you have boat race being conducted which again draws a huge crowd. You can rent boats here on a hourly basis.
Spencer’s departmental store – A must visit place for cigar lovers. It’s a short walk from Charing Cross and specializes on cigars made of Indian tobacco taken from their own plantation
Other places around Ooty are:
Dodabetta – It’s the highest peak in Tamil Nadu
Kalhatti falls – It drops from around 130 feet and is around 12 kms from Ooty
Avalanche – This is one of the best spots for tout fishing. Don’t worry the fishing rods can be hired there. It is around 25 kms from Ooty
Suicide Point – When you go there you will realize why it is called that way
Lambs Point - From this point you can view the valley till Metupalayam
Dolphin peak – A nice place to have a look at the valley below. The point has been named based on the reseblance to Dolpin's nose.
When to Visit
September to February
This is the period most preferred by Europeans. The weather tends to be that of an English summer although the evenings and nights can be quite cool, even cold with December and January occasionally getting morning frosts. Those intending to engage in outdoor activities will find this a good time with plenty of wildlife in the National Parks. Coonoor (but not normally Ooty) does tend to be affected by the Northeast monsoon during November.
June to August
For Ooty the Southwest monsoon period is July and August (Coonoor does not tend to be affected much by rain during this period). Local travel can be problematic during this period with frequent landslides blocking roads. However, the vegetation is at its best as is the wildlife activities. This period can see very heavy rain for prolonged periods which can put a definite damper on things !
March to May
This is the Indian tourist season for the Nilgiris. It tends to be extremely congested and can be quite hot. The local infrastructure finds it difficult to cope with a large influx of short stay Indian tourists who arrive in a continuous stream of buses from the plains. Whilst this period is fine for the sun seekers it is not recommended for those who wish to engage in visits to wildlife parks.
Accessibility
Air – Nearest airport is Coimbatore. There is a regular bus service available from Coimbatore
Train – There are regular meter gauge trains running between Ooty from Metupalayam. Metupalayam is around 40 kms from Coimbatore Railway Station. It’s recommended that you take the train journey from Metupalayam; the scenery is amazing to watch.
Road – Ooty is well connected from Coimbatore, Bangalore, Mysore and Calicut. There are regular bus services from these places.
Local transportation – You have regular bus service, lots of local Taxis (Rs. 7 per kilometer) and Auto rickshaws (Rs. 7 per kilometer). It’s better to hire a taxi for sightseeing with standard fixed prices. This will save lot of time fighting with the Auto and Taxi drivers.
Temperature
The temperatures are around 25 degree Celsius during peak summer to near zero degrees Celsius during winter.
Places of interest
Botanical Garden – It was established in the year 1848. It has more than thousands of varieties of plant species. A must visit place on a trip to Ooty. When you visit this place make sure you do not miss out on the monkey puzzle tree (monkey can not climb this tree), 20 million year old fossilized tree, fern house. There is a flower show which is held in the month of May which draws lot of public from all across the world.
Ooty Lake – It covers an area of one and a half square miles with a beautiful railway track running along one bank of the lake. Boating in this lake is also a major tourist attraction. In the month of May you have boat race being conducted which again draws a huge crowd. You can rent boats here on a hourly basis.
Spencer’s departmental store – A must visit place for cigar lovers. It’s a short walk from Charing Cross and specializes on cigars made of Indian tobacco taken from their own plantation
Other places around Ooty are:
Dodabetta – It’s the highest peak in Tamil Nadu
Kalhatti falls – It drops from around 130 feet and is around 12 kms from Ooty
Avalanche – This is one of the best spots for tout fishing. Don’t worry the fishing rods can be hired there. It is around 25 kms from Ooty
Suicide Point – When you go there you will realize why it is called that way
Lambs Point - From this point you can view the valley till Metupalayam
Dolphin peak – A nice place to have a look at the valley below. The point has been named based on the reseblance to Dolpin's nose.
When to Visit
September to February
This is the period most preferred by Europeans. The weather tends to be that of an English summer although the evenings and nights can be quite cool, even cold with December and January occasionally getting morning frosts. Those intending to engage in outdoor activities will find this a good time with plenty of wildlife in the National Parks. Coonoor (but not normally Ooty) does tend to be affected by the Northeast monsoon during November.
June to August
For Ooty the Southwest monsoon period is July and August (Coonoor does not tend to be affected much by rain during this period). Local travel can be problematic during this period with frequent landslides blocking roads. However, the vegetation is at its best as is the wildlife activities. This period can see very heavy rain for prolonged periods which can put a definite damper on things !
March to May
This is the Indian tourist season for the Nilgiris. It tends to be extremely congested and can be quite hot. The local infrastructure finds it difficult to cope with a large influx of short stay Indian tourists who arrive in a continuous stream of buses from the plains. Whilst this period is fine for the sun seekers it is not recommended for those who wish to engage in visits to wildlife parks.
Accessibility
Air – Nearest airport is Coimbatore. There is a regular bus service available from Coimbatore
Train – There are regular meter gauge trains running between Ooty from Metupalayam. Metupalayam is around 40 kms from Coimbatore Railway Station. It’s recommended that you take the train journey from Metupalayam; the scenery is amazing to watch.
Road – Ooty is well connected from Coimbatore, Bangalore, Mysore and Calicut. There are regular bus services from these places.
Local transportation – You have regular bus service, lots of local Taxis (Rs. 7 per kilometer) and Auto rickshaws (Rs. 7 per kilometer). It’s better to hire a taxi for sightseeing with standard fixed prices. This will save lot of time fighting with the Auto and Taxi drivers.
Temperature
The temperatures are around 25 degree Celsius during peak summer to near zero degrees Celsius during winter.
Hotels in Ooty:
Heritage hotels - Taj Savoy Ooty
First class hotels -
- Fortune Sullivan Court
- Hill Country Resort
- Holiday Inn Gem Park
- Hotel Sinclairs
- Howard Johnson The Monarch
- Kurumba Village Resort
- Nahar Hotel
- Sagar Holiday Resort
- Sterling Holiday Resort
Econonmy Hotels in Ooty
- Fernhills Palace
- Glyngarth Villa
- Hotel Lake View
- Kings Cliff
- Red Hill Nature Resort
- Regency Vilas Palace
- Sivasagar Hotel
- The Willow Hill
Budget Hotels in Ooty
- Bamboo Banks Farm Guest House
- Blue Valley Resorts
- Glanton Manor
- Hotel Charing Cross
- Hotel Darshan
- Hotel Hillock
- Hotel Khems
- Hotel Silver Oak
- Merit Inn Southern Star
- Moti Manor
- Nalapad
- Ooty Gate Hotel
- Preethi Classic Towers
- The Nilgiri Woodland
- The Queens Residency
Wildlife Resorts in Ooty:
- Jungle Hut
- Jungle Retreat
- Monarch Safari Park
- Tuskar Trails
- Ambuja Farm House
- Casa Deep Woods
- Blue Valley Resorts
- Bush Betta
Important Note: This is a plastic free zone. So, please make sure that you do not use plastic bags or dispose any plastic materials. Let us keep this place clean of plastic.
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