Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Information
Cyber Planet
(Garden Rd; per hr ?30;
9.30am-6.30pm)
Global Net
(Commercial Rd; per hr ?30;
9am-9.30pm)
)
Good for maps and informa-
Tourist Office
(
2443977; Wenlock Rd;
10am-5.45pm Mon-Fri;
tion.
Getting There & Away
The fun way to arrive in Ooty is aboard the miniature train from Mettupalayam. Buses
also run regularly up and down the mountain from other parts of Tamil Nadu, from Kerala
and from Mysore and Bengaluru in Karnataka. Taxis cluster at several stands in town and
there are fixed one-way fares to many destinations, including Coonoor (?600), Kotagiri
(?700), Coimbatore (?1500) and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (?1000).
BUS
For Kochi (Cochin, Kerala) take the 7am or 8am bus to Palakkad (?80, six hours) and
change there.
Royal Tours
2446150)
, opposite the train station, runs a
MAP
9am minibus to Kodaikanal (?500, eight hours).
The Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka state bus companies all have reservation offices
at the busy
bus station
. Departures include:
Bengaluru
?350-600, eight hours, 12 daily
Chennai
?450, 14 hours, three daily
Coimbatore
?52, four hours, every 30 minutes, 5.30am to 8.30pm
Mysore
?135, five hours, about every 45 minutes, 6.15am to 5.45pm
TRAIN
The miniature (or 'toy') train from Mettupalayam to Ooty - one of the Mountain Rail-
ways of India given World Heritage status by Unesco - is the best way to get here. Called
the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, it requires special cog wheels on the locomotive, meshing
with a third, 'toothed' rail on the ground, to manage the exceptionally steep gradients
There are marvellous views of forest, waterfalls, mountainsides and tea plantations along
the way. The section between Mettupalayam and Coonoor uses steam engines, which
push, rather than pull, the train up the hill.
