COONOOR / SUICIDE POINT

Our next days programme included “suicide-point” on the morning of 8th May, which is about 30 kilometres from Ooty. On asking to the driver he said it will take about 1½ to 2 hours. We planned that we will go there in the morning at about 5.30 and on return from there will further decide our day. On knowing that its only about 2 hour’s time, Pondi preferred to stay in the hotel and sleep as hes was feeling feverish. Pondi hasn’t sleep in the car on our journey from Bangalore to Ooty. So we left him on the hotel room. As Pondi was asleep, Shrikant locked the door of the room from outside so that he has not to get up to secure the doors. While coming out of the room we took a snap of him, looking like a dead body, and we joked about him through out the journey calling him dead body.



We started by taking tea / coffee at the hotels restaurant, then driving through narrow and terrain roads, much blocked by incoming traffic to Ooty. Our first stop was at Coonoor Railway Station. We there enquired about the train timings and planned to return from Coonoor to Ooty by narrow guage train.



We next stopped at a tea garden on the Ooty-Coonoor road. It was green mountains, green slopes. We took few snaps, and plucked a stem of tea.

After then we stopped at a roadside staff and had tea. The stall’s roof top was a sight seeing place. We may have waited there for another 45 minutes. Our time target of two hours was very much surpassed by. One thought was a fun that Pondi is in hotel’s room locked from outside. We were making jokes of him by calling him “dead body” and in Hindi similar term “marha”. Still we were half of the way to suicide point and already it was 9.30 am.

“Suicide Point” is a place pictured in many Hindi movies, and few are “Saajan, No Entry, Raaz”. From Ooty the entire route has so beautiful landscape that anywhere one can stop to have the glimpse of the beauty. We also had done so. Then we reached “suicide-point”. It’s on the top of the rock “Dolphin-Nose Point”. One can have the ideas on seeing the image only. The suicide point is surrounded by railings. The suicide point is on top and the mountain is not sloping down rather somewhat vertically straight. May this be an easier place to commit suicide, so named. From suicide point one can view “Catherina Falls”. The guide told us that some British lady named so has committed suicide on knowing that her man is in love with another girl. The Catherina Falls is facing towards “suicide point” or “Dolphin Nose Point”. There may be some other points called “suicide point” so this place is better known as “Dolphin Nose Point”.

There’s a view of a mountain called sleeping lady. Viewing from far make it feel like a lady is sleeping. We spent much time at this place. Actually the place is worth seeing. The weather is cool and sunny in the morning and one can find range of hills in every direction. We had our breakfast there. Some of us had egg-bread toast and some had “kachaudi” at a shop. We asked for tea from the adjacent shop. The tea served was really good. The shop selling prepared tea also sells tea leaves. They say that the tea is fresh from the tea gardens at Ooty. There are varieties of tea, like Chocolate, Masala, Lemon and many other types. They also offered us sample i.e. little quantity of prepared tea free of cost. Their intention was to sell tea leaves after tasting the tea. We also trapped on their trick. Being satisfied with the sample we altogether bought large quantity from there. After returning to our own places and preparing tea, we realised that we were deceived. Those shop-keepers also sell different types of spices. The always give samples. Thank to God that we didn’t purchased other things. Now the time would be around 12.30 in the noon. We started at 6.00 in the morning for two hours programme, and Pondi was locked inside the room and we were enjoying the day, the places, and every time used to address Pondi as “Dead body or Marha”.

Our next visiting point was a hill top area, much covered with trees. I actually for got the name, but one can see range of hills from that place also. There every road divides the sloping tea garden. Several local workers in their style of dressing and working can be seen.

After visiting this place, we were to return to our hotel. There was an option to return by the train from Coonoor to Ooty. For that we had to reach Coonoor by our car. After reaching Coonoor Railway Station, we had about one hour left for our train. So Shrikant and Baikunth decided not to wait and they returned by car to Ooty. Abdul, Sachin and I preferred to return by train. As this tour can not be made frequently and ride in that train may not happen in the imminent future, so we considered waiting for the train a better option.

Abdul, Sachin and I were hungry. We took Curd-Rice being sold at Coonoor Railway Station. As we had enough time to spend, we went to Steam cum Diesel Loco Shed on the opposite side of the railway station. The personnel there allowed us to visit there. We took photographs there. We spent about 45 minutes there. Some of the pictures are presented here.

Then we reached to the Station. There were many passengers for train ride. The train between Coonoor and Ooty run on Diesel engine and to my surprise on Engine-Pushing.

Another train coming to Coonoor.


At a height of 2,600m stands Udhagamandalam (Ooty) the Queen of Hill Stations. The 'Nilgiri toy train' connects Ooty to Mettupalayam, at the foot of the Nilgiris.The constructions of this line were a big challenge as the terrain is rather tricky. It was in 1854 that the first plans were drawn to build a mountain railway from Mettupalayam to the Nilgiri Hills. But it was a good 45 years later in 1899 that the first train chugged up this track. This railway is widely regarded as a marvel of engineering. The train itself is a charming blue and cream with wooden coaches and large windows. It is hauled uphill by steam engines, designed and built by the Swiss Locomotive Works. Twelve of such locomotive engines survive even today.The train covers the 46 km to Udhagamandalam in four - and - half hours. There are five stations between Mettupalayam and Coonoor - Kallar, Adderley, Hill Grove, Runnymede and Kateri - and, at one time, there were five between Coonoor and Ooty too. Though Wellington, Aruvankadu, Ketti, and Lovedale are still functional, Fern Hill, the last one, was closed down a few years ago.Extensive rice fields surround the 7 km stretch between Mettupalayam and Kallar. Soon after is an impressive 21 km section through truly rocky terrain. The track passes over 26 viaducts and twists and bends through 13 tunnels. After a steep climb, the train enters Coonoor, the little hill station known for its tea plantations. From here, the track is uphill till you reach Fern Hill at a height of 2,218m, the highest point on the railroad. Shortly before Ooty, the line dips downhill. If you enjoy taking pictures, keep your camera ready for a few shots of the viaduct between Kallar and Adderley.

The Maximum permissible speed on Mettupalaiyam-Kallar and Coonoor-Udagamandalam "Non-Rack" system is 30 while between Kallar and Coonoor "RACK" section the maximum permissible speed is 13 kmph.The region covered by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway gets rainfall during the south-west and north-east monsoons. The average rainfall is of the order of 1250 mm at Udagamandalam, 1400 mm at Coonoor and 500 mm at Mettupalaiyam. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway keeps chugging despite thedownpour.

One can find the train Time-Table at http://www.indianrail.gov.in/hill_2.html


Our train started Coonoor at 13.35 hrs and scheduled to reach Ooty at 14.50 hrs. covering a distance of 18 kms.

The journey was very beautiful between the Long Nilgiri trees, somewhere green tea garden slopes and sometimes rocky hills. The station in between are small, beautiful and peaceful.

The journey through the hills with shouting children of the train will make your journey happier. If you have a good companion then it’s too good.


One very interesting thing to mention that Abdul make a record in the train. He slept during the journey, and we do not miss the opportunity to shoot.

The stations are as:

We returned the station Udagamandalam at about 3 pm. The station at Ooty is named as Udagamandalam. The photo with the station name board makes a good remembrance, so we also done so.

We already asked Shrikant to send the car to the station. As we were waiting outside of the station our car arrived, and in the car was Pondi coming. This was Pondi’s first out of the hotel (BABY’S DAY OUT). Our two hours tour to Suicide Point in the morning ended at 3 pm a total 9 hrs. Pondi was locked inside the room. Shrikant and Baikunth returned by car, and opened the hotel room at about 1.30 in the noon. Till then Pondi was inside with no way to come out. The room at hotel had a window, but that leads to down slope of the mountain. Had Pondi tried that way, he may have made a new tourist visiting place called “Pondi’s Suicide Point”. So in lots of pictures Pondi is missing.

After then we returned to hotel at about 3.30 pm. Our next programme was to vacate the hotel and then visit another point.

There we took few photographs with our intention the keep Pondi in every image. But to his bad luck, the battery of the camera went down and we were able to take only seven snaps and Pondi was there in six of them.

Then we moved to the Chinese restaurant and as of previous day took chilli chicken and choumin. There we recharged our camera but in the short time it was only little charged. After that we had to return.