Falling waters

  • Continuing for 2 km. more on the same road, 19 km. from the Ooty railway station, is the Pykara Dam on the left and the waterfalls on the right. It is the highest head power plant in the whole of Asia, 938. 78 mtrs. The Pykara River, the largest in the Nilgiris District, beginning in the Mukerti Peak 16 km. away, is sacred to the Todas. Pregnant Toda women will not cross it and the men will not touch or use the water unless they have to cross the river

  • The series of cascades, the last two 55 mtrs. (180 ft.) and 61 mtrs. (200ft.), in width not height, are the ones known as the Pykara Falls which flow into the Wynaad Valley. You can climb up to the waterfalls from the dam or drive another 1 km. and then walk ½ km. from the main road. Both are good picnic spots seen very often in movies. Paddle and motorboats are available for a refundable deposit of Rs. 50 and Rs. 25 per half hour. Not too many people come here so the boating is more enjoyable. The water is absolutely clean and sparkling while the long queues at the Ooty lake are bypassed. There is a good canteen. The falls are actually the waters released from the dam so there is water throughtout the year, but they are beautiful in July when the monsoon has filled the river. Unfortunately very few see it then. The Sigur Ghat, Karnataka, the Wynaad Valley, the Western ghats and the Nilgiri mountains can be seen from here. All buses to Gudalur, Gundulpet and Mysore (from 6.30 a.m to 8.30 p.m.) pass through Pykara

  • The Mukerti Peak at the western end of the Mukerti Lake is a continuation of the pykara reservoir. An 8380 ft, (2554 mtrs.) acute angle triangle with one side almost vertical, legend has it that Mukerti (Mooku- nose, aruthi- cut) Peak is actually the nose of Surpanaka, Ravana’s sister. Another legend says unwanted female babies were thrown here and that is why Toda women do not go there. Todas believe their souls and buffaloes leap together into the next world from this peak

  • Mukerti was made a national sanctuary in 1982. It has one of the finest views in South India. The Malabar plains 2000 m. below, the hydel lakes of Kundah and Pykara can be seen from here. The Parsons Valley road is the shortest road to Mukerti. The Mukertidam branches off from the Gudalur- Mysore road about 2 km. from Pykara. Drive 40 km., turn left and drive another 8 km. The road via Avalanche and Upper Bhavani is 65 km. Upper Bhavani is 10 km. from Korakundah and 20 km. from Avalanche. It has the best shoals enroute. One of them is Thaishola, a corruption of chaishola. Chai in Chinese means tea as it does in Hindi. It is 4 km. south of Manjoor and 5 km. from Mel kundah. Jail thottam, where Chinese prisoners were kept, is 8 km. from here. The tea estates now belong to Brooke Bond

  • Buses go up to the Upper Bhavani Electricity Board camp via Kundah and the Kora Kundah estate. There is a forest rest house and a hydroelectric department inspection bungalow. A right turn here and after just 1 km. You come to the beautiful 6 km. Mukerti lake. It is a very scenic place. The bus service is not very frequent

  • One can drive through the Mukerti National Park or trek to see the Nilgiri tahr (also called the ibex) here. A very shy animal, the tahr are easily sacred by people. So though permission is given for going to the park, visitors are not encouraged to do so. Take a left 14 km. from Ooty on the Ooty- Mysore road. The Kollaribetta and Nilgiris peaks are also here. Many streams flow into the Bhavani River

  • Western Catchment is 20 km. from Parsons Valley. Like the Wenlock Downs it has rolling grasslands and tempts even many a local to drive there by jeep or trek and enjoy the whole day there

  • The famous Silent Valley of Kerala is on the western side. Trekking from Bangipattal to Sispara at the edge of the Silent Valley is mostly through open grassland full of rhododendrons. An army captain made the bridle path so that the sick English who came by sea from Bombay to Cochin could be brought to Ooty. Permission is essential from the Wildlife Warden, Mahalingam Buildings, Coonoor Road, Ooty (ph: 443968) about 2 km. from the railway station. The office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and all other government holidays

  • Cairn Hill, 3 km. on the road to Avalanche is a beautiful road for walking. Dense cypress trees with clearing underneath and great picnic spots make this a must visit place

  • Avalanche with its breathtaking scenery is 28 km. from Ferhill, Ooty on the Ooty- Avalanche road The road, via Multiona (which has the largest radio telescope in Asia), passes through several villages, one road leading to Kundah and the other to Avalanche, 8 km. away. Wildlife, especially ibex, can be seen in the vast stretches of the undisturbed shoals (tropical forests), one of the few places where they can be found. One such forest, called Nature Lover’s Paradise, is so dense that sunlight does not penetrate

  • Avalanche supposedly got its name from the huge landslide in 1824 when there were eight days of nonstop rain, thunder and winds. The deep scar it left on the mountain face was visible even from Ooty. Now trees have grown over the scar and only the name reminds us of the landslide. A trout hatchery, the only one of its kind in the Nilgiris, is here. Trout fishing can be done in the Emerald Lake with a license from the Asst. Director of Fisheries, Fishdale, Ooty near the Ooty bus stand. (ph: 443946). The fee is Rs. 2 per day. There are two buses at 11.10 a.m. and 6.15 p.m. to Avalanche and every half hour to Emerald from 6.45 a.m. to 7 p.m

  • A new power house is being built to utilize the waters of the Parsons Valley dam which now goes to Avalanche and Kundah. The road is reasonably good with many stretches of green grass on both sides. There are excellent picnic spots at the edges of the Avalanche and Emerald dams, now called the Canada and India dams. Because the Canadians built it, the maple leaf and the Indian flag are carved on the entrance wall of the Canada dam to commemorate the joint effort. These two dams across the Kundah River, interconnected by a tunnel, are constantly visible for more than 10 km. The Avalanche Kundah road from the opposite end is not very good but goes through large fields of vegetables. Halfway is the Badaga village of Ithalar

  • The Kundah hydroelectric scheme (the biggest in Tamil Nadu), commissioned on 30th October 1964, is also here. The Bhavanisagar dam, 8 km. long, is the longest masonry dam in the world. The dam is built on the upper Bhavani River with the Avalanche powerhouse. This is also a very good picnic spot with a magnificent view of Ooty, the Avalanche valley, the reservoir, Doddabetta, Devashola hills, Coonoor and the Bhavani Valley with the distant Anamalais (anai- elephant, malai- mountainin Tamil). Kundah is 33 km. whether you go through Coonoor and Selas or through Loverdale. Both roads join at Manjoor and then go past Kaikatti ( a literal translation of fingerpost to Kundah.