OOTY “The Nilgiri Biosphere reserve”

The Mystic OOTY

The Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve

“ A state fond of coffee, having most TEA estates” Objective: This blog takes you on a visual drive through the Nilgiris. Defying the set patterns of travel in terms of seasons and structured itineraries you can still enjoy. Circumstances and situations are bound to change, but to enjoy through them is in our hands.
Travel becomes second to breathing once you have adapted to it. I feel claustrophobic now and then after touching base from the earlier trip however a hiatus is always on the cards and the need /urge is intense.
While it rained all over the country, deep into the monsoons I find myself in the Nilgiris.
The superlative degree of the words tall, taller &  tallest falls short of describing the slender, age-old mystifying Nilgiri trees. They are in one word … Intimidating yet beautiful.

As the sky poured and we drove towards Madhumalai jungles, 41km from OOTY, the drive was just OOMPH, AAH, and WOW.
The clouds were heavy and the fog was dense and we had to crane our necks to see the sky, canopied with the stellar Nilgiri trees. With the Car front and rear lights full on, we drive cautiously.
Now I know why the Nilgiris are so-called and famous. The mountains seem to be hard rock and are covered with a dense cover which makes it beautiful. As you lose in them, figuring out nature’s bounty I find myself humming … “ DIL CHATA HAI” This is for the company with me and my surroundings….with mystic climate, curving roads, and few chai stops the 41 km drive is our most memorable longest drive until we come to the flats of madhumalai.

This road with 36 hairpin bends, each one numbered and notified with sign boards connects Ooty to Mysore and runs through the madhumalai jungles, open to driving through the National Park.
The Nilgiri biosphere reserve also known as the Blue Mountains spreads over 124 sq. mt. and lies in the northwest in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu.
Huge Bamboo grooves some fresh and many dried make me wonder about the rich, varied fauna and flora. The landscape too,is varied with mountains, valleys, grasslands, swamps, and waterfalls. This stretch of forest is very well preserved and devoid of human intervention and hence is age-old maintaining its serenity and beauty.
By now the clouds have had a downpour, the mooyar river is flowing above the danger mark muddy and brown, the jungles have bathed umpteenth time and the wet woody smell has fragranced the air around, the greens have changed from lighter to dark, as the animals & trees wriggle to shed the wet feeling, the streams flow gurgling across the road to make water sprinklers as the vehicles pass and the freshest air rejuvenates us.

Distance from Ooty to Mudumalai National Park: 41.4 km
Travel time: 1 hour 23 minutes

We are keen to find out the locals, in the forest. Eyes popping out and necks going 360 degrees we waited for the sight of elephants, deer, and peacock … the first sight of the elephant camp where they are cared for and treated for. seeing the huge animal so closely is surreal. The facility next to the overflowing mooyar river was the qua moment. As the people taking care of “MAHUTS” and VETS narrated various stories, it’s good to understand that they are cared for well.

After spending sufficient time at the facility,  our next sighting is the velvety herd of Deer. Watching them so closely the elegant, smooth-on-the-feet animal seems to be a little restless. Wriggling furiously to shed the wet, skin quivering, is just meters away. From amidst the green this velvety brown spotted deer herd, known for staying in groups waited for the family to join them, for a moment I thought they all looked at me and I was surely staring at them, though seen many times earlier, today is the closest.

Lost in the sight and the spectrum of vivid colors,  We lose on the count of time but the peacock sound, from somewhere very near brings us back as the other residents of the jungle are asking for attention. How lucky can we be?
Elegantly crossing the road this epitome of beauty creature, is just next to the car window. Knocking its pointed beak I am both, taken aback and at the same time exhilarated. This was the closest and gives a feeling they were expecting something as they constantly tried knocking on the windows. So are they used to humans? Are the tourists feeding them? with these questions in mind, I kept clicking photos as the bird took away all the adjectives and synonyms for beauty.

Then it’s the Big one but a baby, hidden amidst the trees the baby elephant a four-year-old calf is on the day outing, Doesn’t it sound like “Baby’s day out” trying to pluck the tender green and in his world as we watch mesmerized.
We reached the forest reserve but we enjoyed the drive the most. We were scheduled for a safari and had no sighting at all, apart from the ones we had already seen through our drive in the open jungles.
The hiatus of a trip to Ooty is achieved through the magnificent monsoons, many deterred us from picking this destination but by far it proved to be the most wonderful, natural, rejuvenating breather.
We did the following sightseeing while in the region

1. The Pykara falls
2. The Elephant Camp
3. Kallayaty falls

Afterthought
But less is more and doing it at a slow pace was wonderful. We had to skip the safari as the monsoon bashed us and showed danger signs and as night fell the return trip through the Nilgiris and the hairpin bends which seemed beautiful and adventurous during day time was scary.

The Itinerary we did was as follows
Day 1: Nashik to Mumbai
Flight: Mumbai to Coimbatore
By Car: Coimbatore to Ooty
Stay: Overnight Ooty
Day 2: Drive 41Km to Nilgiri Biosphere reserve
Return after the drive and multiple stops and sighting on the way did the pyakra falls and the lake.
Day 3: Exploring Ooty
Day 4: Exploring Connor
Day 5 & 6: Exploring Coimbatore & back to Mumbai.

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