Ooty
About the city
The ‘queen of hill stations', or ‘Snooty Ooty to generation of English, is not what it was. The Nilgri hills (nia, blue, plus giri, hills) around are still beautiful and the climate is as refreshing as ever. The Botanical Gardens are outstanding and the Chennai Turf Club organizes races during the season (mid-April to mid-June).Outdoor pursuits include fishing (carp in the lake and trout in the streams), golf and walking; details from the tourist office. Ooty is at an attitude of 2286m, and despite being so close to the equator temperatures drop nearly to zero at night in winter. Ooty's claim to a place in history is guaranteed, oddly enough by snooker. The game was developed by bored British officers including Neville Chamberlain. Later the British Prime Minister, in the Club in the closing years of the 19th century. The mane has recently been Indianised to Udhagamandalam but will be at least 50 years before anyone other than civil servants and the most ardent nationalists call it anything but Ooty.
Ever wondered where roses rubbed noses when Bollywood stars wanted to kiss in those 70s films? Or the misty mountains and lush gardens they cavorted against during a popular grin-and-gyrate song-and-dance routine? Welcome to Ooty. A small colonial hill station in the Nilgiri Hills, popular for its love and fresh air, excellent boarding schools and connection with Indian cinema. Crowned 'Queen of Hill Stations' by unanimous decision, Ooty is the Simla of the south. A small hilltop destination with spectacular views and great weather, the town is also home to several students and weekend residents, among its local population. A visual treat of sprawling gardens, amazing wildlife, lily ponds, lakes, churches and colonial bungalows, it's no wonder this is a popular destination with honeymooners. Or with the kingpins of romance on the silver screen.
Called the 'Queen of Hill Stations' picturesque, the green Udhagamandalam, better known as Ooty is the most popular hill station in the South. Located in the Western ghats at a height of 2240m, Udhagamandalam is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district where the two ghats meet. Nature has been generous with this region, which is by far the most beautiful in the state. Apart from coffee and tea plantations, trees like conifers, eucalyptus, pine and wattle dot the hillside in Udhagamandalam and its environs. Summer temperature is rarely higher than 25°c with a minimum of 10°c and winters are distinctly cooler with a high of 21°c and a low 5°c. Curiously enough, this slice of paradise remained unknown to the great southern dynasties and it took the British to discover it in the early 1800s. They were, however, not the first inhabitants of this land as a tribe called Todas had been living there long before the British came, claiming that the Nilgiris had been their home since time immemorial. But the credit for modernising Udhagamandalam and making it accessible goes to the British who constructed the first railway line in the area and made it the summer capital of the Madras Presidency.
About Udhagamandalam - Settlement in Udhagamandalam began in 1822 with the construction of the Stone House by John Sullivan, the then Collector of Coimbatore. The bungalow, which is locally called Kal Bangla, is one of the landmarks of Udhagamandalam and is now the Chamber of the Principal of the Government Arts College. Not many years after the construction of the Stone House, several other English cottages with pretty gardens, large bungalows of top officials in the Government, were built. Even today the atmosphere of the Raj lingers in places like the Club where snooker was invented by a subaltern named Neville Chamberlain, the Nilgiri Library with its rare and valuable collection of books on Udhagamandalam and St.Stephen's Church which was Udhagamandalam's first church.
The cemetery near the church has the oldest British tombstones in the town and includes those of John Sullivan's wife and daughter among other prominent personalities.
The Botanical Garden is maintained by the Horticulture Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu and has a very wide variety of plants that include different types of roses, imported shrubs, rare flowering plants, eucalyptus trees, several old trees and even a fossilised tree trunk that is 20 million years old. There is also a beautiful Italian floral garden and for those who simply want to relax, there's always the green carpet of the well-maintained lawns. The "Summer Festival" is held each year during the month of May in the Botanical Garden and is an added attraction for tourists. The Flower Show is the pride of the festival. Cultural programmes are organised for those interested in traditional classical arts. Adventure spots like trekking also form part of the festival.
The artificial Lake, yet another of Sullivan's contributions, has facilities for boating and permission to fish can be obtained from the office of the Assistant Director of Fisheries.
Among the viewpoints around Udhagamandalam are Elk Hill, Green Valley View and Snowden Peak but the most prominent is the Dodabetta Peak, which is the highest point in the district at a height of 2623m. Provided the day is clear, one can see as far as the plains of Coimbatore and the Mysore plateau.
Also for the nature lover are the sprawling 20,000 acres of Wenlock Downs, which was once the scene of the famous Udhagamandalam Hunt. The Gymkhana Club, the factory of the Hindustan Photo Films Company, the Government Sheep Farm and the Golf Course are all in Wenlock Downs. The Government Museum, Mysore Road, Udhagamandalam has tribal objects d'art, district's ecological details and representative sculptural arts and crafts of Tamilnadu.
Orientation
Ooty, known in Tamil as Udagamandalam, is a hill station situated 2268 m above sea level in the Nilgiri mountains. It lies close to the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka and is nestled among some of the most spectacular mountains in southern India.The railway station and bus stand in Ooty are situated in the centre of the town, at the western end of the big bazaar and racecourse. Most of the hotels are between the eastern end of the lake and Charing Cross.History
The Nilgiri district came under the rule of King Vishnu Vardhana, the King of the Hoysalas between 1104 and 1141 AD. The town of Udhagamandalam derived its name from the word 'othakal-mund', which in Toda (the language of the Toda tribe, the original inhabitants) means 'house in the mountains'. The British discovered the town in 1818, when the Assistant to the Collector of Coimbatore, John Sullivan, visited this spot. Later Sullivan himself supervised the laying of a bridle path up the hill from Sirumugai to Kotagiri. Settlement in Udhagamandalam began in 1822 and the British began to call the town Ooty. Although the Niligiris were part of the Coimbatore district, it was administered as a separate district until 1868 to prevent tobacco smuggling from Coimbatore. Ooty fast developed under the British Settlement and soon became a favorite hill resort among officers and administrators. Around 1880, the stupendous task of connecting Ooty to Mettupalayam by rail was proposed and it was completed by 1899.Modern History
Ooty continued to be patronized by the British all through their regime. After India gained independence in 1947, Ooty was included in the State of Tamil Nadu. In the 1970s, its popularity increased when it became the favourite locale for Bollywood cinema.Recent History
Today, the hill station of Ooty continues to retain its old world charm while revamping itself to become an attractive tourist destination for visitors both from India and abroad.The first inhabitants of this land were a tribe called Todas. But the credit for modernising Ooty and making it accessible goes to the British who constructed the first railway line in the area and made it the summer capital of the Madras Presidency. Even today the ambience of the Raj lingers in the Club where snooker was invented by a subaltern named Neville Chamberlain. The Nilgiri Library with its rare and valuable collection of books on Udhagamandalam and St. Stephen's Church which was Udhagamandalam's first church are reminiscent of the Raj. The cemetery near the church has the oldest British tombstones and has graves of John Sullivan's wife and daughter, among other prominent personalities.