My parents were in town so, we decided Coonoor to be the next destination for our family trip. Coonoor is one of the most famous hill stations of the Nilgiri hills, because it offers breathtaking views of the lush green hills and is located at a distance of 19 km away from Ooty. I have already been to Ooty before, so we decided to keep this trip strictly to Coonoor.

Travel Options

By Air:

The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport which is located 42 kms from Coonoor.

By Bus:

Coonoor is well-connected by many National Highways and smaller roads. Government buses, as well as private buses offer daily services to Coonoor.

By Train:

Trains to Coonoor are available from all major railway stations in India. Some of Coonoor trains are Coonoor Udagamandalam Passenger train and Yesvantpur Express. If you want, you can also enjoy the Toy Train journey from Ooty to Coonoor.

By Car:

The journey from Bengalore to Coonoor is a smooth drive that takes about six and a half hours.

We started at 4 am by car from Bangalore and reached Coonoor by 1:30 pm. Following are some of the places we visited in our 2 days trip:

Dolphin’s Nose View Point: This is the very first place I visited upon entering the city. Dolphin’s Nose is essentially a huge rock that resembles the nose of a dolphin. There are ravines on either side of Dolphin’s Nose, including St. Catherine Falls and Coonoor stream meeting the Kotagiri stream. These water bodies are tributaries of the Bhavani River. You will see beautiful tea estates on your way to this point.

Lamb’s Rock View Point: The Lamb’s Rock is on the way to Dolphin’s nose and is another viewpoint in Coonoor. Lamb’s Rock provides a panoramic view of Coonoor and one can enjoy the sight of green lush forests covered by clouds.

Next day, we spent leisurely and visited Wellington Lake and SIM’s park.

Wellington Lake: It is a small lake inside the Wellington cantonment area. You can do boating in this quite and beautiful lake as well as take a leisurely stroll around it. There is a musical fountain right at the center of the lake which we missed as we visited here in day time.

SIM’s Park: This is an unusual park-cum-botanical garden that was developed around the natural contours of the land more than a hundred years ago by Mr. J.D. Sims and Major Murray in the year of 1874. This place is a nature’s treasure for the photographers as arrays of beautiful flowers lay on the either sides of the trail.

We didn’t go to visit the Catherine Waterfalls which is in Kotagiri because of time constraints. But, we strolled lazily around the city center and took amazing pictures from the small view points in our way to and from Coonoor.

On our last day in Coonoor, we took the Heritage Train[Toy Train] from Coonoor to Ooty. The 1 hr first class train ride was a joy for all of us as we were greeted by amazing mountain views and serene forest trails. The smell of pine trees and the forest was great. In order to get reserved seats, we went to station an hour in advance. Meanwhile, the weather gods smiled upon us and we got some drizzling as soon as we came out of the Ooty station.

Even though we miss our stay in Coonoor, we had to comeback to our busy routine lives in Bangalore. I am now glad that I visited Coonoor separately as I truly got to enjoy its beauty. It’s been to long that Coonoor is living in the shadows of Ooty.

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