Coonoor A Lot Like Home

There’s an inimitable joy in visiting a town where unassuming but historic establishments—schools, parks, old shops—and the people are bound by an affable and strong camaraderie.

- Supriya Sehgal

It reminds me of my home, Dehradun, where ‘everyone knows everyone’ is a phrase often peddled to hold onto its ‘small town’ tenor. Coonoor feels a lot like that.

Once a summer refuge for Britishers in the early 19th century, Coonoor has fostered its colonial lineage till date. You can see it in the numerous boarding schools, architecture of the older buildings and the devotion to plantation clubs. It still remains a place to escape the blazing summers. Fortunately, most holidayers pull the brakes in Ooty, and only a handful make it to Coonoor.

Criss-crossed by muddy trails through tea plantations, it’s a destination best explored on foot to fully take in the green hillsides that appear to be covered in carpets of broccoli from a distance. What makes tea plantations even more scenic is the trail of brightly-dressed tea-pickers dotting the green canvas, hunched over the bushes, basket straps stretched over their heads. If not the plantation walks, the 1874-established Sim’s Park is the most soothing leafy oasis in the middle of the town. If you are visiting in May, you might find it a bit crowded at the annual fruit and flower show, else you’ll only bump into regular walkers and those who stroll in to appreciate the botanical bliss the park offers.