Ooty is a popular hill resort in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts in India. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 meters above sea level. The weather is quite pleasant at a mean of 15-20°C around the year, dropping to lows of 0°C during winter. The landscape is marked by rolling hills covered with dense vegetation, smaller hills and plateaus covered with tea gardens, and eucalyptus trees. This place used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the Britishers during the colonial days. Ooty, also known as Ootacamund, is the Queen of hill stations and the capital of Nilgiris district. Nilgiris means Blue Mountains. Ooty is also a land of picturesque picnic spots. Ooty, is not less than a paradise remained unknown to the great southern dynasties and it took the British to discover it in the early 1800s. Before that time, the area was inhabited by Todas. An added attraction for the tourists is the mountain train journey on a ratchet and pinion track which commences from Kallar, near Mettupalayam and wends its way through many hair-raising curves, fearful tunnels and chugs along beside deep ravines full of verdant vegetation, gurgling streams and tea gardens. Ooty is the uncrowned Queen of southern hill resorts of India. Udhagamandalam or Ooty offers an amazing array of tourist destinations. One can notice a marvelous change in vegetation, as one goes from Kallar to Coonoor. Many portions of the hills are preserved as natural reserve forests, and special permits will be needed to camp in noncamp sites. Ooty is not the destination in itself, as much as it is the focal point of attraction. The establishment of numerous tea estates made Ooty famous. Lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens.
Auto touring the surrounding country side is certainly a must do. Unfortunately, the hill town suffers from overcrowding and erosion of natural resources. The mesmerizing beauty of the place attract thousands of tourists regularly. The idyllic valleys view and the plush flora and fauna greet you. Nature has been benevolent with this region which is by far, the most beautiful, in the state. The annual Tea and Tourism Festival attracts crowds in huge numbers to visit the place and have a great time in this wonderful place. The environment is so wonderful that is invites a lot of tourist attraction who come here to enjoy a wonderful time with nature while staying close to huge landscape. Ooty has blooming vegetation and wonderful tea gardens and fine pine and eucalyptus trees, which keep enhancing the beauty of the place. Apart from coffee and tea plantations, trees like conifers, eucalyptus, pine and wattle dot the hillside in Udhagamandalam and its environs. Several areas are preserved like that of sanctuary so as to conserve the beauty of the nature and avoid extinction of the life on earth. The hilly region also houses smaller towns like Coonoor and Kotagiri. These smaller towns are a better choice to visit and spend time in, since they are off the beaten path, yet less than 1 hour away from Ooty. They enjoy the same natural climes and prices are a lot cheaper.
Prime Attractions :
1) Botanical Gardens : The Gardens have well over 650 species of plants and trees, including a fossil of a tree, which is believed to be more than 20 million years old.The festival holds flower shows and various cultural programs showcasing the talent of the locals and the renowned artists. If you are on a sightseeing tour to Ooty, you might want to visit the Government Botanical gardens, which were laid out in 1847. This is the cream of all attractions in Ooty. This place is well-maintained and wonderfully planned. All beautiful horticultural wonders are on display at a single location for your viewing pleasure.
2) Doddabetta peak : The Dodabetta Peak stands at an altitude of 2,623 meters. This place has a view tower where you can use high-power telescope to view surrounding places. Many say that on a clear day, which is honestly not that often, one can see far off areas, even the plains of Coimbatore and the flat highlands of Mysore. A great place to see the mountainous valleys and peaks.
Get IN :
By Air : The nearest airport is at Coimbatore, which has daily flights to and from Madras, Bangalore, Cochin and Trivandrum. There are flights into Coimbatore from Singapore, Sharjah, Colombo and most parts of India including Mumbai and Bangalore.
By Rail : The Blue Mountain Express to Ooty is from Mettupalayam (47 km). Mettupalayam can be reached from Coimbatore by the Tea Garden Express. The Nilagiri Express leaves from Chennai at night, and reaches Mettupalayam (which Indian Rail spells Metupalaiyam), a small town at the foothills of the Nilgiris early the next morning.
By Road : There are buses and shared taxi vans that can be boarded from most parts of India to Ooty. There is a regular bus service from Bangalore (300 km), Mysore (170 km), Coimbatore (105 km), Calicut (187 km) and Cochin (281 km). If you don't want wake up early to take the train from Coimbatore, plenty of buses are also going to Ooty. From Kannur there is a KSRTC Bus starting at 7.30 am everyday and a Tamil Nadu Bus at 10PM everyday reaching ooty at 4PM and 7am next day respectively.
