Getting to Ooty             
How do you wish to get to Ooty? By train, by air or by road? Take your pick.

 

By Train
Mettupalayam, 46 km from Ooty, is the nearest broad-gauge railway station connected to the hill station by a four-hour journey on the Mountain Railway. If you are looking for a broad-gauge railway junction that will connect you to all major cities, you need to get to Coimbatore.

From Mumbai: Take the Kurla-Coimbatore Express (1013) that leaves everyday from Kurla station in Mumbai.

From Bangalore: You have a choice between the Bangalore Kanyakumari Express (6526) that leaves daily and the Bangalore-Coimbatore Inter-City Express, which is also a daily train.

From Chennai: A host of trains can tale you to Coimbatore or to Mettupalayam, starting with the Chennai-Coimbatore-Kovai Express (2675) that leaves daily, the Chennai-Mangalore West Coast Express (6627) that also has a daily service, the Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi Express (2023) that operates on all days except on Wednesdays and the Chennai-Mettupalayam Nilgiri Express (6605).

From Kochi: If you are leaving on Tuesday, you can take the Cochin-Guwahati Express (5623) that operates only on Tuesdays. Or you could take the Cochin Barauni Rapti Sagar Express (5011) that operates four days of the week - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
 

By Air Just fly into the Coimbatore airport, 100 km away from Ooty. You could hire a taxi, take a train or a bus from there. There are direct flights from Chennai, Kozhikode, Bangalore and Mumbai to Coimbatore.

By Road
Despite being on mountain terrain, Ooty has, for long, boasted of good roads. Buses and taxis ply regularly from various key points like Bangalore, Calicut, Cochin, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Mysore, Tanjavur and Tirupati. You can also take a bus from Ooty to Mudhumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Kotagiri, Coonoor and Dodabetta.

Distance to Ooty (by road)   

City/Town	Distance (increasing in Kms)	City/Town	Distance (increasing in Kms)
COONOOR	18	PICHAVARAM	421
MUDUMALAI	57	VEDANTHANGAL	446
COIMBATORE	98	THEKKADY	455
MYSORE	155	VELLORE	461
SALEM	205	NAGORE	470
PALANI	206	VELANKANNI	472
GURUVAYUR	227	POOMPUHAR	473
KODAIKANAL	236	TIRUNELVELI	476
YERCAUD	237	COURTALLAM	489
COCHIN	281	POINT CALIMERE	491
BANGALORE	290	RAMESHWARAM	496
TRICHY	302	TIRUVANANDAPURAM	498
MADURAI	325	MAMALLAPURAM	505
HOGENAKAL	328	KANCHEEPURAM	508
SITTANNAVASAL	339	TUTICORIN	536
THIRUVANNAMALAI	345	CHENNAI	539
TIRUPATHY	362	TIRUCHENDUR	539
THANJAVUR	383	KANNIAKUMARI	587

 

Places to see
There’s so much to do, so many places to see, so many activities to be a part of at Sterling Fernhill – unwind takes on a whole new meaning as you lose yourself to a new world that is completely removed from the rest of the universe. Pristine, resplendent with nature’s bounties and offering total peace for the mind or energetic activity for the body – trace your own map across Ooty as you prepare to unwind.

| Avalanche | Botanical Gardens | Charing Cross | Dodabetta Peak | Fernhill Palace |
| Glenmorgan | Kamaraj Sagar Dam | Kandal Cross | Ketti Valley View | Kotagiri |
| Ooty Lake | Pykara | Rose Garden | St. Stephen’s Church | Upper Bhavani |
| Wenlock Downs |
 

Avalanche Spend a lazy afternoon going for a long walk or fishing. Admire the beautiful lake abundant with various kinds of fauna. Named after an avalanche that occurred in 1823, the famous tourist spot is located around 28 kms from Ooty.

 

Botanical Gardens A lush green sprawled across 55 acres of land and filled with rare species of trees, like the cork tree which is probably the only such tree in India and the paper bark tree. Where else will you find a monkey puzzle tree, named aptly because monkeys cannot climb this tree! Or a fossilized tree that is believed to
be over 20 million years old. Explore further and you will stumble into an Italian-style garden bordering a clear pool. And if you happen to be there in the month of May, do not miss out on the flower show that exhibits more types of flowers than you have ever seen in your lives.

 

Charing Cross The central point of Ooty that strongly resembles the main square of an old English town and houses the main shopping street and vegetable market. Charing Cross is located on the busy commercial street of Ooty.

 

Dodabetta Peak The highest point in the district towering at a 2623 m above sea level that offers you a view as far as the plains of Coimbatore and the Mysore plateau. Dodabetta Peak is around 10 kms from Ooty, off the Kotagiri road.

 

	Fernhill Palace Carved wooden bargeboards and ornamental cast iron in the palace. Manicured gardens, firs and cedars in the palace grounds that give the place a touch of the Alps. An indoor badminton court that looks more like a church. Is this a Swiss Chalet or the Fernhill Palace,
you wonder. Today, it’s neither as it has been converted into a luxury heritage hotel.

 

Glenmorgan
An ecologically rich forestry spot located 17 kms from Ooty and is accessible by a winch that glides along the slopes.

 

Kamaraj Sagar Dam
An ideal picnic spot that lets you be one with nature with its trees, shrubs and varied terrains. The waters here are rich in trout fish and hence serve as excellent fishing spots.

 

Kandal Cross
A 'Holy Shrine' of the Roman Catholics, it houses the relic of the true cross that is said to cure the sick, bestow heavenly blessings and bring peace and joy to the visiting pilgrims and tourists.

 

Ketti Valley View
Located enroute to Coonoor, this offers a great view of the plains of Coimbatore and Mysore plateau.

 

Kotagiri
Journey 31 kms from Ooty and if you find yourself on roads whose sides are enveloped by green tea beds, you know you are in Kothagiri.

 

Ooty Lake What’s a mountain without a lake? To begin with, Ooty did not have a lake. It was constructed by John Sullivan, the first collector of Ooty. Needless to say, it has caught the fancy of every tourist. So make your plans – be it a walk by the lake or boating which is open between 8 am to 6 pm on all days, with a wide range of boats available
to suit your budget and convenience. Or you could just laze around, while the kids play at the mini garden nearby, which also has an amusement park and a toy train attached.

Pykara A 19 kms journey from Ooty would be well worth it once you come across a breathtaking view of the scenic nature around the Pykara dam. Grassy meadows, a good wildlife habitat, the Pykara falls, a reservoir, and a boat house with a restaurant are other attractions.

Rose Garden
Set up in 1995 to commemorate the 100th flower show of the Botanical garden, the rose garden has the largest collection of roses in the country. Hybrid Tea Roses, miniature roses, floribunda, ramblers, roses in black and green – over 2,000 varieties of roses will stun you into a sense of disbelief.

 

St. Stephen’s Church
One of Ooty’s first colonial structures founded in the 1820s that stands out with its Gothic style of architecture. St. Stephen’s Church built on the site of a Toda temple using wood from Tipu Sultan’s palace at Srirangapatnam.

 

Upper Bhavani
A rich and undisturbed wildlife habitat that serves as a paradise for nature lovers.

 

Wenlock Downs
Extensive grasslands located 20,000 acres that were once a famous hunting ground and are filled with shoals or gallery forests of eucalyptus. If you are a nature lover, you wouldn’t want to miss this.

Things to do

| Boating | Botanical Gardens | Fishing | Golfing | Hang Gliding | Horse Racing |
| Horse Riding | Snooker | Treks and Walks |

 

Boating
Boating is one of the most famous activities for tourists. Take your pick of boat – choose paddleboats, rowboats or motorboats.

Botanical Gardens
This can beat any activity as the annual festival held in May has its own crowning glory - the annual flower show at the Botanical gardens. You can also choose from various cultural programs organized during the festival.

 

Fishing
Interested in fishing? Head straight to the Avalanche and Sandinalla lakes for trout fishing. Please note that you need prior permission from the Fisheries Department.

Golfing
Ever played a game of golf on an 18-hole natural golf course spread across an area of 193 acres and located 7,400 ft above sea level? That’s the Ooty Golf Course, often described as unique, exceptional and an experience of a lifetime.

Hang Gliding
Fly like a bird over dense shoals, beautiful waterfalls and streams. If you’re in Ooty in the summers, get set for an adventure in the skies as you hang glide over the Kalhatty Ghats.

Horse Racing
Ooty features one of the best race courses in India. So if you are a racing buff, make sure you plan your visit between April 15th and the end of June.

Horse Riding
If you ever tire of walking, do the next best thing. Hire a horse and go around the place.

Snooker
If you love snooker, it would please you to know that you are visiting its birthplace. That’s right, snooker was invented in the Nilgiris at the Ooty Club. Ooty has several snooker parlours, apart from the Ooty Club, Coonoor Club, Gymkhana Club, the Lawley Institute and the bigger hotels.

Treks and Walks
The best way to enjoy the beauty of Ooty is to walk around the place and get a firsthand experience of the beauty of nature. Organized treks and short walks are very popular in the area. Acquaint yourself with the springs, rivers, grasslands and meadows of Ooty. Spot a variety of wildlife - deer, wild dog, elephant, panthers and sometimes, tigers.