Pride of the Nilgiri hills: Ooty

Ooty is a marvelous hill station situated deep into the Nilgiri hills in the state of Tamil Nadu. These hills are called so because of the blue smoky haze given by the eucalyptus trees which cover the range. Earlier it was ruled by initially by Toda people for many years then it came under the influence of Tipu Sultan. After that during the end of the 18th century this place came under the hands of the East India Company which encouraged the plantation of Tea, Teak and Cinchona trees and this place was gradually converted a major commercial hub and tourist location. This Place is well connected with roads being 80 km away from the city of Coimbatore and 535 km away from the capital Chennai, it can be easily reachable. It is connected with railways too and if you go for airways then the nearest airport is Coimbatore. Ooty experiences a mild climate with the nights and evenings being cold and its quite a pleasant feel just being there.

Ooty has many activities to do. You can try Cheese made up of milk from jersey and Holstein cows. As everybody might be aware that South India is known for its spices like pepper, cardamom and the same can be bought from the green shop Ooty. The biggest thing for which Ooty is known as is the tea plantations. You have different varieties of tea leaves over here. Black, green, white, dusty and everything. Flavors starting from masala to even chocolate tea can be found. You are recommended to try and even get some tea packed for your home. At the Botanical garden road you can find aromatic oils which are produced by plantations of Ooty. One more thing which everyone likes is handmade Chocolates. These can be bought from the shops in Commercial road and these are available in different flavors like truffles, marshmallows and many more.

This Lake is an artificial lake which was constructed by John Sullivan in the year 1824 but within the course of time the lake shrunk in size and paved the way for the construction of the bus stand race course and the lake park. The lake is surrounded by the eucalyptus trees and the lake has boat houses which forms the major attraction of the place. Several activities like paddle boating, row boating and motor boating are the most popular activity of the lake especially during the summers.

This railway for built by the British in the year 1908 and still uses the steam engine. This railway is being added as an extension to the Darjeeling railway by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. The ‘Nilgiri passenger Railway covers a distance of 26 kms travelling through 208 curves, 16 tunnels and across 250 bridges. It covers one of the most spectacular scenery and mountains.

It is the highest mountain in the Nilgiri hills and there is a reserved forest area around the hill peak. It is 9 km away from Ooty and the name means ‘big mountain’. The area is surrounded by forests. This is one of the most spectacular locations of the hill station.

This garden is located on the slopes of Vijayanagaram and is the largest rose garden in India. It was established in May 1995 to commemorate the centenary flower show in govt. Botanical gardens. This garden is very unique as it has more than 20,000 varieties of roses which include miniatures roses, rambler and hybrid tea roses. This garden has received ‘Garden of Excellence’ award in the year 2006 for the variety of roses.

This is a protected site in Niigiri range and recently it had been added to UNESCO World heritage site. This area was specially created to protect the species ‘Nilgiri Tahr’. Several threatened species of animals live here as Nilgiri Tahr, Indian Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger, Nilgiri Langur and many more things to see.

Stone house is another attraction in Ooty as it was the first bungalow constructed over here. This was built by John Sullivan who is popular for his contribution towards Ooty in the year 1822. Now it is the official residence of the principal of the govt. arts college Ooty and there is a remarkable tree in front of the bungalow and it is known as ‘Sullivan’s oak’.