All about Ooty - Ooty history

Ooty

'Queen of the Hill Stations' - Ootacamund, popularly known as Ooty is Situated at the state of Tamil Nadu near the borders of Kerala and Karnataka. Tea and coffee plantations covers the most part of this 36 sq KMs of town. Ooty lies in the hills of Nilgiris at an altitude of 2240 metres and this is the point where the western and eastern ghats meet. Nilgirs - which mean Blue mountains, are probably the oldest mountains in India.

Todas' hut

The first inhabitants of this place were a tribe called Todas. These inhabitants had been living here long before the Britishers came in the early nineteenth century. The British made OOty the summer capital of the Madras Presidency and played a big role in the development of this beautiful place. The world famous nilgiri toy train was built by the Britishers only. The plan to lay the track for the asia's steepest railway track was made in 1854 and it took close to 40 years before the actual work begin. A Swiss inventor, Riggenback, worked on it and built up the initial line up to Coonoor by the year 1899. The track was later extended up to Ooty and Fernhill in 1908.

There are a lot of beatiful place to see in and around Ooty - Botanical garden, Ooty Lake, Dodabetta Peak, Rose garden and many more place. One definitely need 2-3 days to enjoy all the places. There are a lot of hotels in Ooty and of wide range of budget. It is advisable to book a room well in advance especially during peak season - summer holidays. One can take home made chocolates, spices, Nilgiri tea, and a lot of good photographs and memories back home as soveniors from Ooty.

On the whole a very relaxing place and a must visit.