If you’re looking for a quick escape to the hills, but on a budget, make your way to the quaint hill station of Lovedale in Ooty and stay at Zostel. It overlooks the mountains, has hammocks hung in the gardens and my friends, you don’t need to sell your kidney for it.
The Beautiful Zostel Hostel In Ooty Will Only Cost You INR 500 A Night
The information in this post might be outdated
What Is It?
How Do I Get There?
The easiest way to get to Ooty is by catching a flight to Coimbatore or even drive down. From Coimbatore, they have regular buses plying to Ooty. Once you reach Ooty, there’s a main bus stand from where you can buy a ticket to Lovedale.
Once you get to Lovedale {they drop you off at a Railway bridge near the police station} from where you take the immediate left, go down the steps and voila, Zostel awaits you.
Why Is It So Unique?
Zostel’s a novel concept that was introduced in India a few years back aping the backpacker’s hostels abroad. So far, Zostel is in at least 20 cities, including the highest hostel in Spiti valley {read more here}.
The Lovedale Zostel is an absolute delight for backpakers, solo travellers and families. Though we’ve been told this hostel tends to be more crowded with families. It’s a really clean hostel, with a number of facilities like free WiFi, laundry and a cool common room to chill in. Apart from this, the hostel is situated on a lush hill. Wake up to a scenic view, chill on their hammock hung in the lawns, or just take a stroll by yourself and listen to birds chirping.
They offer single rooms, or dormitories – all male, all female or mixed. A Single bed in a mixed room will cost INR 500 per night. The common room comes loaded with a book shelf so you read and lounge, and the floor is a chess board. They have miniatures chess players for you to play here.
Anything Else?
If you’re staying in Ooty for a while, we suggest avoid the tourist areas to skip the crowd. Instead, catch a toy train to Coonor or Wellington {for INR 10}. It’ll take an hour to get there.
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The kitchen is open to all to make their own food. They also have a cook who’ll cook vegetarian meals {additional INR 250 per person} and non-vegetarians meals {INR 300 per person}. They also offer breakfast for INR 150.