Blogs

12 Off beat locations of The Nilgiris

May 27, 2021

A trip to the Queen of hill stations? But no idea where to visit? Want to know about the Off beat locations of the Nilgiris ?

Great! You have landed to a perfect place!

It is so unfortunate that most of the people are heedless of the real beauty of this oldest mountain ranges. However, the tea plantations, eucalyptus, hairpin bends, lakes, rose garden and botanical garden add on the beauty of Nilgiris in its best form, there is something superseding on the other end, raw and unspoiled beauty of the Nilgiris.

Usually Nilgiris is crowded with tourists but we can help you flee from these crowds to the offbeat locations which act as a kaleidoscope of visual treats all the time at any weather!

Just read the blog throughout and start packing your backpacks.

Avalanche

You are going to enjoy the shades of green incalculably here! You can delve into a picture perfect scenes here with the avalanche lake, avalanche valleys and the reservoir. The thick shola forest in the avalanche valleys sometimes forbid even the sunlight to penetrate. If you are lucky enough, enjoy the magnolias and rhododendrons that blooms near the lake. Short trekking, camping, forest safari are the common activities held here. There is no entry fee to the lake but there are charges held to hire bus or jeep safari. There are numerous other off beat locations nearby this location. Keep exploring!

Distance from Ooty- 28 Km

From Coonoor- 38 Km

Pakkasuran Malai

Stunning valleys at all four sides and when seize a look downwards, its 1900 metres deep. You get a clear picture of Coonoor Mountains, dolphin nose, and the hairpin bends of Coonoor Metupalayam Ghat roads. A drive through the Glendale and nonsuch tea estates itself is delighting! Once you reach the Nonsuch tea factory you can either park your vehicles here as further roads are not mend for cars or hire jeeps or just start a trail. This hill is also called as Droog fort. You can see only the ruins of the old fort used by Tipu Sultan during the 16^th century.

Distance from Ooty- 31 Km

From Coonoor- 9 Km

Bermukku Hills

It’s a haven of tranquility! From Ebbanad, also called as the vegetable bowl of Nilgiris, is a long walk up of hundreds of steps to the Bermukku hills. If the weather is favourable, you can get a clear view of Chamrajnagar district in Karnataka, Nanjangud in Mysore, Kodanad, Thengumarahada, Sathyamangalam and the Moyar dam from here. Also you can get to know about the rich flora and fauna all through the trail.

Distance from Ooty- 23 Km

From Coonoor- 29.1 Km

Cairn Hills

The cairn hills is crowned at the highest point of the reserve forest. This trail to the hill is covered with dense cyprus trees (planted in 1868) which is also the major highlights of the trail. Undertaking this soulful trek is the best thing to do here. This is also so rich in the flora and fauna and if luck hits, you can witness some of the Western Ghats endemics and number of bird breeds.

Distance from Ooty- 5 Km

From Coonoor- 21 Km

Glenmorgan

A serene village and one of the oldest tea estate of Nilgiris. If interested, you can experience a rope way from a power house in Singara to glenmorgan. You can also visit the Toda village along the route to Glenmorgan.Take a chance to witness the beauty lying in the form of a lake encompassing these estates.

Distance from Ooty- 25 Km

From Coonoor- 20 Km

Emerald

• 

A village cool as cucumber! On the way to Avalanche, 2km apart from the main road is the Emerald Lake. Emerald green water justifies its name. It is a must see spot in the list. The juxtaposition between the green waters and the valleys offers you a startling scenic beauty. You can easily get access to the lake.

Distance from Ooty- 5 Km

From Coonoor- 12.7 Km

Kodanad View Point

• 

Kodanad view point again is another point with spectacular view of sathyamangalam mountain ranges, plains, valleys, rivers, waterfalls etc. it is perched at a height of 1793 m above sea level. Time flies when you sit watching the bordering green landscapes.

Distance from Ooty- 46.7 Km

From Coonoor- 34.6 Km

Kinnakorai

• 

A drive to Kinnakorai is so alluring that the stretch of dense forest almost fills every traveler’s heart. A beautiful remote village in Kunda. Manjoor, Thaishola, Kundah dam, are the other villages embarked to this place. Kinnakorai view point is located at about 3 km from Kinnakorai village.

Distance from Ooty- 55 Km

From Coonoor- 63 Km

Longwood shola

• 

280 acres of protected shola forest located within the boundaries of Kotagiri. One has to get permission from the forest department to enter the forest. This is a small trek of 3 km. Ample of flora exists here. You can witness the water springs here along your trail which still remains as the water source for Kotagiri Town.

Distance from Ooty- 31.2 Km

From Coonoor- 22.8 Km

Parson Valley

This is Wild and Elegant! You need to take permission from the forest department to visit the Parson’s valley as it is a reserved forest and a part of Mukurthi National Park. Parson valley dam is a Hydel reservoir placed at the altitude of 2,196 m. Parsons Trek of 8 Km starts from the Sholur junction (11 km from Ooty) and walk past a Toda tribal village and you will get to the hillock at a soaring height of about 2450 m.

Distance from Ooty- 15 Km

From Coonoor- 33.4 Km

Rangasami Pillar or Bottle malai

As the name depicts, this pillar shapes up like a bottle and looks majestic. This steep and sloppy hill is terrific to climb without ropes or mountaineering skills but the fact is one cannot climb up this hill. A way inside the thick forest, you can witness a lake where elephants often enjoy their swimming.

Distance from Ooty to Kilkotagiri – 40 Km

From Coonoor- 30 Km

Upper Bhavani Reservoir

• 

The travel from Ooty to upper bhavani via emerald camp is scenic throughout. Bhavani River is the second largest river in Tamilnadu and it originates from the peaks of south west corner of the Nilgiris.

Distance from Ooty- 54 Km

From Coonoor- 61.6Km

---

Details Courtesy : Anish VK via his blog- trekzon.com