Pykara and Emerald Lake run
Ooty · 9 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹4500 for the whole vehicle, up to 4 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹4500 for the vehicle.
The Ooty that is not in the gardens
Almost every Ooty day stays inside the town. This one leaves it. North-west on the Gudalur road you get the pine forest, the cinema shooting points and Pykara, where a lake feeds a waterfall through a shola. South-west, on a completely different road, sits Emerald: a reservoir with tea slopes running down into it, no boathouse and no ticket counter.
The two are on opposite sides of Ooty, which is exactly why nobody manages both without a car for the day. Doing them in one run means about 90 km, back through town in the middle, and a driver who knows that the Pykara boathouse queue is shortest before noon and that Emerald is worth saving for the afternoon light.
You book the vehicle for the day, not a seat and not a kilometre count. The stops are yours to linger at, and the only counters you will meet are the boat tickets at Pykara.
Your day, stop by stop
1. The pine forest
Straight rows of pines on a slope off the Gudalur road, planted in the 1980s and filmed a thousand times since. Ten minutes, and the light in it before nine is the reason to go early.
2. The shooting points at 6th and 9th Mile
Two grass shoulders that Tamil cinema has been using for decades, looking straight down the Mukurthi ranges. Your driver knows which one is clear on the day.
3. Kamaraj Sagar Dam
A small reservoir off the main road with almost nobody at it, ringed by eucalyptus. It is the stop nobody plans and everybody remembers.
4. Pykara Falls and Lake
The falls step down through rock below the lake, and the lake itself runs boats through a shola-lined channel. The two are a short drive apart and the boathouse queue is shortest before noon.
Boat tickets at the Pykara boathouse counter
5. Emerald Lake
Back through town and out the other side to a reservoir with tea slopes running into it and no boathouse, no ticket counter and no crowd. The afternoon here is the point of the whole day.
In your price
- Private car with driver for the full day
- Pickup and drop at your stay in Ooty
- Fuel, tolls, driver allowance and parking
- Route planned around the boathouse timings and the afternoon light
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- Boating at Pykara
- Forest department entry or camera charges where collected
- Meals
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Boat tickets at the Pykara boathouse
- Entry and camera charges where the forest department collects them
- Lunch and anything personal
Who this suits
Anyone happy with a long day in the car and short walks at each stop. Good for photographers and for anyone who has already done the gardens. Children are fine. The car seats four at one flat price, and larger groups should message us before booking.
What to bring
A windproof layer for the lake banks, sun protection, water, and cash for the boat counter.
Rain changes the falls, not the plan
Pykara is at its best in and just after the monsoon and the day runs in rain. Boating is suspended by the boathouse in high wind or heavy flow, which is their call and not ours, and if the road to either lake is closed you get a full refund or a free reschedule.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Run by a licensed local ground operator, one driver per vehicle, commercially registered and insured. Boating at Pykara is run by the boathouse under its own rules and life jackets are compulsory. The rocks at the falls are slippery and the viewing areas are railed for a reason.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No. The price covers the car and driver for the whole day, whether there is one of you or four.
Can we do this and the gardens in one day?
Not honestly. This is 90 km and two roads out of town. The gardens day is its own day and we would rather say so than rush both.
Is Emerald worth the second drive?
It is the reason we built the day this way. No boathouse, no ticket counter, tea slopes running into the water, and usually almost nobody there.
Will boating be running at Pykara?
Usually, but the boathouse suspends it in high wind or heavy flow. Nothing about the rest of the day depends on it.