Conoor and Wellington
Go southeast to Coonoor and Wellington, two very beautiful townships. In Coonoor, the landscape, with its tea bushes, is exceptionally charming and there are some places to visit such as Sim's Park, Lamb's Rock, and Dolphin's Nose.. Wellington, is an army township, well maintained, with neat gardens and sparkling clean cantonment areas.
Mukurthi Peak and Mukurthi National Park
Thirty-six kilometers from Ooty, is the 6 km long Mukurti Lake, scenic in its setting, surrounded by high hills, with a curious shaped mountain peak, that gives it the name ‘muku’ ( nose) and ‘ardha’, suggesting a ‘severed nose’ There is a national park located on the south eastern corner of the Nilgiri Plateau.
Avalanche
This scenic place is excellent for walking and is 24 km from Ooty. It derives its name from the great `avalanche' that took place here in 1823 If you wish to spend the night in quietude, you can get a booking at the Forest Department Guest House is available for accommodation. The Avalanche Top is a 4 km climb from here.
Pykara
There is a river and a dam here, 19 km from Ooty. About 6 km from the bridge on the main road are the river falls.
Kalhatti Falls
You can trek to these falls or drive down 14 km to view the impressive 36 m drop that gushed down in a scenic setting.
Glenmorgan
This is beautiful countryside, 17 km from Ooty, ideal for drives and picnics within the scenic setting of tea bushes and eucalyptus plantations.
Kotagiri
Further away, at a distance of 29 km from Ooty, is this quiet little hill retreat, offering some wonderful view points such as Kodanad and the Rangaswamy Pillar and Peak. Some may be skeptical that nothing can match the drama of the Himalayas. But were they to visit the mountains of South India, they would surly become captive to the sheer greenery and calm serenity of these hills, and consider putting Ooty as an Incentive destination from any of the metro cities of South India.
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