| Location | Nilgiri hills in the state of Tamil Nadu |
| Also Known as | Udhagamandalam |
| Prime attractions | Botanical Garden, Ooty Lake |
| Temperature | Max- 24.3°C and Min – 4.8°C |
| Population | 93,921 |
| Area | 30.67 sq km |
Ooty Travel Guide
Rightly called the Queen of the Southern hill station, Ooty is also known as Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam. It was discovered by the British collector in pre independence India and later developed in to a summer resort for the people of South India. Nestled in the lap of four hills by the name of Doddabetta, Snowdon, Elk Hill, and Club Hill, it forms a part of the Nilgiri ranges. Ooty is at the confluence of the western and the eastern ghats. The earlier name of the hill station was Udhagamandalam, but the Britishers termed it as Ooty.
In the ancient times Ooty was ruled by the Hoysalas. One of the renowned ruler of the Hoysalas who ruled this place was Vishnu Vardhana around 12th century. The place was earlier inhabited by the local tribe called Todas. Ooty came under the control of the British East India Company when a treaty was signed with Tipu Sultan at Srirangapatnam in the year 1799. Today Ooty can be seen coloured with green by the plenty of tea estates that are its pride of late.
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Major Travel Attractions of Ooty
Botanical Garden: Established in the year 1848, the Botanical Garden, maintained by the Horticultural Department of the Goverment of India has a wide variety of plants including the Japanese species. It is one of the most important travel attraction of the hill station of Ooty.
The imported shrubs, flowering plants, eucalyptus trees along with a fossilised tree trunk of 20 years or so is its prime attractions. In the summers a festival is held where floral shows are shown to the interesting visitors.
Ooty Lake: Constructed in 1825, the Ooty lake is 2.5 km long. There is facility for the visitors to have fun through boating and fishing. There is also a race course located nearby for the peoples with a sporty nature.
Dodabetta Peak: The highest point of the district, the Dodabetta Peak is at a height of 2,623 meters. The Dodabetta Peak lies at a distance of 10 kms from the Ooty town. It is one of the point from where the whole city is clearly visible. All round the year the top of the peak remains covered with mist.
Kodanadu View Point: The View Point located on the eastern edges of the Nilgiris at about 16 kms Ooty offers a panoramic view of the lush green vast areas of tea estates and the Moyar river flowing freely can be seen from there. There is a watch tower from where one can view the Rangaswami peak and the pillars.
Kalhatty Waterfalls: The waterfalls are located 13 kms from Ooty and fall from a height of 100 feets. There is also to look for the wild lives that are found in the Kalhatty-Masinagudi slopes. The wild species includes the panther, bison, buffaloes and the wild dogs. Different types of birds can be spotted on the fall area.
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Nearby Travel Attractions of Ooty
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary: The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is located at about 67 km from Ooty. Part of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, the sanctuary form an important natural composition along with Bandipur National Park in Karnataka and the Wynad Sanctuary in Kerala The predominant species found in the sanctuary are bonnet macaque and common langur. Tigers and leopards sometimes seen here .. Other common species are giant squirrels, flying squirrels, elephants, gaurs, sambhar, chital and barking deer. There is an Elephant camp known as Theppakkadu within the sanctuary.
Shopping
Ooty is famous for its oil honey, cinchona products, quality tea and coffee. Along with other things the silver and tribal shawls are also popular. These materials can be found in the Municipal market as well in the Super market.
Accommodation in Ooty
Ooty being a small place does not have 5 star hotel . But with the passing of times many tourists have made this place a wonderful destination for travel and so the importance is given on opening of more hotels. Some of the well maintained places to stay are the 3 star fortune resort Sullivan court hotel, the holiday inn green park hotel and the hotel Sinclair.
How to Reach Ooty
By Air: Coimbatore is the nearest airport to Ooty at a distance of 88 kms. Major Airlines has flights to Coimbatore from Bangalore, Cochin and Chennai.
By Rail: Ooty Railway Station is 2 km from city center and the other railway station is at Mettupalayam, 46 km away. The toy train is a major attraction which connects Ooty with Mettupalayam and Coonoor between the Nilgiri hills.
By Road: Regular buses are available fron Ooty to other major destinations in and around the hill station. The state transport runs frequent services to Coimbatore,Bangalore and Chennai.