Our next destination was Ooty.We drove through many small villages and towns - kutta - kettakal - Panamaram - Meenagudi......( weird names, I know!) and finally arrived at the foothills of Ooty.

It was late in the evening when we began our ascent up the slopes. Halfway up dense fog obscured the visibility making it difficult to drive. It was dark due to absence of streetlights, the road occasionally illuminated by the headlights of passing cars. By nightfall we reached Ooty.

Being extremely tired and hungry we had dinner at an over crowded restaurant and soon checked in to The Majestic Crown for the night.

The next morning after grabbing breakfast at a nearby restaurant we went to the botanical garden- a sprawling array of trees and flowers spread over an area of 22 hectares, located on the lower slopes of Doddabetta - the highest peak of south India at a height of 2,637 meters. To fill our empty stomachs we hunted for a place to eat and arrived at Darshan - a vegetarian restaurant where we had lunch.

Later we decided to book rooms there itself. The room provided us with a spectacular view of the tranquil waters of the boat house. In the evening I stood outside on the balcony looking at the jet black sky and the emerging twinkling stars ( a rarity in the city) the water of the lake a calm unrippled sheet.

There was a small carnival being held across the hotel. We saw various stalls and performances put up. We enjoyed a boat ride on the lake. Later my brother and I rode dirt bikes. By the time we returned a small bonfire had been set up at the hotel. We slept early after dinner as we had to return the next day.

As the sun inched out from behind the mountains we began our return journey very early in the morning, leaving the others behind. We drove non stop until 1 pm. At a small village there we had lunch. Dad drove for another 4 hours after which he was extremely tired. It was nearly 12 hours since we had left. It was near 5 pm. By nightfall we had reached Bangalore and were dead beat. We stopped at dad's friend's place for the night.

By the next morning the other families had joined us and together we continued the journey back home and bade goodbye to the mountains of Ooty and the numerous wonders of nature that we saw.

Authors Note: Thank you my dedicated reader for staying with me till the end of my journey!
I appreciate the support and encouragement each of you have shown. Hope you have liked my story.
Before you go, there is one more picture gallery for you guys covering the last leg of the journey. Be sure to check it out!
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