25 November 2014 Ooty via Kotagiri to Combiatore

Today we moved on from Ooty via Kotagiri still in the hills, this was a place my parents visited in 1950 while they lived in Madras.  Then we dropped down 2000 metres to the valley below and had a long drive to Combiatore.  Apparently Combiatore is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu and it was a place I had not previously come across which is amazing considering how large a city it is.  The drive took best part of 4 hours to reach our destination.

View of tea plantations as we left Ooty going towards Kotagiri.

Tea and trees.

Tea picking.

On the road to Kotagiri.

Roadside shop.

Car spares shop, we were very lucky and did not need any emergency repairs on our three week trip.

Fruit shop.

Swimming in the pool at the Le Meridien at Combiatore, not trips today but just rested in the afternoon ready to drive to Madurai on Wednesday.

More from Ooty

Just a few more snaps to add from our day in Ooty.

Of course after a day of looking at the various attractions you end up buying some gifts to take home.  My sister buying a shawl.

Some baskets used for gardening.

Market stall selling fruit.

Sacks of local Nilgiris tea.

British Church.

We were told by our guide that this was the last bullock drawn cart in Ooty.

24 November 2014 - Spending the day in Ooty

We were spending the full day and a second night in Ooty.  Had some sight seeing planned, we went to the highest peak at 2660 metres and had to wait for the mist to clear to take some photos.  Went to a tea factory and saw them processing the local Nilgiris tea.  Went to the Botanical Gardens, a British Church and also did some shopping.

View from the peak.

 Tea terraces.

Cutting the grass at the Botanical Gardens in Ooty, the greenhouses and the women sweeping up the cut grass.