Bangalore to Kotagiri Cab with Driver
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Kodanad View Point
An early morning drive, about 30 minutes each way. Clear views before the mist.
Catherine Falls
A quick photo stop from the view point.
Longwood Shola
Close to town; the driver drops you at the trail start.
Sim's Park, Coonoor
Coonoor is about 20 km away. A car parks easily near the gate.
Ooty Botanical Garden
Do it on the way back to Bangalore if you leave Kotagiri early.
Distance
355 km
From Bangalore
Time
About 6.5 hr
Via Mysore, Bandipur and Ooty
Starting from
₹ 10800
3 days, 900 km, Dzire
Maruti Swift Dzire
NORMALAC4 Seats
₹10,826 ₹13,036
+ ₹1886 (Taxes & Charges)
Toyota Etios
NORMALAC4 Seats
₹12,572 ₹15,150
+ ₹2200 (Taxes & Charges)
Toyota Innova
LUXURYAC6 Seats
₹16,114 ₹19,429
+ ₹2829 (Taxes & Charges)
Toyota Innova Crysta
LUXURYAC7 Seats
₹17,860 ₹21,543
+ ₹3143 (Taxes & Charges)
Toyota Innova Hycross
LUXURYAC7 Seats
₹23,098 ₹27,886
+ ₹4086 (Taxes & Charges)
Start
80 km
145 km
205 km
225 km
255 km
300 km
340 km
Pickup at your door
Your driver arrives at 6 am. Kotagiri lies beyond Ooty, roughly 340 km from Bangalore, which makes it the longest of the usual Nilgiris drives by car. Leaving early means lunch at Gudalur, a relaxed climb and arrival before the hill evening turns cold. The cab heads out along Mysore Road and picks up the expressway past the city edge. Pack a fleece for each person within reach; the town sits at about 1,950 m. Breakfast is planned at Maddur, around 80 km away.
Breakfast
Maddur, about 80 km out, is the cab's breakfast stop. The driver takes the exit into town, as the expressway bypasses it, and stops by the vada stalls. The Maddur vada, crisp and flat, made with rice flour, semolina and onion, goes well with coffee. Twenty minutes is enough for a family. A tender coconut for the road is easy here, since Maddur is a coconut trading town. Mysore is about 65 km on.
Ring road
Mysore is passed on the ring road, and the only slow spot is usually the junction near Manipal Hospital where the expressway joins it. With a car, a souvenir stop on the way home is easy. Sandalwood oil and incense come from the government factory in Ashokapuram, a few kilometres off the ring road, while silk sarees are woven at the KSIC factory on Manandavadi Road. Shops in the city close before 10 pm. Today the cab carries on south to Gundlupet, about 60 km away.
Tea and fuel
Gundlupet, around 205 km from Bangalore, is a quick halt for fuel, tea and the restroom, and the final Karnataka town on this road. Just past it, NH 181 peels away towards Bandipur and the Nilgiris, while NH 766 goes on to Kerala. People here call their town the flower pot of India, and in the June to August season sunflower fields lie right beside the highway. A ten minute break is enough, but do use the restroom, because the forest ahead permits no stops at all.
Forest
The next hour belongs to the forest, first Bandipur and then Mudumalai on the Tamil Nadu side. Cars may not pull over anywhere on this stretch, and at night the gates shut altogether; Kerala has lobbied to end the night ban, but Karnataka has held firm. If an elephant or a gaur stands close, the driver simply slows and waits. Your Nilgiris e pass and entry fee are checked at the border post. With only 200 tourist vehicles a day allowed up the Kalhatti road, the cab takes the Gudalur ghat instead.
Lunch
Gudalur, about 255 km out, is where the family stops for lunch. Three states feed traffic into this small hill town, and tea estates cover the slopes around it. Half an hour is enough for a meal. After lunch the road climbs roughly 45 km to Ooty. During the busy months, April to June and again in September and October, weekend jams have built up on this climb near Shooting Point, so a punctual lunch helps the cab beat the queues and reach Kotagiri in good light.
Ooty
Ooty comes at about 300 km, and the cab can pause there for fifteen minutes or drive straight through. The lake and the municipal market are both close to the main road; in season the market sells fresh peaches, plums and strawberries. Leaving Ooty, the Kotagiri road climbs past Doddabetta, the highest summit in the Nilgiris, about 9 km out, where a road goes right to the top, a fine morning trip for another day. From Ooty it is about 40 km more to Kotagiri.
Arrival
The cab reaches Kotagiri in about six hours and drops you at the hotel. Kotagiri, at about 1,950 m, is a quiet tea town, calmer than Ooty. Longwood Shola is close to town, but for the evening a walk among the tea gardens is enough. Kotagiri gets about 1,514 mm of rain a year, and January is the coolest month. Rangaswamy Peak and Pillar are near Kotagiri for a later day.
Only four to seven of you going to Kotagiri? This page has the Bangalore to Kotagiri Cab route, the stops on the way and the fare per car. A cab is the quickest way up the Nilgiris, and the driver can drop you at any cottage. Our cab rental in Bangalore has a Dzire or Etios for four and an Innova or Crysta for seven.
Route | One way | Kotagiri and back | Time by cab |
|---|---|---|---|
Bangalore to Kotagiri via Mysore, Gudalur and Ooty | About 340 km | About 680 km | About 6 hr with stops |
Car fares are for a three-day trip billed at 900 km. Kotagiri and back is about 680 km, so Ooty, Coonoor and Kodanad fit inside. Tolls, parking and GST are extra, and so is the Tamil Nadu entry tax for the car. A car's km rate pays for fuel, the driver and AC; driver allowance is extra each day.
Vehicle | Rate per km | 3 days, 900 km | 4 days, 1,200 km | 5 days, 1,500 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
₹12 | ₹11,850 | ₹15,800 | ₹19,750 | |
₹14 | ₹13,650 | ₹18,200 | ₹22,750 | |
₹18 | ₹17,400 | ₹23,200 | ₹29,000 | |
₹20 | ₹19,200 | ₹25,600 | ₹32,000 | |
₹26 | ₹24,600 | ₹32,800 | ₹41,000 |
Totals are the km fare plus the day driver allowance. Extra: night driver allowance (₹350 to ₹400 a night, by size), tolls, parking and GST. Shared by 7, 4 days in the Toyota Innova Crysta is about ₹3,660 a person.
Two to four people travel light in a Swift Dzire or Toyota Etios. With elders, kids or a lot of luggage, take an Innova, Innova Crysta or Innova Hycross. On the Ooty ghat, the Crysta is the smoothest of the four.
Nine or more people? A Bangalore to Kotagiri tempo traveller is cheaper than two cars. Want more space for elders? See the Bangalore to Kotagiri Urbania.
Cancellation: no charge more than 72 hours before pickup; see the cancellation policy for the rest.
Travelled to Bangalore
So nice that the service we have received from Tejas travellers. Ms Revati is very good coordinator and so polite and have much patience. Thank you so much for making our journey nice and beautiful with sending experienced drivers.🙂
rahul
6/11/2025 Bangalore
5/5
Travelled to Bangalore
Very good and clean vehicle provided for family trip for two days. Driver was professional and polite. Excellent service
Mas S
6/3/2026 Bangalore
5/5
Travelled to Bangalore
Hired for day-out trip, It was very pleasant and comfortable journey, with good driver's behaviour and l may strongly suggest Tejas travels for better and comfortable family trip
Kishore Lal
6/11/2025 Bangalore
5/5
Travelled to Bangalore
Booked cab from tejas travels, bangalore to madikeri. Excellent service, driver was very polite and he knows all nook and corner. Overall we enjoyed the trip
Jai Kumar
6/11/2025 Bangalore
5/5
About 340 km one way by Maddur, Mysore, Gundlupet, the Bandipur forest, Gudalur and Ooty, so about 680 km for the round trip. A cab takes about 6 hours with breakfast at Maddur and lunch at Gudalur, and the final stretch from Ooty is about 40 km of hill road.
For three days and 900 km: Dzire ₹10,800, Etios ₹12,600, Innova ₹16,200, Innova Crysta ₹18,000. Driver allowance, tolls, entry tax and GST are extra.
Yes. Share the date and pickup point for a one-way quote. One way is ₹2 more per km.
The Innova Crysta. See all cars on cab rental in Bangalore.
Yes. Kotagiri to Mettupalayam is a ghat road down to the plains. The return km change, and we bill the actual km.
No. Bandipur and Mudumalai close from 9 pm to 6 am. We time the drive so you cross in daylight.
Kotagiri gets about 1,514 mm of rain a year, and the Nilgiri ghat roads on the way are wettest in the June to August monsoon, when landslips can close them for days. January is the coolest and driest time in Kotagiri. For a family by car, October to March is the easy season, with cold nights.
Yes, with planned stops. The cab can halt at Maddur, Gundlupet, Gudalur and Ooty, and only the forest, about an hour, has no stop. The ghats have bends, so elders should sit in front and eat lightly at lunch. Kotagiri is quieter and a little milder than Ooty, which suits elders.
