A lovely vacation in the Hills. I had been up to Ooty with my family. This is one of my many trips up to Ooty. Ooty is also known as Udhagamandalam, the "Queen of hill stations" and the capital of the Nilgiris district. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Nilgiri's means "Blue Mountains". It is one of the most beautiful hills in India.
We drove up to Ooty and passed the bandipur-mudumalai forests. We didn't get to see much wildlife. The drive up was wonderful we felt the cold breeze on our faces, the smell of eucalyptus, and the inviting scenery to keep treasured in our mind frame. We stayed at LOvedale, a lovely bungalow. The house is a pleasant sight with the drive way , the lovely flowers which added colour to the bungalow.It was freezing so we cuddled up near the heater and had a hot dinner and slept.
The next morning was pleasant and we played some football. We headed to Ooty and looked about. Its not Very pleasant when its over crowded. We had lunch in the Chinese restaurant and then the skies opened up and it poured. We went on a small drive towards Cunoor. The landscape is picturesque.We headed back and played a few games of cards and cooked hot soup.
We headed to Masinagudi in the morning as a friend had a quiet place in the mudumalai forest side.The house was small and you can see some great sightings of wildlife in the evenings. The place is lovely with the stream flowing near by. We stayed there all day and headed to Bangalore early evening.
On our way back i was horrified to see a group of men getting out from their car and feeding the langurs. These are wild and they seemed so tamed. The constant stream of travelers encouraging these once shy creatures has made them lazy and over friendly. Another jeep with a bunch of people see this and stop to get out. I felt so Irritated. Coming from the other side was a lorry and these langurs didn't run away. I was worried about their long tails getting run over. It is so saddening to see this as it is only bringing dangers to these lovely creatures. I stopped and told them to respect wildlife but it doesn't really help. We moved on and i also saw cars stop and people getting out to take pictures in the forest , sometimes a board near by them saying Respect wildlife or Do not stop your vehicles. I have a picture which says it all. Photograph does speak a million words silently.
Another thing Id like to add is the traffic is terrible and there are traffic jams in the sanctuary. This is so as the roads are closed in the evenings till 6.00 am. When these gates are opened all the vehicles enter creating a havoc.
I HONESTLY hope it works out for wildlife. This is one of my favorite sanctuaries and there are so many pressures on it. We need to conserve as its also a Biodiversity Hot-Spot.
No comments:
Post a Comment