WaterfallFree entry

Pykara Falls & Lake

#7of 7 places to visit in OotyOoty, Tamil Nadu

Also known as Pykara Lake · Pykara Boat House

Quick answer

Opening hours: Pykara Falls: 08:30 – 17:00 daily. Entry is free. Allow 2 hrs. Best time: 09:00 – 11:00.

Updated 18 September 2026 · By Traveliac Editorial Team · 4 min read

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Photo: Shanmugamp7 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Opening hours: Pykara Falls: 08:30 – 17:00 daily; Pykara Lake boating: 10:00 – 17:30 daily.
Entry fee: Free
Time needed: 2 hrs
Best time of day: 09:00 – 11:00
Best months: Oct – Mar
Address: Pykara, Udhagamandalam Taluk, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu 643202

About Pykara Falls & Lake

Pykara Falls and Pykara Lake sit roughly 2.5 kilometres apart on the Pykara river about 19 kilometres northwest of Udhagamandalam, and despite sharing a name and a road they are managed separately with distinct entry arrangements. The river itself originates in the Mukurthi hills inside the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and was dammed in stages from the 1930s to feed the Pykara hydroelectric scheme, one of the earliest hydropower projects in the Madras Presidency; the falls are formed where the river drops in twin cascades over a rocky escarpment below the dam. Pykara Lake, upstream of the falls, is bordered by pine and eucalyptus plantations and is the more developed of the two sites, with a Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation boat house offering motorboat and speedboat rides across the reservoir's calm water.

Best time of day: 09:00 – 11:00. Before tour buses arrive, and for the falls, soon after a rain spell when flow is highest.

Pykara Falls & Lake timings

Opening hours: Pykara Falls: 08:30 – 17:00 daily; Pykara Lake boating: 10:00 – 17:30 daily.
Closed on: Open every day

Pykara Falls & Lake ticket price

Entry fees for Pykara Falls & Lake
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	Free
Foreign visitors	Free
Children	Free
Camera	Free

Pykara Falls entry is free; a nominal parking fee and a small battery-car charge apply for the short ride to the viewing platform. Pykara Lake, a separate site 2.5 km away, charges no entry but only boating fees: motorboats (8–15 seats) run approximately ₹770–₹1,240 plus tax for a 20-minute circuit, and 2-seater speedboats about ₹800 plus tax for 10 minutes, charged per boat. As of 2026, verify current boating rates at the TNTDC counter, since these are revised periodically.

Prices last checked 18 September 2026. Confirm on the official website before you go.

Best time to visit Pykara Falls & Lake

Quiet
Moderate
Very busy

08:30 – 10:00
Early OpeningBest time to go
Falls viewpoint and lake boat counter are both quiet. Best light for photographs at the falls.
Quiet
10:00 – 13:00
Tour Convoy Peak
Ooty–Pykara–Mudumalai combination tour convoys arrive in volume, filling the falls car park and the lake's boating queue.
Very busy
13:00 – 15:30
Midday Lull
Some tour groups move on toward Mudumalai. Boating queue shortens but remains steady with independent visitors.
Moderate
15:30 – 17:00
Late Afternoon
Crowds thin ahead of closing time. Falls flow and lighting are less favourable than the morning window.
Quiet

History of Pykara Falls & Lake

The Pykara hydroelectric project, commissioned in stages beginning in the 1930s, was among the first hydropower schemes built in the Madras Presidency and remains in operation as part of Tamil Nadu's grid today, drawing on the same dammed water that now also serves the tourist boat house. The falls themselves predate the dam by geological ages, cut into the escarpment by the Pykara river's natural descent from the Mukurthi plateau, but their present flow volume is now regulated indirectly by upstream dam releases rather than purely by monsoon rainfall, which means the falls can look markedly different, sometimes a thin trickle, sometimes a full cascade, depending on reservoir levels at the time of a visit. The lake and falls both fall within the wider Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, designated under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme in 1986 in recognition of the shola-grassland ecosystem's ecological significance, which is why parts of the wider Pykara catchment beyond the two tourist sites require forest department permits to enter.

Rules & etiquette at Pykara Falls & Lake

Pykara Falls charges no entry fee as of 2026, though a small parking charge applies and a battery-operated car ferries visitors the short distance from the car park to the falls viewpoint for a modest additional fee. Pykara Lake, by contrast, charges for boating rather than entry: a motorboat ride runs to roughly ₹770–₹1,240 plus tax depending on boat capacity (8 to 15 seats) for a 20-minute circuit, and a two-person speedboat ride costs about ₹800 plus tax for 10 minutes, both charged per boat rather than per passenger. Life jackets are mandatory on all lake boats and staff enforce this before departure. The falls viewpoint has metal railings along the main viewing platform, and crossing beyond them onto the wet rock ledges, a common temptation for photographs, is both prohibited and genuinely dangerous given the smooth, algae-covered stone. Swimming is not permitted at either site.

Tips for visiting Pykara Falls & Lake

1
Visiting Pykara Falls before mid-morning avoids the coach-tour rush that builds through the middle of the day, particularly on weekends when tour operators run Ooty–Pykara–Mudumalai combination day trips. Because the falls' flow depends partly on upstream dam releases, checking recent rainfall or asking locally about reservoir levels before making the 19-kilometre trip out from town can save a disappointing visit during a dry spell. Pairing the falls with the lake in a single outing is straightforward since they sit 2.5 kilometres apart on the same road, but budget at least two to three hours total given the separate ticketing and the queues that build at the lake's boat counter. The road out to Pykara passes through some of the more scenic rolling grassland in the wider Nilgiris, similar in character to Wenlock Downs, so the drive itself is worth allocating time for rather than treating as a formality between stops.

How to reach Pykara Falls & Lake

The red star is Pykara Falls & Lake; the numbered pins are the 4 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Pykara, Udhagamandalam Taluk, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu 643202Directions in Google Maps

From Coimbatore International Airport (CJB)
₹2,200–₹3,000
105 km · 4–4.5 hours
Prepaid taxi).
From Udhagamandalam Railway Station
₹500–₹700
19 km · 35–45 minutes
Auto or taxi, one way, negotiated).
From Ooty Central Bus Stand
19 km · 40 minutes
TNSTC local bus approximately ₹25–₹40; taxi ₹500–₹700.

Nearest airport

From Coimbatore International Airport (CJB)

approximately 100 km, about 4–4.5 hours by road via Ooty town.

Nearest railway station

From Udhagamandalam Railway Station

approximately 19 km, 35–45 minutes by road.

Pykara Falls & Lake FAQs

Are Pykara Falls and Pykara Lake the same place?

No. They are two separate sites about 2.5 km apart on the same road, run by different authorities with separate entry and ticketing arrangements.

Is there an entry fee for Pykara Falls?

No, entry is free as of 2026. Only a small parking charge and a battery-car fee to reach the viewing platform apply.

How much does boating cost at Pykara Lake?

Motorboats cost roughly ₹770–₹1,240 plus tax for a 20-minute ride depending on capacity, and speedboats about ₹800 plus tax for a 10-minute ride, both charged per boat.

Why does the water flow at Pykara Falls vary so much between visits?

Because the river is dammed upstream for the Pykara hydroelectric scheme, so the falls' flow depends on dam release schedules as much as on recent rainfall.

Written by Traveliac Editorial Team (Tamil Nadu Field & Heritage Desk); reviewed by Traveliac Standards Desk. Facts last checked 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places