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5 reasons why Kotagiri is South India’s best kept chill secret |

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Ooty has crowds, and you must have already visited Coonoor. Next, try Kotagiri, which is nestled quietly in the Nilgiris, and is the cool cousin of Ooty and Coonoor. And why it wins? With mist that drapes the hills, and tea estates that roll out like green carpets, Kotagiri is where South India goes when it wants to disappear for the weekend. Here’s why this underrated gem deserves your love.

It’s cooler than Ooty

Kotagiri sits at a breezy altitude of about 6,000 ft and offers the same crisp mountain air as its more famous neighbors. But while Ooty deals with honking traffic and peak-season price surges, Kotagiri sticks to chilling quietly. The temperature stays delightfully nippy, the sunsets are drama-free, and the noise level rarely rises above a distant birdcall. No wonder some say “Kotagiri is what Ooty was before the tourist boom.Read more: Travel disruptions mount after Alaska Airlines grounds fleet; all key details here

Tea love

Kotagiri’s tea estates don’t just look like landscape paintings, they also produce some seriously soothing brews. Whether you’re sipping freshly brewed orange pekoe or walking through the dew-drenched plantations at sunrise, the entire town seems to smell of that aroma. You can even stay in a charming estate bungalow, wake up to misty views, and sip your morning cuppa while watching Nilgiri flycatchers flit past.

Treks, trails, and no human traffic

If you’ve ever hiked up to a ‘viewpoint’ only to share it with a dozen selfie sticks, you’ll love Kotagiri’s under-the-radar trails. The Catherine Falls trek is a quiet stunner, where rolling hills open up into lush valleys with twin waterfalls gushing below. The Longwood Shola forest offers a dense, Jurassic Park-like experience.

Old-school charm

Kotagiri is refreshingly free of themed cafes, bungee jumps, or all those loud things. What it offers instead: old bakeries with fresh buns, cozy local messes serving steaming rasam rice, and tiny shops where the aunty behind the counter might just share life advice along with your change. There’s a kind of timeless simplicity here that feels increasingly rare.Read more: Flying Taxis? Yes, Dubai will soon have these magical vehicles; 7 interesting facts to know

The kind of quiet you will love

In Kotagiri, the loudest thing is often the wind rustling through eucalyptus trees. Full of texture, stillness, and a sense of slowness that’s hard to find in our fast-scrolling world. It’s where you finally finish that book, actually hear your own thoughts, or have that conversation you didn’t realize you needed.





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Redditor who travels 100+ days a year for work shares 11 tips for smooth trips

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If your new desk job isn’t too tedious and you happen to travel for work, catch many flights to new destinations, then brace up because travel in reality is a lot more than just simply rolling into the airport and jetting off celeb-style. No, in practice, there’s a lot of juggling between different priorities, like running between airport gates or battling a jet lag headache.

Know the common mistakes so that your journey goes smoothly. (PC: Freepik)

ALSO READ: Want to travel cheaper? 11 hacks to cut hidden costs on your trip

Responding to a similar issue of how frequent work flights can be hectic, a Redditor who travelled over 100 days a year for work, posted on the subreddit casual conversation about his go-to work trip tips that prevent any hassle because his precautionary measures anticipate them beforehand.

11 tips for work flights

Make sure you reach airport before time. (PC: Freepik)

Flying has its own hurdles (don’t get distracted by the measly lounge discount), which makes it essential to have a checklist on hand to avoid the stress of last-minute inconvenience.

The redditor revealed that they gained ‘experience’ by the ‘repetition’ of taking flights for work. They posted 11 tips, which cover everything from airport essentials to hotel hacks.

The first one specifically ‘may sound like your parents,’ as the Redditor noted, because it may sound like advice from your parents, but certain hacks, even if they are old-school, are still worth paying attention to because they are still relevant for solving real problems.

The list they shared also included tips concerning hotel bookings and hygiene aspects:

1. Leave early:

I know this sounds like your parents, but I would rather have an extra 90 minutes to kill at the airport than have a traffic jam or a detour make me miss a flight. I can still work in a booth/chair at the airport if I need it. Yes, I’ve heard the argument of the “hours gained/lost” by waiting, but if it’s a difference of working for an hour at home or at the airport with no ‘stress’, then choose the latter.

2. Spray hand sanitiser:

Spray hand sanitiser, not aerosol, from a pump. Good for your hands, a public toilet seat in an emergency or the random sticky surface in the rental car.

3. Sanitising wipes:

Never turn down the sanitising wipes on the flight. See number 2. I personally use them for my noise-cancelling headphones or backups for the above.

4. Noise-cancelling headphones:

Noise-cancelling headphones with an audio jack. Don’t just rely on the Bluetooth working on the flight.

5. Get a battery pack:

Buy a battery pack. When you absolutely need a plug in the airport, you’ll never find it. Even better if you rely on your laptop for work, buy one that can output 65-100 W from a single line (not combined output). Yes, they are heavier, but take out the guesswork.

6. Use clothes hangers with clips:

Use the clothes hangers with the clips in the hotel to hold the blackout curtains together.

7. Hack for light sleepers:

If you’re a light sleeper, get the highest floor in the hotel. No kids running the hall on the floor above.

8. Get habituated to background noise while sleeping:

Learn to sleep with background noise. I use an app on my phone at home and on the road. Same app, same white noise sound.

9. Travel with advil:

I travel with Advil/tylenol and 4 mucinex. If I hit a wall, then I can make it through a couple of days until I can get home or to a pharmacy without having to panic.

10. Utensils for food on the run:

Grab a couple of the wrapped utensils from a fast food place, a few napkins and a couple of straws. Nothing more frustrating than getting food on the run and then trying to eat your pasta without silverware or a to-go cup and no straw.

11. Add large carabiner:

Add a large carabiner to your backpack (6” ‘stroller hook-sized). You can use it to hang your bookbag from stall walls or in a variety of places if there’s no hook. Also comes in handy for water bottles or ball caps, or even a grocery bag when you’re running out of hands.

What other things do you need to keep in mind?

The other responses also confirmed that arriving at the airport on time does help reduce the stress of rushing and worrying about missing a flight.

They also shared plenty of other useful tips, like travelling with an eye mask and earplugs if you need to sleep on the plane or get a noisy co-passenger.

One user also mentioned downloading the apps for all the airlines and hotel chains they use, and even saving any contacts one may need after landing. This precaution is because sometimes the airport navigation stress can get to your head and make you panic, hence this keeps your things sorted as you land.

But not all the tips are foolproof. One response recounted how booking a room on a higher floor backfired, and they ‘regretted’ when it was right above a noisy bar or nightclub. So while some tips are objectively helpful, some others need to be modified as per your specific situation.

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice.



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Air India Express Starts Daily Direct Flight Between Dehradun and Bengaluru

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Air India Express has commenced operations from Dehradun Airport with the launch of daily direct flights to Bengaluru. The first flight on the Dehradun–Bengaluru route was flagged off by Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, in the presence of other dignitaries.

Welcoming Air India Express to Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister, said, “The start of Air India Express services from Dehradun marks an important milestone for civil aviation in our state. Enhanced connectivity to Bengaluru will provide a significant boost to tourism, trade, and investment opportunities in Uttarakhand, while also strengthening links for students, professionals, and entrepreneurs with one of India’s most dynamic cities. We welcome Air India Express and look forward to the positive impact this connectivity will bring to our people and economy.”

With this launch, guests from Dehradun gain convenient one-stop connectivity to 18 destinations including Chennai, Goa, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, North Goa, Pune, Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam through Bengaluru.

Flight Schedule from September 15, 2025 (All timings are local)

Departure 

Arrival 

Departure 

Arrival 

Frequency

Dehradun

Bengaluru

16:30

19:30

Daily

Bengaluru

Dehradun

12:50

16:00

Daily

Commenting on the occasion, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, said, “We are delighted to commence operations from Dehradun, our 58th station, with daily direct flights to Bengaluru, our largest domestic hub. This is the third new station launched this month, following Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, underscoring the rapid expansion of our network. The new route not only connects Uttarakhand directly with Bengaluru’s economic and educational hubs but also offers convenient one-stop connections to 18 more cities across India. With our fleet now crossing 115 aircraft, we are scaling up, building a stronger, more accessible network that reflects the aspirations of modern India.”

As part of its ‘Tales of India’ initiative celebrating the country’s diverse art and culture, the new Boeing 737-8 aircraft deployed to operate the first flight from Dehradun proudly features a livery inspired by ‘Aipan,’ Uttarakhand’s traditional art form of floor and wall paintings.

 



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IndiGo and AEGEAN Launch Codeshare Partnership to Enhance Connectivity Between India, Greece, and Europe, ETTravelWorld

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IndiGo, India’s largest airline, and AEGEAN, Greece’s flag carrier, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a codeshare partnership aimed at strengthening connectivity between India, Greece and Europe. The cooperation, subject to regulatory approvals, will enable both airlines to place their codes on each other’s flights, broadening travel options and offering integrated itineraries for customers.

As part of their expansion plans, IndiGo has announced direct services to Athens beginning in January 2026 with six weekly flights. AEGEAN, in turn, will commence operations to India from March 2026, starting with five weekly flights to Delhi and later adding three weekly flights to Mumbai.

Under the proposed agreement, AEGEAN’s “A3” code will be placed on multiple IndiGo routes across India and South Asia, giving AEGEAN passengers improved access to the region. IndiGo’s “6E” code will be added to AEGEAN’s European and domestic services from Athens International Airport, enabling Indian passengers to connect seamlessly to destinations across Greece and wider Europe. The partnership will also provide benefits such as through check-in for passengers travelling on codeshare itineraries.

Commenting on the agreement, Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with AEGEAN, marking a significant step forward in our mission to give wings to India and enhance global connectivity. This collaboration enables our customers to conveniently book seamless itineraries on an expanded, integrated network across both airlines, including beautiful islands in Greece and other regional European destinations.”

Eftichios Vassilakis, Chairman of AEGEAN, added: “We are delighted to establish a strategic partnership with IndiGo, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world. This step expands AEGEAN’s footprint beyond Europe into one of the world’s most dynamic markets, strengthening the bridge between Greece and India. By combining IndiGo’s extensive domestic network with AEGEAN’s European reach, we offer passengers more choices and convenience, along with a seamless travel experience.”

The collaboration is expected to play a key role in boosting cultural, business and tourism exchanges between the two countries, while enhancing connectivity for travellers across South Asia and Europe.

  • Published On Sep 16, 2025 at 11:32 AM IST

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