| When travelling from bangalore to ooty by road, | | | | At the theppakadu junction, (mudumalai forest |
| there are quite a fewthings to do on the way. | | | | office) you have 2choices to go to ooty. The right |
| The road from bangalore to ooty pases through | | | | takes you to ooty through Gudalur,naduvattam, |
| ramnagara, channapatna,maddur, mandya, | | | | Pykarra falls, seventh mile to ooty. The left takes |
| srirangapatna, mysore, najungad, gundelpet, | | | | youthrough Masinagudi, kallahatty water falls to ooty. |
| bandipur,mudumalai to ooty. | | | | Both routes arescenic and have great views. The |
| Bangalore to Mysore | | | | gudalur road is easy to drive andheavy vehicles |
| Bangalore to mysore road is real good right from | | | | prefer this road. The masinagudi road needs a |
| rajarajeshwari templearch and 4 lane trafic capable of | | | | powersteering as there are 35 hairpin bends in a 15 |
| doing 100 kmph and excess. Be carefulof sudden | | | | km stretch and the roadis very steep. Your vehicle |
| traffic diversions due to bridge and road painting | | | | needs to be in perfect condition to tacklethis road. |
| works. | | | | Just after Masinagudi there is a point where a |
| Also of pedestrians. | | | | leopardcrosses the road. |
| Take a break at 24 hour cafe coffee day (after | | | | What to do at wildlife sanctuary |
| channapatna - 70km frombangalore) or kamat (after | | | | Both at Bandipur and Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary, the |
| ramnagaram - 50km from bangalore). You maytry | | | | forest department organises vanand jeep safari inside |
| amaravathi before Mandya or Maddur Tiffanys. Other | | | | the forest to see wild animals. The timings are |
| restaurants arenot worth their salt (or sugar) | | | | Morning 6 to 9 AM and evening 4 to 6 PM. In |
| After Channapatna you may want to stop at Dodda | | | | Bandipur, Jeep safaris areavailable. You need to book |
| Malur Krishna temple, avery old temple with a deity | | | | in advance dring season time as the rush isheavy. |
| of lord baby krishna. Many people believethat your | | | | The crowds mill around like a mall in bangalore. |
| prayers for a baby come true at this temple. | | | | Jungle Home - Gudalur - Ooty Route |
| Srirangapatna has few spots of tourist interest like | | | | Take the right turn at Theppakadu junction and |
| fort, river view,nearby ranganathitu bird sanctuary. | | | | follow the road upto theedge of the forest. |
| If you dig pizzas, you can stop at pizza corner, | | | | A nice place to relax here would be Jungle Home, a |
| mysore which is on theway to ooty road. | | | | cottage attached tothe forest. For details please |
| Mysore to Ooty | | | | check the website. |
| Nanjungad to Gundelpet is straight and smooth road | | | | The section between Theppakadu and Thorapalli is |
| with no traffic. | | | | crucial elephanthabitat zone and is very easy to sight |
| Easy to maintain excess of 100 KMPH. Beware of | | | | the wild elephants on the roadside. Becareful about |
| sudden speed breakersand bumpy bridges. | | | | the wild tuskers which are always single and easyto |
| Nanjungad has a very old and famous shiva temple | | | | irritate. |
| with lot of statues ofgods. | | | | The road goes to Gudalur, Naduvattam, ooty. On the |
| At gundelpet, take the road to ooty. | | | | way you can seepykarra falls (not advisable to |
| Gundelpet to Bandipur is very bad stretch of raod. | | | | bathe), 7th mile (where many filmshootings happen - |
| Bandipur to | | | | sing a duet with your beau) and proceed to ooty. |
| TamilNadu border is also bad stretch. | | | | Stop at the approved view points only. |
| Drive slowly (30 to 40 kmph) as you have chance of | | | | Park at the side of the road. Dont obstruct traffic. |
| seeing the animalsgrazing on the road side during the | | | | Drive carefuly and sensibly. |
| evenings. If you see elephants onthe road side, stop | | | | Beware of irresponsible drivers and buses |
| at a distance and observe them carefully. Nohonking | | | | How to reach Jungle Home |
| or bright lights. (easiset way to irritate the elephants) | | | | At Theppakadu Junction take right, pass through the |
| Bytheir movements, it is easy to findout if they are | | | | forest border, atthe RTO checkpost (Thorrapalli |
| just grazing ortrying to cross the road. If elephants | | | | village) take left, (the small tar roadopposite hotel |
| are in group, no problems. | | | | haridagiri), follow the tar road, after the BSNL |
| Beware of single elephant (especially tusker - male | | | | cellphone tower, you find the green gates of Jungle |
| elephants).Theytend to easily get irritated as this is | | | | home (green building) |
| their mating season. Otheranimals like deer, | | | | Route Map: |
| mongoose, peacocks are harmless. Dont feed | | | | Bangalore - Mysore - Take ooty road |
| themonkeys as they tend to jump inside the car. | | | | Mysore - Nanjungad - Gundelpet - Take Ooty road |
| Monkey scratches and bitesneed anti rabies vaccine. | | | | Gundelpet - Bandipur Forest Office - Karnataka |
| Just before the TN-Kar border checkposts,many | | | | Tamilnadu Border - |
| people have seen tigers near the roads but I have | | | | Theppakadu (Mudumalai forest office) Junction |
| been unlucky inseeing a tiger so far. | | | | Balamurugan is a wildlife and nature lover visiting |
| From the TN border (police tend to leave off family | | | | Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary in India; frequently with |
| cars - guys drivenvehicles are checked for liquor and | | | | various experiences liketrekking, bird watching, fishing |
| other illegal stuff, there is atoll gate on TN side), the | | | | on each visit. |
| roads are good but maintain just 30 to 40kmph. | | | | |