Day 6: Pykara Falls to Ooty
It was a laid back start to the morning. Since it was the last day of cycling and the distance was also only 31 km with hardly any uphill, everyone was in a relaxed mood. Since it was chilled in the morning, everyone climbed up the adjoining hill to get some fresh sunshine. It felt really good. Of course, the entire session was made more interesting with discussions on adversely diverse topics ranging from politics, sports, cinema, spirituality, global cultures, etc.
We came back and had breakfast, packed our luggage and loaded them on the pickup. Collected our bikes and started towards the entrance of Pykara Falls. We stopped near the food stalls for everyone to assemble. Since the stalls were just opening and all the participants had not assembled yet, we helped ourselves with fresh fruits.
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| @ Ooty Youth Hostel |
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| @ Pykara Falls Camp site |
By now everyone had assembled, and we were briefed on the route details for the day. We would be passing some frequently visited tourist spots on the way today towards Ooty. Since we were still hungry we decided to stop at the local stall for some second helping. We had dosas and omelettes.
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| Breakfast @ Pykara Falls |
We started cycling with a downhill for the first 1 km and then the road straightens out.
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| Towards Ooty |
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| Towards Ooty |
The first stop for the day was at Shooting Hill point. It is famous for many movies being shot here. The hill provides for a panoramic view with lush green meadows on all sides as far as the eyes can see. We spent sometime here, enjoyed some snacks and tea.
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| Shooting hill booking counter |
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| Shooting hill point |
We left from here and on the way came across many scenic view points. We didn’t stop at most of them since it was really crowded. Today’s route would complete the entire cycle and bring us back to the lunch point while we on our way to Masinagudi on Day 4. We came across a lake while we were approach the lunch point on Day 6 just short of the main town of Ooty. The lake was really calm and serene. There were many tourists at the lake. We crossed the lunch point and kept cycling towards Ooty.
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| On the way towards Ooty |
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| On the way towards Ooty |
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| On the way towards Ooty |
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| On the way towards Ooty |
Out next stop was at the Chocolate museum. We had passed by this museum on Day 4 put kept it for the last day since we were short on time two days ago. We parked our bikes at the entrance. There is a Rs. 20 entrance fee. But since it was lunch time we entered without the ticket. The ticket can be exchanged inside the museum for a piece of chocolate of one’s choice. The museum houses many sculptures and statues made of chocolate. It also has a shop where we can buy chocolates. Most of us bought the assorted chocolate packs. They were available in two variants, dark and white chocolate. I took each of the two variants.
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| Chocolate Museum - On the way towards Ooty |
We left from the Chocolate museum and on the outside we were stopped by the local police officer who was on his regular patrolling. He inquired about our expedition and about out bikes. He was really impressed by this expedition and our bikes and wished all the best. We left from there and made our way towards the Ooty Boat house. By now we were really hungry and since we had skipped the YHAI packed lunch we decided to have lunch at the local dhaba (hotel) just opposite the boat house. Finally after a week we got the opportunity to have non veg food and we made the most of this chance. The food was delicious and fulfilling. After lunch we decided to check out the Boat house. There was facility for boating but only paddle boats were available and considering the amount of pedaling we had done in the last week or so we decided to skip it.
We left from here and moved towards the Youth hostel. We had to pass through the crowded streets of Ooty. We found this bit of cycling the most difficult since the roads were really narrow with vehicles on both sides and with equal amount of pedestrian traffic. We finally reached the Missionary Hill road and moved towards the Youth hostel. We made it a point to cycle uphill till the hostel to signoff the trip on a high. We made it up all huffing and puffing. We deposited the cycles and went back to the rooms.
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| @ Ooty Youth Hostel |
Some of the participants from the next batch had already reached. We chatted with them and shared by experience with them. We collected the excess luggage and out certificates and packed our bags. We decided to skip the dinner at YHAI ad explore some options in Ooty. We went to the market area and found a really good eatery. We had delicious South Indian food followed by tiring walk back to the hostel in the chilled Ooty weather.
Since we had plans to leave early next day, we bid adieu to all our fellow participants, camp leaders and the support staff. We packed our bags and decided to call it quits. This brought down the curtains on the third cycling expedition in as many years. Special thanks to YHAI for all the support during the expedition. Thanks to Sapna, Vandana and all our fellow participants who made this an experience to share. Hoping to meet you wonderful people in future expeditions
Many more memoirs to share ...... Sachin
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