Wanderlust : Coonoor

If its beauty you are looking for, and tea, you'll find both in great abundance in Coonoor. One can reach Coonoor from Mettupalyam, and Ooty easily. There are a zillion buses that can help one do that. The Coonoor town looks like a tawdry piece of crumpled paper, in the beginning. Look ahead and move upwards towards Kotagiri – and one is surprised at the transformation. Tea estates begin to unfold, beautifully. The clouds waltz into the terrain all of a sudden and say a pleasant hello. The tea tastes wonderful. The Touristy places to go to are Lamb's rock, Dolphin's Nose, Sim's Park, Lady Canning's seat, Law's falls. Walk around, breathe in, and you'll bump into a number of nameless streams, beautiful cottages, lush-green spectacular landscapes and a celebrity or two that owns these estates. Coonoor town hasn't much grub to grab, but up in the hills, you'll find Tranquilitea (a tea lounge), and a couple of eateries near Sim's Park. The Pasteur Institute is renowned in Coonoor and you might want to take a look. The tea factories, Honey manufacturing and cheese are some other interesting things to check out while you're there. Wander around, for best results. You'll find a lot of places with a lot of interesting names “Adderly”,and so on. If photography is your hobby, time to harness it in Coonoor. Its a perfect picture postcard, this.