Scotland's natural beauty charms people all over the world, but you cannot simply go there whenever you like, and it is expensive. Those who dream of visiting Scotland can instead pop over to a "little Scotland" in the neighbouring country. It will please your eyes without costing too much.

We are talking about India's Scotland, known to everyone as Ooty. It is India's most beautiful hill station and is famous for its tea gardens. Its beauty and scenery charm everyone, and newly married couples especially like to go there on honeymoon.

The hill station is so beautiful that once you go, you will not want to come back. It is commonly said that being there feels like being in Scotland. If you want to enjoy its beauty, here are the places to visit in Ooty.

Avalanche Lake, 28 km from Ooty, is one of its sights. The green hills and natural scenery will certainly charm you, and the place is also famous for trout fishing.

This is another of Ooty's sights. The artificial lake was originally built for fishing and is popular for boat rides. There is a boat house near the lake where you can hire a boat, and if you want to enjoy the surrounding views you can cycle along the lakeside.

Just 2 km from Ooty Lake, this is a home for deer in Ooty. Rare species such as sambar and chital live in the park, making it a great place for wildlife lovers. Spread over 22 acres, the park was founded in 1986. It is one of the most popular wildlife sanctuaries not only in Tamil Nadu but in India, and visitors can see rabbits and other animals up close.

As Ooty is a hill station, you will find many waterfalls around it, and Kalhatti is the most beautiful of them. It lies about 13 km from Ooty on the Ooty-Mysore road. It is believed that the great Hindu sage Agastya once lived there. Don't forget to stop here on your trip; its natural beauty will surely enchant you.

Mudumalai National Park, 45 km from Ooty, is nothing less than heaven for nature lovers, with plenty of vegetation and wildlife. The park is home to about 50 tigers, so it has also been declared a tiger reserve. There are many guest houses for tourists.

Ooty's Rose Garden, spread over 4 hectares, is a popular spot with more than 20,000 roses, including hybrid tea roses, ramblers, floribunda and other varieties. The garden was built on a slope of Elk Hill, from where visitors can take in the charming views all around.

By air: the nearest international airport is Coimbatore International Airport, about two and a half hours from Ooty. Coimbatore airport is well connected through Air Arabia, Air India, IndiGo, Jet Konnect and SpiceJet with cities such as Delhi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

By rail: Ooty has its own station, Ooty Railway Station, which is well connected with Tamil Nadu's main cities. It lies on the main New Delhi-Coimbatore line and is connected with cities such as New Delhi, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Kochi, Mysore, Lucknow, Kanyakumari, Puri, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

By road: the source gives Ooty's distances as 19 km from Coonoor, 52 km from Mettupalayam, 84 km from Coimbatore, 104 km from Tiruppur, 127 km from Pollachi, 136 km from Palakkad, 154 km from Dharapuram and 159 km from "Ooty".

Citing Pressware18.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.