About Ooty
Ooty also known as Udhagamandalam "Queen of hill stations" and the capital of Nilgiris district.
Ooty is deep within the Nilgiri hills, also known as The Blue Mountains.
Ooty stands at an approximate height of 7,500 feet (2, 286 meters) above sea level. The height of the hills in the Nilgiri range varies between 2280 and 2290 meters.
Ooty greets its visitors with Lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees.
Interesting Kurunji flower found here which blooms once in twelve years.
Kalahatty mountain ranges of Nilgiris is a world-class site for hang gliding.
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a World Heritage Site and one of the oldest mountain railways in India. This connects ooty with the town of Mettupalayam, at the foothills of the Nilgiri Mountains.
Homemade chocolates are popular among the tourists and the locals.
Tea mostly grown at slightly lower altitude in Coonoor and Kotagiri which are local centres of tea cultivation and processing.
Ooty has large agriculture area, notably cultivating vegetables like potato, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower and the fruits being peaches, plums, pears and strawberries.
To Enjoy
Ooty Botanical Gardens: The Botanical Garden is lush, green, and well-maintained. The garden has a 20-million-year-old fossilized tree. A flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held every May. One can find a diverse variety of flora, ranging from rare trees (like the cork tree, the paper bark tree, and the monkey puzzle tree), flowering bushes and plants, ferns and orchids. The place is an ideal location for bird watching.
Ooty Lake & Boat House: This is an artificial lake. Boating is the major attraction at the lake. The boat ride allows visitors to enjoy the serene environment at a laid-back pace. The lake is bound by grooves of eucalyptus trees which augment the scenic beauty of the area.
Centenary Rose Park: In the heart of Ooty town, this garden has been beautifully laid out in terraces with rose tunnels, pergolas and bowers with rose creepers. Today this garden has the largest collections of roses in the country — hybrid tea roses, miniature rose, floribunda, ramblers, roses of unusual colours like black and green — some of the more than 3,000 varieties of roses.
Ooty Mountain Railway: The railhead of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. The station is part of the World Heritage Site. Ooty Railway station offers a unique glimpse of the British built railways. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is one of the oldest mountain railways in India. The line was opened by the British in 1908 and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway is one of the few in the world that is dependent on steam locomotives.
St. Stephen's Church: This one of the oldest churches in the town and is a local landmark.
Wax World, Ooty: A wax museum that houses life-size look-alike wax statues of personalities of Indian history, culture and heritage housed in a 142-year-old bungalow.
Tribal Museum: The Tribal Museum is part of the campus of Tribal Research Centre which is in Muthorai Palada (10 km from Ooty town). It is home to rare artifacts and photographs of tribal groups of Tamilnadu as well as Andaman and Nicobar Islands and anthropological and archaeological primitive human culture and heritage. The Tribal Museum also displays houses belongs to Toda, Kota, Paniya, Kurumba and Kanikaran.
Doddabetta Peak: It is the highest peak (2,623 m) in the Nilgiris, about 10 km from Ooty. It lies at the junction of the Western and Eastern Ghats and offers beautiful vistas of the Nilgiri Hill ranges.
Tea plantations: Tea plantations are at a lower altitude and attract a large number of tourists by their picturesque nature.
Ketti Valley: This valley is referred to as the "Switzerland of Southern India" due to the year-round pleasant climatic conditions. There is a view point called Valley View on the main Ooty to Coonoor road.
Pykara Lake Boat House and Pykara Falls: This is the most accessible of all the nearby lakes. A boathouse and picnic area has been developed to provide access to this area.
Pine forest: Situated between Ooty and Thalakunda. It is a small downhill region where pine trees are arranged in an orderly fashion.
Wenlock Downs: This is a grassland area typical of the original bioscape of the Nilgiris. It has gently undulating hills and is often compared with areas in the British isles such as the Yorkshire Dales. There are two popular areas situated approximately six and nine miles (14 km) out of Ooty on the main Ooty to Pykara road (also known as Mysore Road). These locations are accordingly named "Sixth Mile" and "Ninth Mile".
Mudumalai National Park: Situated at a lower altitude and easily accessible, it borders the Bandipur National Park in Karnataka.
Getting to Ooty
Road
Ooty is situated at National Highway 67. It is well connected by road from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Distance from important cities
535 km from Chennai (via Salem)
78 km from Coimbatore
18 km from Coonoor
155 km from Mysore (via Gudalur)
187 km from Calicut
290 km from Bangalore
281 km from Kochi (via Coimbatore and Palakkad)
236 km from Kodaikanal (via Coimbatore and Palani)
78 km from Coimbatore
18 km from Coonoor
155 km from Mysore (via Gudalur)
187 km from Calicut
290 km from Bangalore
281 km from Kochi (via Coimbatore and Palakkad)
236 km from Kodaikanal (via Coimbatore and Palani)
Railway
Ooty is well connected to Chennai (Madras) via railway.
Air
Ooty does not have a civilian airport and is not connected by air. The nearest airport is at Coimbatore which has domestic and international flights to several major Indian cities.
