Xylo: Wanderlust Tales - Ooty sight seeing

For the sight seeing we booked through a travel agency - who arranged for a full day event to visit the nearby places in Ooty.

It was one fun filled event. There were others along with us, who made the day even more enjoyable. The numerous jokes, fun filled comments, songs - a day well spent with total strangers!

I would like to mention about one incident that happened. Hope this would help us overcome our doubts and fear about people.

So, this trip was along with my parents. For seeing the Pykara falls, there was a walking distance of almost 1-2 kms.

My mom and dad were too tired to cover the distance. And I was equally reluctant to go on my own. So there was one Muslim family with a year old kid. Seeing my reluctance to go alone, they insisted that I go along with them.

It was indeed a sweet gesture. In that 30-40 minutes with them, they literally took care of me like their own. Even at the entry there was a minimal fees that needed to be given. I was about to pay for my own, but they paid for me - saying all of us were together.

I was touched.It is not the money that matters, but the gesture. As they say "aaj kal ke zamane main koi apna kisi ke liye kuch nahin karta", but they were total strangers who we just met on the tour. I really appreciate their help and company.

I hope to find more such genuine, good and caring people through my life who would help me retain my belief on humanity. :)

One word to describe all the places would be enthralling and captivating!

Inside the city we used our car to go to nearby places. Actually, you can drive to all the places on your own too. We were little skeptical about the roads, so we opted for the tour.

Places we saw:

Pykara boat house - is an added attraction over the reservoir. You can have a ride on the motor boats or the speed boats available here.
Pykara river
Pykara falls - a walking distance of about 1-2 kms need to be covered before reaching the falls. It is a good place to relax. It is quite a small waterfall, as a matter of fact you can't see much of it - other than the flowing water.

Pykara, is the name of the village and river 19 kms from Ooty. The Pykara river is considered sacred by the Todas. It rises at Mukurthi peak, and flows northwards, and turns to west after reaching the edge of the plateau.

The others were:

Tea plantation - you can find it in plentiful on the roads in Ooty. It is just pure bliss see acres and acres of land filled with the greenery of the tea plantation.
Needle point - standing here you can view the beauty at its best.
Coonoor
Pine trees of Pykara - they are one of a kind. Towering trees with thorns on them, and they are spread across. It is fun catching glimpses of the sun through the trees. We got to walk across the trees, but one has to be extra careful - the trees were on a tilted land. It takes quite an effort to cross them.
Kamaraj dam - a beautiful location with hills over looking it.
Needle rock view point
Shooting point

Here are few pictures from the sight seeing:

- Shooting point