Ooh La La...Ooty!!

Our first break from Bangalore with our new car(Hyundai Getz) was to the most popular hill station, Ooty, in the Nilgiri hills,officially known as Udhagamandalam. After thoroughly surfing the net for driving directions from Bangalore, what I found was that most travellers mentioned just the main cities and towns that come on one's way and not much in detail. So, we decided to set out on our own at around 6:30 am and I had a pen and paper handy with me.

We decided to take the NICE Road from Koramangala which was a toll road, with 3 stops for payment,to avoid the traffic but a small stretch of road near Basavanapura was bad but once on the highway towards Mysore, not only the road was the good but also had very clear driving directions.

The first main city we entered was Ramanagara-the Silk City and then straight to Mandya-the Sugar City. As we set out early morning, we did not have breakfast at home. So we stopped at Mc.Donald's in Bharat Petrol Station on the left side of the road for breakfast and also packed something for our way ahead so that we could save time.There are also many Cafe coffee day outlets nearby. Then we headed straight towards Srirangapatna and the straight road lead to Mysore.

There is also another long way but we wanted to explore the short route via the popular 36 hairpin bends, so we took the road via Mysore. Once you enter Mysore, you will encounter a 4 roads junction with various signs towards Ooty,Chamundi Hills and Madikeri. Go straight and and you will see a circle where there is an Auto stand. Take a right from the circle and head towards the Mysore Palace.On your left hand side you can see the St.Philomena's church. The narrow lane has many jewellery shops. Now you will encounter another 4 roads junction called the Nehru circle.You will see the State bank of Mysore's ATM on your right hand side, bus stand on your left hand side and India post in front.Go straight where you will see the Mysore Palace's entrance.Now take a left here and you will see another circle where you will see the direction to Ooty and towards right side.Ooty and Nanjaguda is 159 kms from there.

Take a left and when u see a forked diversion go right down where you can see that Ooty is 156 kms.There is The Village Resort on your right hand side and the SGS hospital.Another forked diversion from where you have to go straight.If you wish to refill your car's tank,you can do it at the Bharat Petrol Bunk on your left hand side. Head on the straight road and Ooty will be just 146 kms now.Once you cross the Thandya Industrial belt, after a few kms you will enter Bandipur,the much famed National park where both the south Indian states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu border as also the Deccan Plateau meets the western Ghats and the Nilgiris.

There is another HP petrol bunk on your right hand side and once you reach the Kabini river bridge and head towards Nanjaguda ,Ooty is just 136kms.However there is a really very bad patch of road after Gundlupet till Nanjaguda until you enter Bandipur forest area.

Yet another 4 roads junction from where you have to go straight where you can see the SBI ATM and Indian Oil Petrol Bunk on you left hand side. Go further straight and you can see the Bandipur Safari Lodge. Its recommended not to get down from your vehicle in the forest area even to take a photo as animals may turn out any moment and avoid honking lest the animals don't feel disturbed in their natural habitat.

There are various resorts in this area,the most popular ones being the Cicada Kabini Resort,Bandipur Plaza,Nilgiri resort and MC rooms. Ooty is just 84 kms from there. Once you are out of the forest area ,you have to head straight towards Masinagudi and then comes the steepest drive we ever took,the 36 hairpin bends,where one needs to be really very cautious while driving and not concentrate on anything else. After finishing them,we asked for St. Stephen's church as we were told that its almost in the heart of the Ooty town.We booked ourselves at the Holiday Inn Hotel.A left turn from the church took us to our hotel while further forward the road leads to Coonoor,the second largest hill resort in the Nilgiris much famed for its tea plantations.

Our first break from Bangalore was fun,adventurous and most importantly safe. Hope my effort to jot down the driving instructions prove to be helpful to all those who wish to explore the beautiful and picturesque town of Ooty that's sure to mesmerize everyone. And don't forget to explore Coonoor,Wellington and Kotagiri from Ooty,other popular tourist spots that has much more to offer.