My trip to - Nilgiris

My journey to Nilgiris is one of the most memorable in my life. I just completed my 10 std and my family decided the trip. My uncle, aunt and my two cousins too joined us. We were very excited and eagerly awaiting the trip. Finally, the day arrived and we left for the wonderful journey.

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The Nilgiris are also called the QUEEN OF HILLS and THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. These are a range of mountains in the South-Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Situated at the junction of Two ghats ranges of the Sahyadri hills, Nilgiri has a fascinating view. Towards its west lies Kerela, the Mysore on the north, and Coimbatore in Tamil-Nadu on the east . But the headquarters of Nilgiris is Ooty also known as "Udhagamandalam".

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As it was Summer time, the summer festival was being celebrated to welcome the visitors in Ooty. We enjoyed the flower and the fruit shows. The main attraction of this time was the boat race which was remarkable. The Climate was pleasant, cool and chilling. Our shopping included the exclusive Nilgiri products like Nilgiri Tea, Eucalyptus oil, Toda embroideries and lots of Handicrafts that my family purchased as gifts for family and friends.

I remember some sight seeing places such as :-

• Doddabetta Peak : which is the highest peak in Nilgiris.
• Avalanche Lake : 30 km's away from Ooty.
• Emerald Lake : this was just another beautiful lake where we enjoyed a lot.
• Botanical Garden : it is spread in the area of 50 acres, it is a prominent tourist attraction in Ooty. It is maintained by Horticulture Department of Tamil Nadu.
• Pykara : it is a gift of Nilgiris, it includes dams, reservoirs, and waterfalls.
• Madumalai Wildlife Sanctuary : this place is rich in flora and fauna,lovely trees , flowers and oh my god so many of monkeys and elephants.
• Tea plantations : it were spread all over Nilgiris and is the largest producers of black and clonal tea.
• Rose Garden : this garden had the largest collection of roses of different colors and species like miniature roses and hybrid tea roses.

We all enjoyed the Nilgiri mountain Toy train. It was so mesmerizing sitting in a small train going through dark tunnels, going through valleys through glens and trees.

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We could hear so many birds chirping and on top of that we kids screaming on top of our voices. We had a fear deep inside our hearts but still loved the engines voice. It was very late in life that I came to know that the Nilgiri rail system is the steepest one in Asia and also declared as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

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I remember we had stayed in a small family cottage ,which belonged to my dad's friend in Ooty.Everything in and around Ooty was a memory. The climate, fog, flowers, birds, animals , the fragrance of eucalyptus spread all over was just amazing.We kids enjoyed boat rides in lakes, the toy train ,tea gardens, everything was so fascinating that we all still very well remember this trip, which according to me was one of the best in life................................