Lakes in Ooty and around

John Sullivan, the collector of Coimbatore who founded Ooty, dammed the streams of the valley in 1824 to make Ooty Lake. It was built for fishing; the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) took it over in 1973 and runs the boathouse, with paddle boats, rowing boats and motorboats. The lake covers about 65 acres and is ringed by eucalyptus, with the railway line along one shore. Around it are a garden, a mini train, pony rides and a busy row of tea and snack stalls. Over the years the lake has shrunk to make room for the bus stand, the racecourse and the lake park.

It is the place for an easy hour on the water rather than for nature: a Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board study found it the most polluted water body in the state, and the water is unsafe for drinking. In May, during the summer festival, it hosts boat races and a boat pageant. More on boating: boat rides.

The Pykara is the largest river in the Nilgiris and is sacred to the Toda. About 20 km north-west of Ooty on the Gudalur road it has been dammed into a reservoir with a TTDC boathouse, where motorboats run along the edges of shola forest; gaur are sometimes seen grazing on the banks. Pykara Falls, twin cascades of roughly 55 and 61 metres, are about 2 km further on and are fullest from July to October.

The same road passes Wenlock Downs, the open grassland of the 9th Mile shooting point, and the Pine Forest, so Pykara is usually done as a half-day trip west by car or with a driver. See also waterfalls.

About 28 km from Ooty, past Emerald village, the tea and eucalyptus give way to a chain of reservoirs ringed by shola forest and grassland inside the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Emerald Lake is passed on the way; Avalanche is the end point. Private vehicles stop at the Avalanche forest checkpoint, and from there the Tamil Nadu Forest Department runs its own bus and jeep safari, about two hours through three viewpoints, ending at Avalanche Lake. Carry ID. Trips can be suspended in the fire season or in heavy rain, so keep a spare day if this is the reason for the trip.

The Avalanche and Parsons Valley check posts are also the starting points for treks into Mukurthi National Park, which has no open tourist entry: only booked Forest Department walks with a guide. Details in nature trips.

A small reservoir in the tea country at Jagathala, south of Ooty. The road in is narrow and nobody runs tours here, so it is usually just water, eucalyptus and tea slopes. Go by car or with a driver, ideally combined with other stops south of town.