Ranganthetu or Ranganthitu

Slow flowing cauvery river has created an island near Srirangapatna and it is a famous nesting and breeding place for various migratory birds from all over the world. Noted ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali advocated the conversion of this place into the status of bird sanctuary in 1940. Some of the famous birds that can be found inside the sanctuary are Spoonbills, Open bill storks, Painted storks, White Ibis, Egret and Grey Heron. Kingfisher, peacock and bats can also be seen. One can also spot Crocodiles inside the lake.

Cormorant

Best season to visit is from December till April. This is the time when migratory birds come to this place to avoid the extreme winters of the Siberia.

Crocodile

Bangalore ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) route :-

the ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) bird sanctuary is around 130Kms from bangalore. it is on the bangalore-mysore highway. on this highway you will have to take a right after u reach a bridge ar srirangapattanam. there is a petrol bunk on the left, just opposite of the road leading to the ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) bird sanctuary. once you enter this road if you hit a manned railway crossing, be sure that you are on the right road. you will have to take a right from this road and that road will directly lead to the ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) bird sanctuary.

What to do when inside the sanctuary :-
You can walk and relax around the lake and of course photography. You can also take boat ride and visit islets and look at these birds closely. Oarsmen are very knowledgeable and will be able to recognize almost every bird for you. Best time to take the ride is early in the morning or in evening. It tends to be very hot during noon time.

spoon bill

Charges :- Rs 15/ Per person ( for Indians) and I think Rs. 100/per person for foreign nationals.
Still camera fees is around Rs.20/- and video camera fees is around Rs. 100/- .
If you are taking your vehicle you will have to pay another 40 bucks. There are extra charges for taking boat ride. If you are going in a group it would be wise to hire your own boat and pay the boat guy little tip and he will take you little bit more inside the lake/river :).

Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala

ooty - kotagiri- connoor

About Ooty, Kotagiri and Connoor ( Conoor) and how to reach these places :-
There are three most popular hill-stations in the Nilgiris - Ooty, Kotagiri and Coonoor. All three are located close to each other in the state of Tamil Nadu. The least known among these probably the best is Kotagiri. Drive from Bangalore to Ooty takes 5-6 hours and the Bangalore Ooty route is very good but for 20KMs after Gundlepet. The total distance from Bangalore to Ooty ranges from 250-290 Kms depending on the route taken. The route to Ooty from Bangalore is through Mysore. Though you can take the outer-ring road to bypass Mysore, you will end up driving around 20kms more. Both the roads are good but the route through Mysore city will have much more traffic. To take the bypass road you will have to take a right turn at the traffic signal just after the town of Sirangapatna, famous for the Ranganatha Temple. if you miss this turn you can go straight & you will enter Mysore and can take the route through Mysore city.

wellington railway station - it is near connoor

golf club @ wellington

tea gardens @ ooty

mysore --40-- nanjungad --30-- gundelpet --20-- bandipur forest

The road from Mysore till Gundelpet is decent and you can easily average around 60Kmph. However, from Gundlupet till Bandipur (distance of around 20km) the road is full of pot-holes. Though the construction of the road is on going but will easily take another year unless an MLA is selected from that region ;-)

animals at bandipur forest

Toque Macaque

Spotted dear

langur

Once you are inside the forest don't honk and drive slowly so that you do not disturb the wildlife. You can find deer, wild boars, monkeys and Langurs and if you are lucky you can even spot elephants. I have not seen a single one in my two trips to Ooty.

Once the Bandipur Forest boundary ends you will enter into the Madumalai forest. It is actually the same forest but falls in Tamil Nadu. There is an entry fees of around 20 rupees. After Madumalai there are two roads that lead to Ooty (I think the place is called Masinagudi), one with 36 hair pin bends and the other one is the older route that buses normally take. In the former route buses and heavy vehicles are not allowed and is around 30Km shorter than the latter one. I have never taken the older route as it is in a really bad condition. The shorter route with 36 hairpin bends is amazing and anyone passionate about driving will love it. You would however need to have a vehicle with good pickup. These routes meet around 8 Kms before Ooty and there is a police check post there. You might have to show your vehicle papers etc. They do not ask everyone to stop :).
While in Ooty relax and soak in the scenic beauty of this queen of hills. If you have gone in the summer months all the tourist places like the lake, gardens, famous peaks would be extremely crowded. During winters it is less crowded but very cold. Winter season in ooty is much better than the summers (my preference) but do take woolens as it tends to be quite cold at night. There are a lot of hotels to choose from for your stay. The concept of home stays is also quickly catching up here. Government guest houses like Ratan Tata's guest house (it is near lake) can also be booked if you know someone associated with it. I have stayed in Sinclair hotel and Ratan Tata's guest house on my two trips to Ooty. Sinclair is a decent hotel although the rooms were musty and not very clean. It has a very good view of the valley and the food is something to rave about. The Ratan Tata guest house is quite cheap but don't expect a lot of luxuries as it is built in the old style.

Few more pictures from Ooty and Conoor

pykara lake

rose at Ooty rose garden - best time to visit is summers

tea gardens - on the way to dolphins nose

Kotagiri falls on one of the routes from Ooty to Coonoor ( Conoor). This route from ooty to connoor through kotagiri road is one of the most scenic routes I have ever driven on. Most importantly the road is in a really good condition and much better than the regular Ooty - Connoor route. Those who want to take the kotagiri route from Ooty to Connoor should ask for route to Dodabetta peak and instead of taking the right turn from the main road to go towards the peak, keep moving on the same road. This route will lead to connoor.

ooty---7----take right (3Km ) for Dodabetta peak -----------30--------connoor

Planing a trip to Ooty Read this

P.S. don't buy tea from the tea factory (near Sinclair hotel) in Ooty. These guy cheat people. The sample tea that you will drink will be totally different from the one they will sell. Ooty tea otherwise is not very great (what is sold in market) and is the same as what we get anywhere in India and costs almost the same.

yercaud - poor man's ooty

About Yercaud :-

The hill station,Yercaud, is situated near Salem, Tamil Nadu. From bangalore, Yercaud is 230Km by road. The road is fantastic and it takes around 4 and a half hour to reach Yercaud. It would be advisable to leave bangalore early to escape the morning hour traffic in Hosur.

Bangalore Yercaud Route:-
Bangalore--90--Krishnagiri--40--Dharmapuri--75--Salem--25--Yercaud
<------------------NH-7------------------------------>

The route from Hosur to Krishnagiri is amazing with 6 lanes. One can easily go at around 100Kmph . Next 40 Kms from Krishnagiri to DHarmapuri is not good as the road has got a lot of bumps but after that it is again a good road. The uphill road is one of the two properly banked roads that I have seen ( the other being that of OOty through the madumalai wildlife santuary).

Where to stay in Yercaud?

There a 2-3 decent place to stay : Hotel Grand Palace ( It has got very nice food but service is pathetic) , Hotel Shevaroys and Sterling Resort (This hotel has got the best view of the valley but only the members get the rooms facing valley )
There are a lot of other places to stay but anybody who is planning to go there on weekend should make sure to book well in advance.

What to do in Yercaud ?

Photography :- I love doing that and Yercaud has got really good view points best of which are pagoda point, lady's seat and children's seat.

Shopping :- One can shop for honey, perfumes, coffee and spices such as cardamom, black/white pepper.

Relax :) Go around the lake. Do boating.

tree @ pagoda point

flowers @ Monfort School

beautiful sunset @ children's seat

salem @ night . view from the sterling resort

view from lady's seat

lotus in the small tank outside the montfort school

ocean se7en - most memorable trip ever

this trip was done exactly 2 years back. it was long weekend - christmas weekend. this was the weekend when tsunami caused havoc in many asian countries. i 'll not be writting in details and instead i'll just be copying the original plan. yes we had a proper doc file prepared by nit ( for more photos and trips, check out his website http://www.flickr.com/photos/trance_nut )

Ocean's Seven

Bangalore Kanyakumari (23 Dec 2004 - 27 Dec 2004)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Seven

=========

1. Ashish a.k.a Dhoom Dhadak

2. Deepak a.k.a DJ

3. Eesh a.k.a Born Free

4. Guppi a.k.a Sparking

5. Nitin a.ka. 6 mein 1 ka mazaa

6. Vishal a.k.a Choos Lee

7. Vivek a.k.a Tan D

Statistics

Total Distance: 1900 km

Trip Start Time: 5 PM

Trip End Time: 8 AM

Trip Duration: 51 hrs

The Route:

Bangalore à Kanyakumari

Bangalore -- Coimbatore -- Ernakulum -- Kochi -- Alappuzha -- Kolam -- Thiruvanthapuram – Kovalam – Kanyakumari

Kanyakumarià Bangalore

Kanyakumari -- Madurai -- Kodaikanal -- Dundigal -- Salem – Bangalore

Vehicles:

Esteem: CH01-L-XXXX

CBZ 1: DL4S-Z-XXXX

CBZ2: KA03-EE-XXXX

ZMA: KA03-EP-XXXX

23.12.04

Leg 1: (Bangalore—Coimbatore)

Distance: 382 KM

Approx Time: 8 hrs

Route:

Bangalore--90--Krishnagiri--40--Dharmapuri--75--Salem--164--Coimbatore

<---------------------NH-7--------------------------><------NH-47------->

Depart by 3 PM (latest)

Reach Coimbatore by 11:30 PM-12 AM. Sync up with car. Rest at any hotel for 3 hrs (sleep, do anything). Start at 3 am.

24.12.04 (3 AM Start)

Leg 2: (Coimbatore – Kovalam)

Distance: 430 km

Approx Time: 10 hrs

Route:

Coimbatore--114--Thrissur--79--Ernakulum--2--Kochi--218--TV Puram--16--Kovalam

<------------------------------NH-47-------------------------------------------->

Sync at Kovalam with car. Have lunch. Chill till sunset. Leave for Kanyakumari.

view from the hotel @ kochi. this is where we had breakfast and took rest for 3 hrs

first view of sea @ alleppey

back waters @ alleppey. a night in this boat would cost you around 20k

sunset @ kovalam

sleeping @ kovalam beach

24.12.04 (7 PM Start)

Leg 3: (Kovalam – Kanyakumari)

Distance: 90 km

Approx Time: 2 hrs

Route:

Kovalam --90-- Kanyakumari

Search for a hotel for the night. Have dinner. Off to bed by 11 pm (latest).

its christmas time - on the way to kanyakumari

waiting for sunrise @ kanyakumari ( our bad luck, it was cloudy )

25.12.04 (6 AM Wake Up)

C THE SUN, RISE J. If we miss it, the whole trip is worthless.

Once done with the sunrise, have the option to go and sleep till 11 AM (negotiable). Have brunch, and leave for Vivekananda Rock. Assume to spend about 2-3 hrs for the rock visit. Lunch time (2:30 pm). Finish by 3:30 – 4 pm. Chill around, watch sunset, depart by 7:30 PM latest.

view from our lodge - vivekananda rock, thiruvalluvar statue

on the way to vivekananda rock - inside ferry

vivekananda rock

thiruvalluvar statue

@ vivekanand rock

experimenting - sun shades in front of camera

sunset @ kanyakumari - we were lucky enough to atleast see the sunset

Leg 4: (Kanyakumari – Madurai)

Distance: 235 km

Approx Time: 5 hrs

Route:

Kanyakumari--81--Tirunelveli--72--Virudunagar--89--Madurai

<-------------------NH-7------------------------------------>

Spend the night at Madurai. Plan to leave by 5 AM (latest by 6 AM)

madurai temple

26.12.04 (5 AM departure from Madurai)

Leg 5: Madurai – Kodaikanal

Distance: 130 km

Approx Time: 4 hrs

Route

Madurai --50-- Batlagundu--80-- Kodaikanal

Starting on the NH7 towards Salem/Bangalore, cruise for 32kms on a not so smooth road and too narrow for a National Highway. Once you take a left turn to go
under the BG Railway line and cross the road level MG Railway line.

Note: Uphill climb is not smooth. Roads are in a bad shape.

Reach Kodaikanal by 10 AM (latest). Have brunch. Roam around (Coaker’s Walk, Lake, some caves also, can decide there). We have 8 hrs in Kodaikanal. What to do is up to us.

sunrise - 26th Dec '04 - the day of tsunami - we left in time to miss it

early morning in kodai

uphill - bikers on the way to kodai

fog covered mountains

kodai lake

26.12.04 (6 PM departure from Kodaikanal)

Leg 6: Kodaikanal – Salem

Distance: 300 km

Approx Time: 6 hrs

Route:

Kodaikanal--130--Dundigal--164--Salem

This is the toughest part. Hope to reach Salem by 1 AM latest. Sleep over till 5 AM. Depart for Bangalore at 5 AM.

time for sleep- on the way back from kodai

sunset @ kodai

27.12.04 (5 AM departure fro

m Salem)

Leg 7: Salem – Bangalore

Distance: 205 km

Approx Time: 5 hrs

Route:

Salem--75--Dharmapuri--40--Krishnagiri--90--Bangalore

Reach Bangalore by 10 AM J. Totally SCREWED!!!!!!

Total Distance: 1770 km + 100 (Margin) = 1870 km in 90 hrs