Trip to Pykara and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary

If you are holidaying in Ooty and have one more day in your hands, the best option is to explore Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary which is around 31 kms from Ooty. En route you can visit Ooty's iconic locations such as Pine forest, Film Shooting point and Pykara Falls -  all in a day.

Pine forest
Blessed with lush and serene environment,  Pine forest offers you a chance to spend some peaceful moments with your loved ones. Spread over a small downhill area, the towering pine trees is a sight to behold.

The brown earthy pine forests amidst misty clouds have been beautifully visualized in many movies.  Do you remember the Hindi film ' Barfi' , the scene where Ranbir Kapoor went on a cycle ride with Ileana D’Cruz ? Well, it  was shot here. The song "Teri Umeed" from  the Hindi movie ' Deewana' was shot on the backdrop of these pine forests. One can easily spot the pine trees in the movies such as "David" and  'Raaf" along with movies from other languages as well.

Film Shooting spot
Situated about 7 kms from Ooty, this location is on the way to Pykara.  Also known as 9th mile, this is a popular destination around Ooty.  You can enjoy the landscape by walking around the area and you have an option for horse riding as well.

Many cine shoots have been done here and hence it got its name and popularity.  Scene from the song "Aisi Deewangi" was shot here. The stunning views of the mountain ranges and a stretch of clear meadows will mesmerise you.

Pykara Falls

Pykara is the largest river in the Nilgiris District and is located about 20 kms from Ooty on the Ooty-Mysore Road.

And a long walk from the main road will take you to the entrance of the Falls. After taking entry tickets, you have to walk down the steps. En route you can enjoy the forests, river flowing next to it and the mountains that surround the region.

It gets down majestically in a series of cascades and the last two falls of 55 meters and 61 meters are known as Pykara Falls. Some of the famous movie songs including songs from ' Mr. Perfect' , the Telugu movie, were shot here.

Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary

The Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary also a declared Tiger Reserve, shares boundaries with Karnataka and Kerala.

After 2 hours journey from Ooty, we reached Mudumalai. We were excited for a Safari and for me this was my first safari.  The Safari is conducted by the Forest Department  in  their vehicle and is available only from  7 am to 10 am and from 3 pm to 6 pm. We  managed to reach the place well in time. The bus safari ride costs  Rs 135/- per head,  for 40 minutes. The first part of the safari was through well maintained roads.

You can spot deer, Bison, Peacock and birds, but you can spot wildlife animals very rarely. We were in constant lookout for wildlife but only saw few spotted deer and Macaques.

Deer are plenty all through.

No luck after that since we  didn't see any wildbeast or  big cats.  However, spotted one beautiful Peacock.

However we enjoyed Mudumalai Safari. Then we moved to the parking area. I could not  resist myself from clicking  my camera when I saw  beautiful blossomed gulmohar trees,  near the  parking area.

On our way back to Ooty, just after sunset, my camera gave me a striking image of stunning sky coloration with a black contrast of the hillside.

It was a day very well spent and will be cherished for a long time.