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Continuing from where I left off in the last post about Exploring Pykara Lake in Ooty, this post will be about the places you can visit either on your way to Pykara or on the way back from Pykara. Both the Pine Forest and Shooting points are heavily crowded especially on weekends / public holidays. Since I visited during the Ramzan long weekend, there was a lot of rush at both these points. I visited both these places while returning from Pykara and the first stop was Pine Forest. So this post is all about Exploring Ooty – Pine Forest and Shooting Point.
Pine Forest – spend time close to nature
The Pine Forest is located right off the road leading to Ooty (when returning from Pykara) As mentioned earlier, this place is crowded. Firstly there are a lot of people visiting the forest. Secondly, like any other tourist spot, this place too has a lot of food joints near the entrance. Most of these food joints serve Maggi. There is an entry fee to the forest which is very nominal. Cameras are charged extra, so do keep an eye on the rate card before proceeding.
Once inside, you can enjoy the beauty of nature. These magnificent, tall tress have been here for ages. So don’t be surprised to see a weird insect or algae growth on the barks. There is a track made for people to go down, but it has completely faded. I had worn my sandals for the trip, but I’d highly recommend wearing good quality shoes since things can get murkier when it rains.
Just as I mentioned in my last post, Ooty is a place of lakes and there’s on here too. Keep walking down the hill to get a picturesque view of the place. Overall, the pine forest is a good place to spend some quality time. It’s surely a good place to click some amazing photos of your loved ones.
Shooting point – picturesque landscapes for that perfect photo
Driving a little further, you’ll come across another heavily crowded place called the Shooting point. And there’s not one but two shooting points. There’s one at 6th Mile and another at 9th Mile. Our first stop was 9th Mile Shooting point. The area again has nominal entry fee along with extra charges for a camera. Once the tickets are done, one needs to ‘trek‘ a good distance to get on top. For those of you who can’t walk, there are horse rides available. Again, I request you to wear shoes with good grip and not sandals or fancy slippers as they have poor grip.
The view from the top is breathtaking. Each direction gives you a different view of the beautiful Nilgiri Hills. Since I went in June, the weather was awesome and windy – the perfect place to replicate SRK’s trademark pose with open arm. I did that, but can’t share that here 😛 But again, the place the very crowded at the top and getting a solo photo might be tough. Also you can see the huge traffic jam at the bottom especially on weekends. Since we were running short of time, we decided to skip the 6th Mile shooting point. So if you are in Ooty, make sure to visit the shooting points to capture some amazing photos with beautiful landscapes.
Pine Forest, Shooting Point a must visit in Ooty
After a drive to the beautiful Pykara Lake, spending time at Shooting point in Ooty is a good thing to do. Pine Forest belongs to a different league all together. The entire road from Ooty to Pykara will give you some amazing views and you would want to get down every now and then to capture photos. So in my view, the best way to get around Ooty (as I mentioned earlier) is to have a personal vehicle. Pine Forest was my favorite place, hadn’t seen such place before. That’s all about Pine Forest and Shooting Point in Ooty. If you’ve already been here, share your experience in the comments below. Else if you think, I’ve missed out on anything, mention in the comments or get tweet to me @atulmaharaj
