Mist, Mane and Marble
Five day circuit - Ooty, Bandipur & Mysore
Departure: The Journey Begins
On a late February, a 6:00 AM takeoff from Kolkata, while the city was still asleep, transitioned into a day of shifting altitudes and sweeping vistas.
By 9:00 a.m., I had landed in Bengaluru, where my driver was waiting at the pickup point. Swiftly, we started our journey in an attempt to avoid the notorious Bangalore traffic snarls and soon the congested roads of India’s Silicon Valley gradually eased into long, open highways.
Breakfast was humble yet practical—puri with sabji—followed by a short pause once the first silhouettes of the hills appeared, accompanied by the unmistakable aroma of Karnataka’s filtered coffee.
Lunch in Mysuru offered a welcome interlude before the ascent toward the Nilgiris.
The Rainy Threshold (Ooty Arrival)
The drive to Ooty evolved steadily in character. Smooth highways transitioned into stretches flanked by forest and eventually into winding ghat roads. The air grew cooler and vegetation denser and the sky turned a bruised purple. By the time we approached the hills, the sky had darkened and threatened to rain without warning.
Peacocks galore on the forest roaad
The Nilgiris did not offer a postcard welcome; they offered drama. We navigated the 36 sharp hairpin bends in a torrential downpour. Headlights sliced through the mist, reflecting off the slick, black asphalt as the town of Ooty emerged, looking like a moody masterpiece rendered in charcoal. It was a cold, wet and strangely fitting introduction to the highlands.
Ricocheting 36 hairpin bends in torrential rain
I quickly checked in at Lake View Resort.
The sky started to clear gradually revealing the crimson hues of the setting sun over the ridges. From my room I watched, in awe, how the town of Ooty bathed in the colour of Mother Nature.
Over the course of five days, highways became hill roads, hills yielded to forests and forests ultimately led to palace corridors—which in totality gave me enough opportunity to share my travel experience.
When the Mist Lifted in the Morning
The rain had cleared overnight. What had looked distant and obscured the previous evening now appeared sharply defined. The hills around Ooty looked freshly washed, their slopes bathed in early sunlight.
I prepared the morning tea, sat by the private lawn and took time to savour the mystical surroundings.
Built on a hilltop, Hotel Lake View has 116 well-appointed rooms, most of which has great views. Every room has a balcony, a private lawn and a living room with a recliner sofa and dining table. The hotel also has a multi-cuisine restaurant serving delicious food.
Centrally located with the view of Ooty lake within a walking distance, I felt this property offered enough incentives to budget travelers for a decent stay a couple of days.
Moment: The Cuddly Intruder
“A morning visitor: A local cat slipped into the room, bypassing the cold mist for the warmth of my company—and quite clearly, a request for a snack.
After morning tea, I began the day with a complimentary breakfast. The view of hill bathed in gentle sunshine from the arched window in the dining hall was awesome.
Moment: The Mental Arithmatic
“With low occupancy, breakfast was served via a fixed menu rather than a buffet, capped at ₹560. The repeated calculations of selecting and reselecting items became an unexpected exercise and made me stronger in mental arithmetic: a small, amusing detail of travel logistics.
The Day Trip
The morning began at Doddabetta Peak, the highest peak in the Nilgiris, where the morning air was cold and visibility stretched across infinite, layered ridgelines. The light was diffused and soft—perfect for slow, sweeping panoramas rather than hurried snapshots.
Later, we drove toward Coonoor. Sim’s Park was our first stop which offered curated greenery and quiet walking paths.
Next we drove for Dolphin’s Nose which opened dramatically toward the valley below. The road ended abruptly at the viewpoint, creating the quiet illusion of standing at the edge of the world. The approach, however, was calm and contemplative. The road was so picturesque, that I frequently had to ask the driver to stop the car for some photo shoot.
Visit to strawberry farm, tea factory and homemade chocolate shops added more flavour to the already fascinating sojourn.
Moment: The Inquisitive Young One
“Noticing a herd of bison in a Connoor tea garden, I asked to halt the car; suddenly, from nowhere, a young inquisitive one peeped out of the tea leaves and then posed for a photograph.
However, the day’s highlight was the rhythmic mechanical symphony of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway—a nostalgic climb where vintage engineering meets the ancient pulse of the hills. Ascending the Nilgiris isn’t about speed; it’s about the steady, mechanical pulse of a bygone era. The rack-and-pinion system—a technical marvel dating back to 1908—clocks out a rhythmic symphony as it bites into the steep mountain grades.
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Water, Wind & Open Roads
The following day, the drive beyond Ooty opened into broader landscapes. Pykara Lake lay still under a clear sky, mirroring the trees along its edges, while nearby Pykara Falls carried a steady, resonant flow which provided a bass note to the journey. Open meadows and roadside viewpoints broke the journey into pauses rather than stops.
Pykara Falls like a little child dancing over the rocks
As we moved further, the terrain gradually shifted — less tourist bustle, more silence.
By the time we approached the forested belt leading toward Bandipur National Park, traffic thinned, forests thickened and signboards began to change in tone.
At the Edge of the Forest
Entering Bandipur National Park felt quieter than expected. The forest did not announce itself loudly; it simply absorbed sound.
My stay was at The Windflower Jungle Resort and Spa. The property is vast, built amidst trees with scattered cottages inside the premises. Each cottage has two balconies, one in the front and the other at the rear, directly facing the jungle. The stay included all buffet breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner.
The luxury of buffet meals in the forest felt dramatic. I could smell the steady presence of wildlife existing alongside human habitation. Evenings settled early, nights were dark and still, waiting patiently for dawn.
Here, deer grazed casually near the cottages and peacocks moved unhurriedly across open patches of land accompanied by the chirps of familiar and unfamiliar birds hopping from one branch to another. The package, in totality, with food, stunning ambience, closeness to the nature and the romantism of staying in the wild offered a reasonable value for money.
Moment: The Parle-G Companion
“Met a local dog at a roadside tea stall who only accepts Parle-G biscuits. After a quick consultation with the shopkeeper, the ‘regular’ ate right from my hand—a gentle reminder of the bond between travelers and locals.
Moment: The Sleeping Predator (The Contrast)
“The duality of the wild: Just a few hours later, the same spot where I fed the dog revealed its true nature—a leopard was found sleeping nearby, a silent, powerful neighbor to our morning tea break.”
Moment: The Bold Bulbuls
“Nature reclaimed the room as soon as the doors opened; two bold bulbuls hopped in for an uninvited second course, treating my dinner leftovers as their own highland buffet.”
From Forest to Marble Finale (Lalitha Mahal Palace)
Leaving the forest behind the transition back to Mysuru was quite smooth. Forest roads gave way to structured avenues and urban rhythm culminating in the quiet grandeur of Lalitha Mahal Palace, where Italian marble and soaring domes define a bygone era of luxury. Inside these white walls, every corridor offers a masterclass in symmetry and light, providing a regal bookend to our journey that began with mist and wild.
The palace, at the foothill of Camundi Hills, was commissioned by Wadiyar IV in 1921 to accommodate Royal Guests and the Viceroy of India. In 1974 it was converted to a luxury hotel keeping the royal charm intact by ITDC before handing over to the Karnataka state government. Currently this is one of India’s most opulent hotels, a palace hotel that offers an experience of princely living in a real Maharaja’s palace.
The Finale
After breakfast, a final drive back to Bengaluru, an evening flight and the circle was complete— the journey tended to end where it began.
Five days, which seemed to fly by swiftly, had carried me through transitions rather than distance measured in kilometers: from torrential rain to misty peaks, from forest floors to palace halls and finally to a few unexpected yet memorable encounters along the way.
The ‘travel mode’ switch is off by now, but the memories of the Nilgiris will continue to echo for some time to come.
My Itinerary
- Day-1: Reach Bengaluru in the morning, lunch at Mysore and transfer to Ooty for night stay at Lake View resort.
- Day-2: Ooty and Connoor sight-seeing. Availed toy train from Connoor at 16.00 hrs. to reach Ooty in one hour. Night stay at Ooty.
- Day-3: After breakfast drive to Bandipur via Pykara lake/falls etc. Reach by lunch and night stay at Windflower Resort and Spa.
- Day-4: After breakfast drive to Mysore. Night stay at Lalith Mahal Palace Hotel.
- Day-5: Drive to Bengaluru to catch return train/flight back home.
Suggestive Itinerary
Hover mouse here to see the detailed itinerary as backend content.
Itinerary
- Day-1: Reach Bengaluru in the morning, lunch at Mysore and transfer to Ooty for night stay at Lake View resort.
- Day-2: Ooty and Connoor sight-seeing. Avail toy train from Connoor at 16.00 hrs. to reach Ooty in one hour. Night stay at Ooty.
- Day-3: After breakfast drive to Bandipur via Pykara lake/falls etc. Reach by lunch and night stay at Windflower Resort and Spa.
- Day-4: After breakfast drive to Mysore. Night stay at Lalith Mahal Palace Hotel.
- Day-5: Drive to Bengaluru to catch return train/flight back home.