Ooty: Tourism is in top gear at this Queen of Hill Stations as summer season has peaked. Greenery, weather and the flowers are charming the summer tourists who are flocking the hills now.
The good showers here in the recent days have turned the hills verdant with the cool salubrious summer weather and the blooming of the colourful flowers that have just begun to commence in patches in various gardens across the hills all add up to the fascinating summer in the hills which is going to witness an array of horticulture-related shows, dog show, horse racing and summer festival in May.
The influx of tourists which commenced in the last week of March, coinciding with the Easter holidays is continuing and is expected to rise manifold in the coming days. Be it the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) or Boat House in Ooty lake or Dodabetta peak or Government Rose Garden or the Karnataka Siri Horticulture Garden which has come as new tourist attraction here or the Sim’s Park in Coonoor , there has been a flow of tourists to these popular tourist spots that is indicative that tourists, as usual, thronging the hills for the summer break.
Though there are some lacunae such as potholed roads, damaged footpaths in the certain areas, parking issues and other related issues in the hills, the weather and the colours in summer still attract the tourists. Saying that Ooty is the best summer getaway, Mr Sajith, a tourist from Palakkad in Kerala said that he used to visit the hills every summer as the elegance of the flowers, greenery on the slopes and the cool weather always make one enjoy and rejuvenate the mind and body in the natural scenic environs in the hills.
N. Chandrasekar, Secretary of the Nilgiris Hotels and Restaurants Association, said that the tourist influx is really good all these days and it is expected to go up in the month of May as the vacation for the most of the schools has begun across the nation. He wanted the tourism department to arrange for some new variety of programmes and adventure tourism activities to add flavour to the summer festival which is on the cards in May.
Mr Shiva Subramaniam Samraj, the Joint Director (in-charge) of horticulture here said that in the GBG, a stellar tourist attraction, a selfie-spot has been created near the canteen there where flower arrangements are done regularly to keep it fresh and colourful. He said that the bloom has just commenced in certain pockets in the GBG and the garden will be in full bloom from the second week of May. He said that 2.71 lakh tourists visited the GBG since April 1 to till date this summer.
