+91 93190 69993
+91 92115 65553
support@livetraveller.in
Pykara

Likhith N.P · File:Pykara lake - panoramio (1).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pykara_lake_-_panoramio_(1).jpg

Attraction · Ooty

Pykara

A lake and a set of falls about twenty-one kilometres out on the Mysore road, on a river the Toda hold sacred — the quiet end of the Nilgiris, and the last of them if you are driving west.

Time needed1 – 2 hours
Best timeAfter the monsoon
From OotyAbout 21 km
On the road toMysuru
FallsAbout 2 km past the lake
River rises atMukurthi
About

The quiet end of the plateau

Pykara is about twenty-one kilometres from Ooty on the Mysore road: a reservoir lake held behind a dam, and a set of falls a couple of kilometres further on where the river drops through rock in stages. The Pykara river rises on Mukurthi and is the largest in the district, and it is held sacred by the Toda, the Nilgiris’ own people. Five of the seven Ooty itineraries stop here, and all five stop on the way out rather than as a day trip — it is the last of the Nilgiris before the road drops toward Mudumalai and Karnataka.

🗺 Interactive Map · Coming Soon

Explore Pykara on the map

City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.

🏨 Hotels🍽 Restaurants
What to See

The lake, and the falls

Two stops a couple of kilometres apart, and they are not the same visit.

The lake

  • A reservoir held behind the Pykara dam, ringed by shola and grassland
  • Boating operates from the lakeside when conditions allow
  • Quieter than anything in Ooty town, which is most of the point

The falls

  • About two kilometres beyond the lake
  • The river drops through rock in more than one stage
  • Volume depends entirely on how recently it has rained

The setting

  • Grassland and shola on the drive out from Ooty
  • The Pykara is the largest river in the Nilgiris district
  • The river and the lake are sacred to the Toda
Getting There

Getting there

On the Mysore road, and best combined with a westward move rather than doubled back to.

From Ooty

  • About 21 km north-west on the Ooty–Mysore road
  • Under an hour by car in normal conditions
  • The falls are a further two kilometres along the same road

How itineraries use it

  • Every package that includes it does so on the transfer day toward Kodagu or Mysuru
  • It works far better as a morning stop on the way out than as a return trip from town
Best Time

When to go

The falls are a rainfall question; the lake is not.

For the falls

  • Strongest with recent rain behind them, so the months after the monsoon are the reliable ones
  • In a dry spell the drop can be thin — worth expecting

For the lake

  • Mornings are calmest and clearest
  • Boating is weather-dependent and is not run in every condition
Visitor Intelligence

Worth knowing

Two stops, one road, and a caution.

Planning the stop

  • Allow for both the lake and the falls, or choose one deliberately — they are separate
  • On a transfer day the stop sits naturally in the first hour of the drive

Respect and safety

  • The river is sacred to the Toda; the site is a living one rather than a scenic backdrop
  • Rocks near the falls are slippery when the water is up
Nearby

Close by

What sits either side of it on the map and in the day.

Doddabetta
Back across the plateau
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway
The other way out of the hills
Coonoor
Tea country below the plateau
Ooty
The town guide
Good to Know

Frequently asked

It can be, but the itineraries that include it treat it as a stop on the way west rather than a return trip. It is about twenty-one kilometres out on the Mysore road, and the drive doubles back on itself if you go purely to see it.
No. The lake is behind the dam and the falls are about two kilometres further along the road. Allow for both or pick one; a stop that assumes they are one place usually ends up rushing whichever comes second.
It depends entirely on recent rainfall. After the monsoon there is real volume; in a dry spell the drop can be thin. Nobody can promise a particular flow on a particular day.
The Pykara river and the lake are held sacred by the Toda, the indigenous people of the Nilgiris. It is worth visiting with that in mind rather than treating it purely as a viewpoint.
Make it yours

Plan your journey

Our travel designers turn knowledge and inspiration into a journey crafted entirely around you.

Plan My Journey →