Leg 3: Ooty

Posted on: April 15th, 2009 in Around Bangalore, Experiences, Travel, Weekend Trips | 172 views

This entry is part of the series, Photography with a Hint of Wildlife.»

This series captures my experiences when two good friends» of mine and I travelled extensively, especially across the wild side of South India. I hope you enjoy the ride through my photographs and the written word.

March 13 saw me wake up at about 6:30AM and venture out to take macros of flowers. About couple hours later, after some refreshing tea (Ooty is famous for its tea) and after being informed that Internet cafes were located at Charing Cross (now, that sure reminded me of London!), we headed out into town. We went to the Boat Club (Ooty Lake and Boat House» ) which was empty at that hour – making it perfect for taking pictures (the light was great too). The early morning saw cattle, sheep and horses venture out of their pens to graze the fresh green grass touched by the morning dew. The morning also saw kids rushing to their respective schools and adults to their respective workplaces. And some of them were curious — like the group of young schoolboys who huddled around me when I was taking macro shots, or a group of young college-going girls who were awestruck by the “foreigner”.

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Thereon, we headed towards Charing Cross and decided to visit the Botanical Gardens» . After buying our tickets (as usual) at the entrance, we wandered around the Gardens, taking pictures — of people, of birds, of trees and plants, of flowers… Once done, we stepped outside and looked for chocolates (Ooty is famous for its homemade chocolates) in the shops that line the compound wall of the Gardens. A short walk and a few pictures later, we headed back to the hotel to rest.

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We planned to visit the Doddabetta Peak» that evening. We drove through winding roads to reach the gates at around 5:30PM, but were stopped at the entrance there. The gatekeeper told us that it was “closed because of animal problem” and that we had to come back only the next day. “It is open from 8:30 onwards” he told us. Now, I guess “it” means the road to the summit. Anyway, we headed downhill and came across a tea plantation called High Hill Tea Estate, which we thought would be a good location to shoot. The signboard said “Take Photography”!

We ventured into the tea plantation, with two ferocious farm dogs greeting us with their barks and lunges towards the gate that separated us from them. A few pictures of the plantation later, we found a vantage point from where we could see the whole town. It was towards sunset and the sky was changing dramatically with every minute. We were lucky to witness the magic and took quite a few good pictures, which left us smiling and satisfied. A truly perfect ending to a good shoot.

[View with PicLens]

Driving Experience: 8/10

Ooty is a pleasure to drive with good roads.

Watch Out For:

Narrow and winding roads
Motorists heading towards you from the other direction. Use the horn extensively.

Look Out For:

Wonderful tea and homemade chocolates (recommendation: Modern Stores» on Commercial Road)

More From Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog

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Cindy (a journalist and photographer) and her daughter Ashleigh.

An artificial lake built by John Sullivan. It used to be much larger than its present size, and encompassed the present bus stand and race course as well as much of the present market. Next to the lake there is a Mini Garden with an amusement park for children and a toy train.

The Government Botanical Gardens at Ootacamund, Tamilnadu state, India, was laid out in 1847. The Gardens, divided into several sections, cover an area of around 22 hectares, and lie on the lower slopes of the Doddabetta peak. The garden has a terraced layout.

This botanical garden was created by John Sullivan, Collector of the district of Coimbatore in 1819. The Marquis of Tweedale prepared the initial layout during late 1840s.

The Gardens have around 1000 species, both exotic and indigenous, of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, and herbal plants. In the centre of the Gardens lie a fossilized tree trunk estimated to be 20 million years old. The Gardens consist of several lawns, ponds with lilies, beds of flowers and ferns laid out in an Italian style, several plots of flowering plants, a variety of medicinal plants.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooty_Botanical_Gardens

Doddabetta is the highest mountain in the Nilgiri Hills, at 2623 meters (8606 feet). There is a reserved forest area around the peak. It is 4km southeast of Udagamandalam (also known as Ooty) in the The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, South India. It is a popular tourist attraction with road access to the summit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doddabetta

The dark chocolates at Modern store. This shopkeeper knows how to treat customers and he
has a range of pure home made stuff which are worth the money and I would rate them at par with Thorntons and Godiva.

Review source: http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Ooty-59984-1.html

CStimson

April 16th, 2009 at 12:31 PM · Reply

Man, what a shoot! You really posted some outstanding Ooty shots. It’s a pleasure to see them.

I can vouch for the chocolate as well The last bite of bitter chocolate from Modern Store was consumed nearly a month after purchase and nearly 6,000 miles away!