While this blog is titled Captivating Coonoor, it’ll delve into a trip I made to Tamil Nadu and explored 3 gems – Coimbatore, Ooty, and Coonoor. I was so smitten by Coonoor, that I decided to focus the blog title on just that!

This was a short trip I made with my mom – 3 nights 4 days – I’ll share the day-by-day itinerary below:

Day 1 – We flew into Coimbatore in the afternoon, and headed to the Isha Foundation straight from the airport. The drive was well over an hour. We reached the Ashram around 4:45pm and spent the next three hours there, with the key highlights being:

• Visiting the Devi Temple
• Being part of the 20-min meditation session at Dhyanlinga, believed to have significant positive energies
• Tasting some local snacks at the Ashram’s canteen
• Watching the light and sound show, at the Adiyogi statue – a visual delight!

Unfortunately, phones were not allowed in the ashram, so I don’t have many pictures to share, except of the show at the Adiyogi statue. We really enjoyed our visit. If we were more prepared, we would have attended a yoga session, taken a holy dip in the Chandrakund, and perhaps even planned to stay at the ashram for a few days.

Coimbatore Airport…

Isha Foundation…

On our way back to the city, we visited the Perur Pateeswarar Temple (a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva) and grabbed dinner at a local food chain called Annapoorna. Our stay and breakfast next morning were at the Vivanta Coimbatore. It was more of a business hotel, but the room size was nice and big, and we had lovely pool, garden and terrace views. The staff was hospitable – they arranged a taxi for us for the Isha Foundation visit in Coimbatore, as well as a taxi for the next destinations of our trip – Ooty and Coimbatore and final drop to the Coimbatore airport. The car was clean and the driver pleasant.

Shiva Temple and Dinner…

Day 2 – After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and left for Ooty. As with drives in most of South India, this one was lovely too. To begin with, lots of coconut and tall supari trees on the way, subsequently giving way to hills and clouds.

• Our first stop was the Kattery Park – we were spellbound seeing the beauty of the Nilgiris – view of the tea plantations and the misty dreamy clouds – got us very excited about what all we were going to experience over the next two days in Ooty and Coonoor

• Our next stop was the Botanical Gardens in Ooty, well maintained and very widespread. Please budget time if you enjoy parks and like seeing different varieties of trees, plants, and flowers. There are many different sections – we visited the main central gardens, the glass house, the cactus garden, the Italian garden and the Japanese garden

• Next, we headed to the Tea and Chocolate factories – it was fascinating to see the entire tea making process live, from raw leaves to the final packaged product. This is a good place to buy some tea, oils, and chocolates for gifting.
• Next on the agenda was the Doddabetta Peak (Dodda meaning big and Betta meaning mountain in Kannada). This is the second highest peak of South India (at a height of 8,640 ft) that offers great panoramic views. I loved the hill station vibe here, and also enjoyed some hot filter coffee and varkey, Ooty’s most famous snack.

• Most of these are typical tourist spots in Ooty and find a mention in all the to-do lists and itineraries that you see online. However, a hidden gem we came across was the Thread Garden, located opposite the famous Ooty Lake. This is an entire garden made of thread – consisting of several different flowers – lotus, lily, gladiolus, tulips, gerberas, lupin, etc. – such neat and intricate work, just wow! Antony Joseph is the creator of this garden, who had 50 people work for 12 years and they used ~ 6 crore meters of embroidery thread. A complete delight to witness this one-of-a-kind attraction in the world

And finally, we ended our sight-seeing for the day at the Ooty Lake. People were enjoying boating here. It has a nice promenade, with some shops (for clothes, artifacts, etc.), some eateries, and exhibits that made for great photo opportunities. I absolutely loved shopping at the TTDC souvenir shop, it had such cute and novel décor items for the house.

This night we stayed at the Fortune Sullivan, an ITC property. It was a charming hotel; the reception looked straight out of an Agatha Christie play set! It got pretty chilly at night – we needed our jackets, and the hotel arranged for a bonfire in the garden for the guests. In our room, given the chill, we had to use the heater. The buffet dinner and breakfast next morning were average to be honest, but we enjoyed and appreciated the complimentary fruits, salted cookies, and varkey provided in the room.

Day 3 – We checked out from our hotel after breakfast and drove away from Ooty and towards Mysore, to visit the Pykara Lake. It was sheer magnificence – both the drive to, and the lake itself. Clean waters and lovely views – reminded me of Europe’s beauty. Boating is an option, though we just enjoyed the views and took plentiful pictures. It was amazing to see clear blue skies on one side and grey dramatic clouds on the other, all in one view! We were keen to also visit the Pykara Waterfalls, but were told that in the winter months the falls dry up, so it wasn’t worth a visit.

However, on our way back, we made a few stops:

1. Wenlock Downs Nature Trail, where apparently a lot of movies have been shot. We only made a short halt here, but one can climb a hill for views on the other side
2. Kamaraj Sagar dam, visited by tourists to see different species of birds, and flora fauna
3. The Pine Forest, leading to a beautiful lake. I found this absolutely gorgeous and it reminded me of my Meghalaya trip. Not many people are aware of or take the pain to stop here, but I would say it’s a must do! 

We then drove back to Ooty, and visited the St Stephens Church. We also made a stop at Moddy’s – touted to have the best handmade chocolate – to take back as gifts. I’ve heard their hot chocolate is very popular, so give it a shot if you happen to go there.

Now, it was time to head to Coonoor, which is about a 45-50 minute drive from Ooty. Our first stop here was Sims Park, which is quite big and well maintained. It has a lot of steps and requires much walking, so do gather some energy and stamina to visit this park! It was named after the British Officer Mr. J.D. Sim, who was the Secretary to Government in 1874.

Next, we visited the Lamb’s Rock, which offers lovely views of the valley and I believe it has some treks too, for those interested. We really enjoyed the drives to Lamb’s Rock and then further to Dolphin’s Nose – lush greenery, tea plantations, mist, clouds, hills, and then you spot waterfalls amid all this! Just wow! Dolpin’s Nose and the views from there reminded me of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra in the monsoon season – simply stunning!

After a hectic day of travel and sight-seeing, we reached our abode for the night – TeaNest. In these areas, unlike metro cities, there is nothing much to do post sunset. So, one gets some down time in the hotel in the evenings. This was a small property with just 7 odd rooms. They prepare dinner per guest orders – so we had to choose what we wanted to eat from the menu and let them know by 630pm, so they could prepare and serve the same at 8pm. This resort was charming, and the food and service was pretty good. Time to call it a night!

Day 4 – Morning was the best time to explore the property and the surrounding area. TeaNest is a small boutique resort in the middle of a tea estate. Rooms are named after different types of teas – lemon, green, chamomile, etc. I would strongly recommend this property to everyone. One tip if you do book a room here – opt for LemonGrass or Hibiscus. These rooms are like a house with a living room, one master bedroom, one small bedroom, and a bathroom. Outside we had a little sit-out area, a cane swing, and a lovely garden, with gorgeous views of the sunrise and hills.

The walk from the resort, in and around the area was delightful. When I stepped out around 730am, the sun was shining bright and the skies were so clear and blue. The air quality was 20, again a welcome change from metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Views were absolutely brilliant of the plantations, women plucking tea leaves, the sun-rise, the moon-set, lush greenery with mountains in the background, and lots of different colors of flowers. The only sound one could here was that of the chirping birds. I felt like I was in dreamland. Coonoor is dreamy and how! I walked till the Teanest Annex, another property of the Teanest located about 700 meters away from this one – it has only 2 rooms – perfect for two couples or a small family – once again beautifully maintained, with gorgeous views.

By the time I got back to my room, the sun had disappeared and gave way to mist. Infact, the entire landscape had changed, which was completely mesmerizing! I must have taken over a 100 pictures and videos during my walk this morning; I just couldn’t get enough of the beauty and the views.

We had visited all the touristy to-do points the previous day, so I did some research on what all we could see today. After breakfast at the resort, we loaded our luggage into the taxi and drove away:

• Close to our property, we stopped at NeedleCraft, a shop inside a bungalow, which sells lovely cushion covers, bedspreads, table mats, etc. made of cotton and lace
• We then visited All Saints Church, which had a very pretty garden area. Closeby, we spotted some nice chai-coffee places and shopping stores – Gaia Pottery, The Birdhouse Café, Koohoos, and Indco’s Tea House. With the star attraction being a small retail store selling Acres-Wild organic cheese, locally made in Coonor. It had great variety – Gouda, Feta, Parmesan, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gruyere. It was exciting to see cheese made in India!

• Next, we stopped at the Coonoor train station. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do a train ride as the tracks were under repair post recent heavy rain. Nevertheless, the train station was worth a visit for sure. Once again, this gave me a feeling of being in wonderland  
• We also stopped to pay a quick visit at the Mariamman Temple. It was pretty from the outside but closed so we couldn’t see it from the inside, unfortunately

• Our next destination was Wellington Cantt, such a beautiful area, so well maintained by the Indian Defence Forces. We enjoyed visiting the Murugan Temple, St George’s Church, and Wellington Lake. Like before, the clouds and the mist added to the beauty

• We then headed to 180^o McIver. This was the gorgeous villa used in famous Bollywood movies – Kapoor&Sons and more recently, Sam Bahadur. Not only are the interiors of the house done up so tastefully, the outside gardens are very well maintained, and the views of the tea plantations from the villa, absolutely lovely!

• Our last destination before leaving Coonoor and heading to the Coimbatore airport was a shop recommended by our driver, called ‘New Indian’ at the Coonoor Bus Stand. We bought freshly made Varkey and Banana Chips to take back home. I highly recommend this shop!

To conclude, I have to say Coonoor was dreamy, it was a delight, and I left a piece of my heart there. I’m longing to visit Coonoor again. Next time when I do, I’d like to make Coonoor my base and stay put for one full week, exploring the city and soaking in its vibe, enjoying walks in the morning – just leisurely strolls, see how the weather and hence landscape changes, visit the tea plantations, explore may different restaurants and cafes, eat a lot of varkey and drink a lot of tea and filter coffee. Oh yes, make a day trip to Ooty, via the toy train. I’d love to visit Captivating Coonoor again, soon! Hope you enjoying reading this post! Take care and bye!