Ooty is a town, a municipality and the district capital of The Nilgiris District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Ooty is known as the queen of hills in South India. Known for its fascinating scenic beauty, excellent climate, tea plantations, fruit orchards, exotic ambience, placid lakes and lofty mountains, the hill resort attracts tourist from all over the world. The beautiful hill resort is cuddled in a natural arena formed by Snowdown hill, Elk hill, Doddabetta and Club hill. The best thing about Ooty is its fantastic climate, which makes it an ideal summer vacation site. Touristplacesinindia.com has all the information you need about Ooty tourism.

Ooty is located about 535 kilometers from Chennai, 89 kilometers from Coimbatore, 155 kilometers from Mysore and 2812 kilometers from Kochi. Situated at an altitude of 2623 meters, Ooty covers approximately 36 square kilometers. The total population of Ooty is about 81763.

Etymology: The origin of the name Udhagamandalam is obscure. The first mention of the place occurs in a letter of March 1821 to the Madras Gazette by an unknown correspondent as Wotokymund.[3] In early times it was called OttaikalMandu "mund" is the Tamil word for a Toda village, and the first part is probably a corruption of the local name for the central region of the Nilgiri Plateau.[4] Another likely origin of the stem of the name (Ootaca) comes from the local language where Otha-Cal literally means Single Stone. This is perhaps a reference to a sacred stone revered by the local Toda people. The name probably changed under British rule from Udhagamandalam to Ootacamund, later shortened to Ooty.[5]

History: Ooty, which is deep within the Nilgiri hills, is also known as The Blue Mountains. It is unknown whether this name comes from the blue smoky haze given off by the eucalyptus trees that cover the area, or because of the kurunji flower, which blooms every twelve years giving the slopes a bluish tinge.[3] Unlike any other region in the country, no historical proof is found to state that Ooty was a part of any kingdoms or empires. Tippu Sultan was the first to extend his border by constructing a hideout cave like structure.[6]

It was originally a tribal land and was occupied by the Todas along with other tribes who coexisted through specialisation and trade. Frederick price in his book Ootacamund, A History states that the area which is now called as the 'Old Ooty' was originally occupied by the Todas. The Todas then handed over that part of the town to John Sullivan, the then Governor of Coimbatore. He later developed the town, and encouraged the establishment of tea, chinchona, and teak trees. Like many of the settlers, Sullivan was highly impressed by the way the tribes cooperated, and sought to maintain this balance. He later campaigned tirelessly to ensure land rights and cultural recognition for these tribes and was financially and socially punished for this by the British Government.[6]

The Nilgiri territory came into possession of East India Company as part of the ceded lands, held by Tipu Sultan, by the treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1799. Rev. Jacome Forico, a priest, was the first European who visited Nilgiris in 1603 and released his notes about the place and the people of Nilgiris. In 1812 surveyor William Keys and Macmohan visited the top of the plateau. In 1818, Wish and Kindersley, Assistant and Second Assistant to Collector of Coimbatore visited this spot and submitted their experience report to the Collector of Coimbatore John Sullivan. John Sullivan with his party proceeded to Nilgiri Mountain and camped at Dimbhatti, just north of Kotagiri in January 1819. Again in May 1819 he came to the Hill of Ooty and began the construction of his bungalow at Dimbhatti (near Kotagiri), the first European dwelling on the hills. John Sullivan laid the path from Sirumugai (near-Mattupalayam) to Dimbhatti in 1829 and the work was completed in May 1823. The route up to Coonoor was laid in 1830-32.[3] Ooty served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency and other small kingdoms, much visited by British during the colonial days, and as today, a popular summer and weekend resort. Soldiers were also sent here and to nearby Wellington (The home of the Madras regiment to this day) to recuperate. Its stunning beauty and splendid green deep valleys inspired the British to name it Queen of Hill Stations.[6]

It is reached via winding hill roads or a complicated rack railway system, known as the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, built in 1908 by impassioned and enterprising British citizens with venture capital from the Madras government.[7]

Area	36 Sq. Kms
Population	87,763
Altitude	2,240 meters.
Summer	Max. 25C, Min. 10C
Winter	Max. 21C, Min. 5C
Rainfall	121cms
Best Season	April to June and September to November
Languages	Badaga, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and English
Clothing	Heavy Woolen in winter/ Light Woolen in summer
Time	5.30 GMT
STD Code	0423
ISD Code	+91

Botanical garden: The place is home to some rare species of cactus, pteridophytes and succulents. The garden forms an excellent picnic spot.

Thread garden: The place has an amazing collection of flowers. The amazing fact about these flowers is that they are made of thread.

Arronmore Palace: Built by the king of Jothpore, this palace is grandeur personified.

Awnandale palace: it was built by the king of Jothpore.

Kalhatty water falls: the place is an ideal place for mountain trekking.

Ketti valley: The valley is the second largest in the world.

Transport infrastructure:
Road:Ooty is well connected by good roads. It is 535 km from Chennai (via Salem,Erode), 80 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). Ooty is situated on National Highway 67. It is connected by road to travelers from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka via the five main accepted Nilgiri Ghat Roads. There is also a road from Mettupalayam(Coimbatore) to Ooty via Kotagiri. This road does not pass through Coonoor.

Ooty, being the district capital, has frequent bus connections from nearby towns in the district such as Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur. There are bus connections to most villages in the district via one of these three towns. There are also frequent bus connections to the nearby mainline railway stations of Mettupalayam and Coimbatore. The town also has direct bus services to various cities and towns of Tamil Nadu, namely Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Salem, Sathyamangalam, Karur, Dindigul, Chennai, Thiruchirapalli, Madurai, Thanjavur and Kanyakumari. There are several bus services to and from the nearby cities of Mysore and Kozhikode (in the two bordering states). Direct buses can be boarded for Ooty from many other parts of Karnataka and Kerala, including local connections to Palghat, Nilambur and Sulthan Bathery in Kerala, as well as Gundlupet in Karnataka. The capital cities of these two states (Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram respectively) as well as Pondicherry are also connected via direct bus links.

Rail:Ooty is connected by a nightly connecting train service. The railway station for Ooty is Udhagamandalam Railway Station.[14] Mettupalayam provides the interchange between 'The Nilgiri Passenger' NMR metre gauge service and the Nilgiri Express broad gauge service. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is one of the oldest mountain railways in India. The NMR was declared by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in July 2005. This connects Ootacamund with the town of Mettupalayam, at the foothills of the Nilgiri Mountains. It is the only rack railway in India, and uses the Abt system.

Air:Ooty does not have a civilian airport and is not connected by air. The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport. Steps are being undertaken to start a helicopter shuttle service from the nearest airport to Ooty for fixed wing aircraft which is in Coimbatore. It will initially be serviced by a Bell 407 marketed and run by J.B.Aviation with the aircraft leased from the air service provider Pawan Hans.[15]

Climate:Ooty features a subtropical highland climate under Koppens climate classification. Despite its location in the tropics, in stark contrast with most of South India, Ooty generally features pleasantly mild conditions throughout the year. However, nighttime in the months of January and February is typically chilly. Generally, the town appears to be eternally stuck in the spring season. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year; with average high temperatures ranging from about 17-20 degrees Celsius and average low temperatures between approximately 5-12 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature ever recorded in Ooty is 25 degrees Celsius, which by South Asian standards is uncharacteristically low for an all-time record high temperature. The lowest temperature was being -2 degree Celsius.[8] The city sees on average about 1250 mm of precipitation annually, with a marked drier season from December through March.

Demography:As of 2001 India census, Udhagamandalam had a population of 93,921. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50% (sex ratio of 1000). Udhagamandalam has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 75%. In Udhagamandalam, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Tamil is the lingua franca of Udhagamandalam. Languages native to the Nilgiris like Paniya are also spoken by the tribes. Due to its proximity to the neighbouring states and it being a popular tourist spot, English, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam are also spoken and understood to an extent.[10]

Governance and politics:Ooty is the district headquarters of the Nilgiris district.[11] Ootacamund assembly constituency is part of Nilgiris (Lok Sabha constituency).[12]

Economy:Contrary to the thought that much of the local economy is now dominated by tourism, Ooty is still a supply base and market town for the surrounding area which is still largely dependent on agriculture, notably the cultivation of "English Vegetables" and "English Fruits" grown locally. This primarily consists of potato, carrot, cabbage and cauliflower and the fruits being peaches, plums, pears and strawberries.[13] There is a daily wholesale auction of these products at the Ooty Municipal Market, which is one of the largest retail markets in India. Dairy farming has long been present in the area and there is a cooperative dairy in Ooty manufacturing cheese and skimmed milk powder. As a result of the local agricultural industry, certain research institutes are based in Ooty. These include a soil conservation center, livestock farm and a potato research farm. Efforts are being made to diversify the range of local crops with Floriculture and Sericulture being introduced in the local area, as well as the cultivation of mushrooms.[13]

Hindustan Photo Films, the film manufacturer, is also a major industry in Ooty. This is located on the outskirts of the town at Indu Nagar.[13] Human Biologicals Institute, which manufactures Human Rabies Vaccine is present in Ooty near Pudumand. Other manufacturing industries are located in the outskirts of Ooty. The most significant of these are in Ketti (manufacture of needles); Aruvankadu (manufacture of cordite) and Coonoor (manufacture of rabies vaccine). Cottage industries in the area including chocolate, pickle manufacture and carpentry. Homemade chocolates are popular among the tourists and the locals.

Though the local area is known for tea cultivation, this crop is no longer grown nor processed in Ooty. Tea is more economically grown at slightly lower altitude and hence Coonoor and Kotagiri are local centres of tea cultivation and processing.

Education:Boarding schools have been a feature of Ooty since the days of the British Raj. They offer a significant contribution to the local economy. The facilities and standards of education are considered amongst the highest in India[16] and so these schools are popular amongst the elite of India and some of its neighbouring countries. Several of these now also operate as day schools, including Hebron School, Ooty and Good Shepherd International School.

Ooty Hotels:
The Willow Hill Ooty
Blue Valley Resort Ooty
Hotel Khems Ooty
Nahar Residency Hotel Ooty
Sagar Holiday Resort Ooty
Holiday Inn Gem Park Ooty
Hotel Kings Cliff Ooty
Hotel Preethi Classic Towers Ooty

Ooty Travels:
INDI TRAVELS
Ooty Taxi
Nitin Tours & Travels
Impala Travels
Dreams Travels
Explore Ooty
KPN Travels Ooty

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