Ooty Ever Charming Hill station

Welcome to Ooty, the Queen of Hills. In Tamil, it is called Udagamandalam. It is derived from Ottakkalmandu , meaning village of single stone. I love to visit this place every year. Ooty is perched at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,500 feet) above sea level. It is the most popular hill station of the South India. It is also one of the best known hill resorts of India. Ooty is the pride of Tamil Nadu.

Driving your car on ghat road provides one of the most unique experience that cannot be expressed in words. You can reach this place kissing the cloud through the hills in the cool climate with picturesque vistas at every bend. Ooty is always surrounded by a misty blue haze, giving its name Nilgiris or blue mountains. Surely you will miss the way in the cover of fog playing hide and seek. It is a resort of all seasons, though the tourist season is said to be from April to June.

The nearest airport is at Coimbatore (88 kms.).The famous Nilgiri Mountain Railway connects Ooty to Mettupalayam. Ooty is well connected by road. Regular buses ply between Coimbatore and Ooty.

This beautiful place was first discovered by John Sullivan, the then Collector of Coimbatore in 1819. The entire region was previously inhabited by the Toda tribals. The colonial legacy of the British developed this town.

The first place to visit here is the English styled terraced garden founded in 1847. Botanical garden sprawled about 22 hectares has the most colourful collection of flora. Botanical Garden lies at the lower slopes of the Dodabetta Peak in Ooty . There are about 1000 varieties of plants, shrubs and trees. You can see movie shootings at regular intervals, honeymoon couples  walking, children in School uniforms playing and tourists in small groups. Also you can visit the most attractive “Fern House”.

The picturesque Ooty lake is the centre of attraction of blue hills. It has fine boating facilities. Boating on the lake will give you a chilling experience rather than watching the floating boats. It is nice to sit facing the lake and eat the snacks you brought in. Horse riding is still popular with visitng children. Horses are available on hire.

Rose garden is perched on the lower slopes of Elk Hill at Vijayanagaram Farms. It is the largest Rose garden of India. It has been landscaped over five terraces, covering an area of six hectares. The collection of rose plants include polyanthas, hybrid teas, floribundas, miniatures and creepers. It is indeed a must visit place for the tourists going to Ooty.

Dodabetta Peak is the highest point (2,623 meters) in Ooty. An exciting drive of 10 kms from Ooty. From here, you can see the entire Ooty and even the flat highlands of Mysore if the sky permits you.

Lamb's Rock is another vantage point, a 9 kms. drive from Coonoor. From here you can watch  the impressive mountain range of the Nilgiris and the plains of Coimbatore.

You can plan a picnic at Dolphin's nose. From here you can see the lush green grasslands and visit the tea gardens. Here you can taste the best cup of tea  and even buy tea powder including masala tea. When sky is clear, you can see the Catherine falls from here.