:: South India Destinations ::
Welcome to Ooty
Rightly called the Queen of the Southern hill station, Ooty is also known as Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam. It was discovered by the British collector in pre independence India and later developed in to a summer resort for the people of South India . Nestled in the lap of four hills by the name of Doddabetta, Snowdon , Elk Hill, and Club Hill, it forms a part of the Nilgiri ranges. Ooty is at the confluence of the western and the eastern ghats. The earlier name of the hill station was Udhagamandalam, but the Britishers termed it as Ooty.
In the ancient times Ooty was ruled by the Hoysalas. One of the renowned ruler of the Hoysalas who ruled this place was Vishnu Vardhana around 12th century. The place was earlier inhabited by the local tribe called Todas. Ooty came under the control of the British East India Company when a treaty was signed with Tipu Sultan at Srirangapatnam in the year 1799. Today Ooty can be seen coloured with green by the plenty of tea estates that are its pride of late.
Major Travel Attractions of Ooty
Botanical Garden
Established in the year 1848, the Botanical Garden, maintained by the Horticultural Department of the Goverment of India has a wide variety of plants including the Japanese species. It is one of the most important travel attraction of the hill station of Ooty. The imported shrubs, flowering plants, eucalyptus trees along with a fossilised tree trunk of 20 years or so is its prime attractions. In the summers a festival is held where floral shows are shown to the interesting visitors.
Ooty Lake
Constructed in 1825, the Ooty lake is 2.5 km long. There is facility for the visitors to have fun through boating and fishing.
There is also a race course located nearby for the peoples with a sporty nature.
Dodabetta Peak
The highest point of the district, the Dodabetta Peak is at a height of 2,623 meters. The Dodabetta Peak lies at a distance of 10 kms from the Ooty town.
It is one of the point from where the whole city is clearly visible. All round the year the top of the peak remains covered with mist.
Nearby Travel Attractions of Ooty
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary
The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is located at about 60kms from Ooty. Part of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, the sanctuary form an important natural composition along with Bandipur National Park in Karnataka and the Wynad Sanctuary in Kerala The predominant species found in the sanctuary are bonnet macaque and common langur. Tigers and leopards sometimes seen here, other common species are giant squirrels, flying squirrels, elephants, gaurs, sambhar, chital and barking deer. There is an Elephant camp known as Theppakkadu within the sanctuary.
Accommodation in Ooty
Gem Park - 5* hotel
Taj Savoy - 5* Hotel
Fern Hill Palace - Heritage Hotel
Kings Cliff - Heritage Hotel
Lake View - 2* hotel
How to Reach
By Air:
Nearest airport is Mangalore 150kms away
By Rail:
The nearest rail junction is Mysore 130kms away
By Road:
Well connected by road network of India
