Pykara - Reservoir & Waterfall

Pykara is a picturesque picnic spot 20 km away from Ooty on the road to Mysore. There are two things one could do here rather simply sightseeing, taking a boat ride around the thick sholas on the Pykara reservoir or walk down to waterfalls on the opposite side of dam on Ooty-Mysore main road. I have visited the Pykara reservoir once while past the village couple of time, the water level of the lake was at bottom when I was there on a midsummer day or monsoon that suppose to begin.

I couldn't take a boat ride on the reservoir and well you no need a reason why, as u could see in the picture above I took from the road, the water and boat jetty were at lowest ever seem.  The stairs leading down to boat jetty were stared at developing a terror which really needs courage for a normal being to climb up/down.  But the sight of the deep reservoir and fenced sholas beheld into mine and being summer holidays there were number of tourist thronged the place drove through a brief forest woods.

The boat house runs by the TTDC (Tamil Nadu Tourism & Development Corporation) is a secondary yet fabulous option to who like boating in Ooty, other than the one mainstream rower into the town. There’s also a restaurant attached to the boat house and the reservoir’s maximum level were seem to measure through conceal of the soil bank. But I just wonder will the reservoir behold its spellbound reveled through its dept rather watched or riding boat at its FRL (full reservoir level).

The Pykara reservoir is also a river, which is considered very scared by Todas – the tribal of Nilgiri (Blue Mountains). The river rises at Mukurthi peak, flows through Pykara and Glen Morgan dams forms an inherent part of the Pykara hydro-electric power plant – one of the oldest in the country. Mukuthi is the second largest peak among the Nilgiri and one of my dream was touching its foothill.  

On the picture above u could see a herd of buffaloes grazing on the other side of the reservoir. Buffalos are the main livelihood of Todas, who also does crop business these days, breeding of buffaloes and milking and making butter were their source then. The buffaloes named after the Toda’s were a unique breed and genetically isolated population among the Indian breeds of buffaloes  confined to the Nilgiris. Apart Todas, other communities such as Badagas and Kotas also maintain buffaloes in small numbers.

The Pykara waterfall is another wonderful place to visit, where many Indian films shot their duets and action here. But the path to the waterfall doesn’t seem disabled friendly so I could make a visit to its roar, unlike my parents and cousins who enjoyed the scenic location. The photo beneath was captured by them.