Bangalore To Ooty - From Busy Life To Peaceful Life

By Author: Rashmiranjan Patil
Total Articles: 261
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Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, is also known as the pensioner's paradise, green city and IT hub. Known for its salubrious climate throughout the year, Bangalore is a cosmopolitan city.

Ooty, the 'Queen of the Hill Stations' was founded, like most of the other hill stations by the British to escape from the hot climate of the plains. Still reminiscent of its colonial flavour, Ooty is one of the favourite weekend spots of a number of Bangaloreans who want to get a break of their mundane life.

Known for its natural beauty, the main sightseeing options in Ooty are the Ooty Lake, Doddabetta peak, Botanical garden, Rose garden, Thread garden, Guna caves, Pykara Falls and Lake, Dolphins Nose, and Fairy Falls. Ooty is also famous for its home made chocolate.

Ooty is well connected by road and rail. From Bangalore the best way to reach Ooty is by road. Ooty is about 260 km away from Bangalore. It takes around 5 hours, including pit stops, to reach Ooty.

State and private buses ply on the road from Bangalore to Ooty. The roads from Bangalore to Ooty are the best and have various facilities like petrol ...
... bunks, hotels with clean wash rooms on the way for your convenience.

The drive from Bangalore takes you through the NH 17 till Mysore, passing through Bidadi, Ramanagara, Channapattana, Maddur, Mandya, and Srirangapattana. From Mysore you will have to follow the NH 212, better known as the Bangalore-Calicut road. This route passes through towns like Nanjangud, Begur and Gundlupet till the Bandipur forest check post. From here you have to follow the NH 67 through Bandipur and Mudumalai forests till you reach Theppakadu. If lucky, you may even spot animals like deer, elephants, wild boars and bears. The speed limit within both the forests is 40 km per hour.

From Theppakadu, take the SH 67 and climb the 36 hair pin bends through Kalhatty to reach Ooty.

If you are travelling by heavy vehicles like buses, from Theppakadu you will have to drive further to Gudallur and follow the Coimbatore-Ooty-Gudallur highway or the NH 181 that will take you through towns like Naduvattom and Pykara finally reaching Ooty.

The only disadvantage of this route is that you cannot cross the Bandipur and Mudumalai wild life sanctuaries at night as the check posts are closed to avoid disturbances to animals. But during the day you may even spot animals like deer, elephants, wild boars and bears. The speed limit within both the forests is 40 km per hour.

Although there is no direct train from Bangalore to Ooty, You can take a train to Mettupalyam that is linked to Ooty by the toy train on a narrow gauge rail.