Ooty

Ooty- The queen of hills

Ootacamund  better known as Ooty, is a town, a municipality, and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 80 kilometers away from Coimbatore. It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. The town is well connected to the rest of India by road and rail, and its historic sites and natural beauty attract tourists.

Ooty, which is situated deep within the Nilgiri hills, is also known as The Blue Mountains. It is unknown whether this name arises from the blue smoky haze given off by the eucalyptus trees that cover the area or from the kurunji flower, which blooms every twelve years giving the slopes a bluish tinge.

Route to Ooty

 Coimbatore -> Mettupalayam -> Coonoor -> Ooty

Appproximate distance from Coimbatore to Ooty – 80 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Cochin to Ooty –  281 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Munar to Ooty –  240 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Kodaikanal to Ooty –  236 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Conoor to Ooty –  18 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Theni to Ooty – 293 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Bangalore to Ooty –  290 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Nagercoil to Ooty – 514 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Chennai to Ooty –535 kilometers

Appproximate distance from Hyderabad to Ooty – 842 kilometers

Ooty is connected by a lightly connecting train service. Ooty does not have a civilian airport and is not connected by air. The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport, at a distance of about 60 miles (96 km).

Wild life

Plants grown here

Tourist attractions

Located in the Blue Mountains of the Western Ghats, Ooty draws a large number of tourists every year. Lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees greet the visitors in route to Ooty. The hill station itself is a land of picturesque picnic spots. Horse riding is an important tourist revenue earner.

Government Rose Garden

The Government rose garden  is the largest rose garden in India. It is situated on the slopes of the Elk Hill in Vijayanagaram of Ooty town  This garden has one of the largest collection of roses in the country with more than 20,000 varieties of roses of 2,800 cultivars. The collection include Hybrid Tea Roses, Miniature Roses, Polyanthas, Papagena, Floribunda, Ramblers, Yakimour and roses of unusual colours like black and green.

Ooty Botanical Gardens

The 22-acre Ooty Botanical Gardens was laid out in 1847 and is maintained by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Botanical Garden is lush, green, and well-maintained. A flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held every May. The Gardens have around a thousand species, both exotic and indigenous, of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, herbal and bonsai plants. The garden has a 20-million-year-old fossilized tree.

Ooty Lake

Ooty lake covers an area of 65 acres. The Boat house established alongside the lake, which offers boating facilities to tourists, is a major tourist attraction in Ooty. It was constructed in 1824 by John Sullivan, the first collector of Ooty. The lake was formed by damming the mountain streams flowing down Ooty valley. The lake is set among groves of Eucalyptus trees with a railway line running along one bank. During summer season in May, boat races and boat pageantry are organised for two days at the lake.

Stone House

Stone House is the first bungalow constructed in Ooty. It was built by John Sullivan and was called as Kal Bangala by the tribals. John Sullivan started building Stonehouse in 1822, acquiring land from the Todas at one rupee an acre. Today, it is the official residence for the principal of the Government Arts College, Ooty.

Toda huts

There are a few Toda huts on the hills above Botanical Garden, where Todas still dwell. There are other Toda settlements in the area, notably Kandal Mund near Old Ooty.

Ooty Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam locomotives^. 

St. Stephen's Church

St. Stephen's Church is located on the road to Mysore in Ooty, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest churches in the Nilgiris district. The church dates back to the 19th century. Stephen Rumbold Lushington, the then Governor of Madras, who keenly felt the need for a cathedral exclusively for the British, in Ooty, laid the foundation for the church on 23 April 1829, to coincide with the birthday of King George IV.

Wax World

A wax museum that houses life-size look-alike wax statues of personalities of Indian history, culture and heritage housed in a 142-year-old bungalow. Located in the Ooty-Coonoor road.

Tribal Museum

The Tribal Museum is part of the campus of Tribal Research Centre which is in Muthorai Palada (10 km from Ooty town). It is home to rare artifacts and photographs of tribal groups of Tamil Nadu as well as Andaman and Nicobar Islands and anthropological and archaeological primitive human culture and heritage. The Tribal Museum also displays houses belongs to Toda, Kota, Paniya, Kurumba and Kanikarans.

Deer Park

Deer Park is located on the edge of Ooty Lake. It is considered as one of the high altitude zoo in India aside from the zoo in Nainital, Uttarakhand. This park was formed to house a number of species of deers and animals for travelers to view.

Doddabetta Peak

 It is the highest peak (2,623 m) in the Nilgiris, about 10 km from Ooty. It offers beautiful vistas of the Nilgiri Hill ranges. It is surrounded by dense sholas. One can have a panoramic view of the landscape through the TTDC telescope. TTDC restaurant caters the needs of tourists.

Pykara

Pykara is a river located 19 km from Ooty. The Pykara is considered very sacred by the Todas. The river has a dam and power plant. The river flows through a series of cascades; and the last two falls of 55 meters and 61 meters are known as Pykara falls. The falls are approximately 6 km from the bridge on the main road. There is a forest rest House at Pykara. A boat house by the Pykara falls and Dam is added attractions to the tourists. Pykara boasts of well protected fenced Sholas, Toda settlements, undistributed grassy meadows and also a good wildlife habitat. The Pykara Dam, Pykara falls and the reservoir attracts many tourists. Being one of the oldest plants in south India, the Pykara station still functions, generating about 60 megawatts.

Pine forest

Pine forest id situated between Ooty and Thalakunda, this tourist destination is featured in many movies. It is a small downhill region where pine trees are arranged in an orderly fashion. The waters of Kamaraj-Sagar Dam are visible from the bottom of the hill.

Wenlock Downs

This is a grassland area typical of the original bioscape of the Nilgiris. It has gently undulating hills and is often compared with areas in the British isles such as the Yorkshire Dales. This is a popular film shooting area, particularly two areas situated approximately six and nine miles (14 km) out of Ooty on the main Ooty to Pykara road. These locations are accordingly named "Sixth Mile" and "Ninth Mile".

Kamaraj Sagar Dam (also known as Sandynalla reservoir)

Kamaray Sagar dam is located at a distance of 10 km from the Ooty bus stand. It is a picnic spot and a film shooting spot on the slopes of the Wenlock Downs. The various tourist activities the dam include fishing and studying nature and environment.

Mudumalai National Park

Mudumalai National Park, now also declared a Tiger Reserve, lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills. Mudumalai, which means 'first hills’, is one of the first wildlife sanctuaries established in India. The sanctuary is divided into 5 ranges - Masinagudi, Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota. Here one can often spot herds of endangered Indian elephants, vulnerable Gaur, andChital. The sanctuary is a haven for Bengal Tigers and Indian Leopards and other threatened species. There are at least 266 species of birds in the sanctuary, including critically endangered species like the Indian White-rumped Vulture and the long-billed vulture. 

Mukurthi National Park 

Mukurthi National Park is a 78.46 km² protected area located in the south-eastern corner of the Nilgiris Plateau west of Ooty. The park was created to protect its Keystone species, the Nilgiri Tahr. 

Needle hill viewpoint

It is situated between Coodalore and Pykara.

Frog Hill Viewpoint 

It got it's name as hill looks like a frog sitting on slopes of mountains. This view can be found while from Pykara to Coodalore.

Parsons Valley Reservoir

This is the primary water source for the town and is mainly in a reserved forest and is thus largely off-limits to visitors.

Emerald Lake

 This lake is near the town of the same name. There is a viewpoint near the dam. The rest of the area is mainly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors.

Avalanche Lake

Adjacent to Emerald Lake, this picturesque lake is mainly situated in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors

Porthimund Lake

This is mostly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors. Shooting of the blockbuster Tamil movie Roja was done here.

Upper Bhavani

This lake is in the Mukurthi National Park and largely off-limits to visitors.

Dams @ Ooty

Avalanche dam

Kamaraj Sagar dam

Pykara dam

Hydro Electric Power Stations @ Ooty

Kundah hydro-electric power house

Pykara power station

Hotels for stay

Regency Villas Ooty (3 Stars)

Ponmari Residency  (3 Stars)

Hotel Gangothri Sunrise  (2 Stars)

The Derby Green

Fairstay Holiday Resort Ooty  (1 Star)

Vinayaga Inn

Hotel Shiv Shanti Grand

Glanton Manor  (2 Stars)

Hotel Preethi Palace (2 Stars)

Maruthi Cottages

Hotel Maneck Residency  (2 Stars)

Hotel Charring Cross  (1 Star)

Space Inn Holiday Resort (2 Stars)

Hotel Khems  (2 Stars)

Orchid Inn  (1 Stars)

The Willow Hill  (2 Stars)

Ooty Gate Hotel  (2 Stars)

Hotel Welbeck Residency

Hotel Race View (1 Star)

Hotel Sarkar Palace  (2 Stars)

Delightz Inn

Hotel Darshan (2 Stars)

Hotel Lakeview  (3 Stars)

Hotel Sunshine Inn  (3 Stars)

Hotel Silver Oak  (2 Stars)

Sterling Fernhill Ooty

Hotel Sapphire Grand  (1 Star)

Sterling Elk Hill Ooty

Doddabetta Resort  (1 Star)

Hotel Preethi Classic Towers  (3 Stars)

Pebrock Heritage Inn

Hotel Sinclairs Ooty  (3 Stars)

Hotel Meadows Residency  (3 Stars)

Sagar Holiday Resorts  (3 Stars)

Club Mahindra Danish Villa Sheddon  (3 Stars)

Hotel Kluney Manor (2 Stars)

The Monarch  (3 Stars)

Savoy Hotel (5 Stars)

Hill Country Holiday Resorts (3 Stars)

Welcomheritage Fernhills Palace

Welcomheritage Regency Villas Palace (1 Star)

Restaurants

Restaurant Name	Address	Phone
Almora North Frontier Restaurant	Ooty Villa Park, Bikey Road, Off Ettines Road, Nilgiri Dist., Ooty, 643001.	NA
Birch Cliff	C/o The Willow Hill 58/1, Havelock Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2444 037
Caffe Coffy Day	Botanical Garden Road Botanical Garden Road Next To Assembly Hall	NA
Canterbury Bar	C/o Savoy Hotel, 77, Sylks Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2444 142
Chandan Vegetarian Multi Cuisine Restaurant	C/o Nahar's Nilgiris Hotel, 52-a, Charring Cross, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2442 173
Cuisine S : Chinese, Continental	C/o Hotel Darshan, Woodcock Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2443 378
Cuisine S : Multi Cuisine	C/o Hotel Glanton Manor Coonoor Road, Charring Cross, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 931
Derby Spirit	C/o Hotel Lakeview, West Lake Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2443 904
Dominos Pizza	Ootacamund Town, No.62. Commercial Road,near Indian Bank, Ootacamund Town , Ooty	0423-2224400
Fernhills	C/o Hotel Sinclairs Ooty, Post Box No. 81, Gorishola Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2444 309
Jade Garden	C/o Holiday Inn Gem Park, Sheddon Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 761
Khyber	C/o Fortune Hotel Sullivan Court, 123, Selbourne Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 415
Pavilion	C/o Fortune Hotel Sullivan Court, 123, Selbourne Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 415
Pine N Petals	C/o Hotel Sinclairs Ooty, Post Box No. 81, Gorishola Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2444 309
Poolside Bar	C/o Hotel Howard Johnson The Monarch, Off Havelock Road, Church Hill, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2444 408
Side Walk Cafe	C/o Nahar's Nilgiris Hotel, 52-a, Charring Cross, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2442 173
Sumukha's Kitchen	C/o Hotel Silver Oak, Ettines Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2451 748
Supper Club	C/o Hotel Lakeview, West Lake Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2443 904
The Garden Cafe	C/o Nahar's Nilgiris Hotel, 52-a, Charring Cross, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2442 173
The Midnight Cowboy	C/o Hotel Howard Johnson The Monarch, Off Havelock Road, Church Hill, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2444 408
The Pandhal	C/o Hotel Lake View, West Lake Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2440 978
The Paradise	C/o Hotel Glanton Manor Coonoor Road, Charring Cross, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 931
The Valley Bar	C/o Holiday Inn Gem Park, Sheddon Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 761
Toda Cafe	C/o Holiday Inn Gem Park, Sheddon Road, Ooty, 643001.	0423 2441 761

Travel

Hospitals

Blisy Eye Hospital 

Nirmala Nursing Home 

Parvathy Nursing Home

Priyanka Clinic 

Sangita Hospital 

Vijaya Hospital

Banks and ATM

Bank	Address
Andhra Bank	Charring Cross Complex, Garden Road, Ooty
Axis Bank	Linga Zevi Complex 421, Ettines Road, 643001, Ooty
ICICI Bank	167m Churchill Rd, Ooty
Indian Bank	Good Shepherd International School M Palada, Ooty
Indian Bank	N T P Shoping Complex Main Road Pandalur, Ooty
Indian Bank	50 Commercial Road Uthagamandalam Nilgiri , Ooty
Punjab National Bank	Pb No 31, 1st Floor, Sayar Shoba Complex, Ooty
South Indian Bank	Uppatti Branch, St. George Building,Main Road, Ooty
State Bank Of India	Commissioner Rd, Ooty, Ooty
State Bank Of Travancore	P.B.No.22,, Commercial Road, Ootacamund P.O, Ooty
Syndicate Bank	Nilgiris Diocesan Society Bldg,Charing Cross, Ooty
Syndicate Bank	No.2, Gr.Floor, Parish Hall,St.Marys Hill, Ooty
Vijaya Bank	P B No 3, Commercial Street, Ooty
Central Bank Of India	Udhagmandlam Main Road, Kattabettu, Ooty
Central Bank Of India	269, Kelso Road, Ooty

Post office

Police station

Fire station

Companies @ Ooty

Today, the town's economy is mainly based on tourism and agriculture, along with manufacture of medicines and photographic film.

Eventhough much of the local economy is now dominated by tourism, Ooty is still a supply base and market town for the surrounding area which is still largely dependent on agriculture, notably the cultivation of "English Vegetables" and "English Fruits" grown locally, which consists of potato, carrot, cabbage and cauliflower and the fruits being peaches, plums, pears and strawberries.

Dairy farming has long been present in the area and there is a cooperative dairy in Ooty manufacturing cheese and skimmed milk powder. As a result of the local agricultural industry, certain research institutes are based in Ooty. These include a soil conservation center, livestock farm and a potato research farm. Efforts are being made to diversify the range of local crops with Floriculture and Sericulture being introduced in the local area, as well as the cultivation of mushrooms.

Hindustan Photo Films, the film manufacturer, is also a major industry in Ooty. This is located on the outskirts of the town at Indu Nagar.

Human Biologicals Institute, which manufactures Human Rabies Vaccine is present in Ooty near Pudumand. Other manufacturing industries are located in the outskirts of Ooty. The most significant of these are in Ketti (manufacture of needles); Aruvankadu (manufacture of cordite) and Coonoor (manufacture of rabies vaccine).

Cottage industries in the area including chocolate, pickle manufacture and carpentry. Homemade chocolates are popular among the tourists and the locals.

Though the local area is known for tea cultivation, this crop is no longer grown nor processed in Ooty. Tea is more economically grown at slightly lower altitude and hence Coonoor and Kotagiri are local centres of tea cultivation and processing.

Schools and colleges

Boarding schools have been a feature of Ooty since the days of the British Raj. They offer a significant contribution to the local economy. The facilities and standards of education are considered amongst the highest in India and so these schools are popular amongst the elite of India and some of the neighbouring countries. The schools and colleges in Ooty are listed below

Schools

·         Bethlehem Girls Higher Sec School, St. Mary’s Hill.

·         Blue Mountain School, Davis Dale.

·         Breeks All India Higher Sec. School, Charing Cross.

·         Breeks Memorial School, Charing Cross.

·         Child Jesus School, St. Mary’s Hill.

·         CSI Gell Memorial School, Dunmere.

·         Cliff School, Woodcock Road.

·         CMM School, Summer House Road.

·         Crescent Castle Public School, Coonoor Road.

·         Crescent Play & Primary School,Gul Mohamed Road.

·         Good Shepherd Public School, Fernhill.

·         Good Shepherd International School, Ooty, Ootacamund

·         Hebron School, Ooty Charing Cross.

·         Hill Wood Preparatory School, Havelock Road.

·         HPF High School, Indunagar.

·         Infant Jesus School, Beat

·         JSS Public School, Mysore Road

·         Kendriya Vidyalaya, Indunagar

·         Kingsbury Montessori House, Higgins Road.

·         Laidlaw Memorial School, Ketti.

·         Lawrence School, Lovedale

·         Loyola School, Snowden Road.

·         Nazareth Convent, St. Marys Hill.

·         New Era Residential Day School, Snowden Road.

·         Nirmala English Primary School, Finger Post.

·         Rex Higher Sec. School, Woodcock Road.

·         Sri Shanthi Vijai Girl's Higher Secondary School, Ettines Road .

·         St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Ooty.

·         St. Hildas School, Sheddon Road.

·         St. Peters School, Arden Villa.

·         Woodside School, Woodside.

Colleges

·         McGan's Ooty School of Architecture, Perar.

·         CSI College of Engineering, Ketti.

·         Emerald Heights College for Women, Finger Post.

·         Government Arts College, Stone House Hill.

·         Government Polytechnic, Finger Post.

·         JSS College of Pharmacy, Rocklands.

·         Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Management, Havelock Road.

·         Monarch International College of Hotel Management, Havelock Road.

·         Sacred Heart Technical Institute, Charing Cross.

·         St. Joseph's College of Education.

·         St. Josephs Industrial School, Finger Post.

·         Suverna International Institute of Management Studies, Bluemountain School Road.

·         Tribal research Centre Tamil University, M.Palada.

Research centres

Central Potato research Centre

The station is located in the tropical hills in southern India.The programmes at the station are development of agro-techniques for potato cultivation, development of varieties possessing combined resistance to late blight and cyst nematode and to develop control measures for late blight, cyst nematode, bacterial wilt and other soil and tuber tuber- borne diseases.

Tribal Research Centre

The tribal research center (T R C) was constituted on second October 1983 at Udhagamandalam and is functioning on its own 25 acres of hill terrain at M Paladin, 10 Kms away from Ooty bus stand. His Excellency, the then President of India, Thiru Gyani Zail Singh had very kindly laid the foundation stone for the Tribal Research Centre, listed at present with Ministry of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. This center is funded by both State and central Governments on 50:50 basic and it is the youngest of the 14 Tribal Research institutes in the country. The relevance of Tribal Research Centre is very much identified as 'Tribal Essential Institute' for the welfare of the 36 Scheduled Tribes of Tamilnadu.

Major objectives of the Tribal Research centre are:

·         To conduct studies on tribal Communities

·         To import training and proper orientation on tribal cultures and development.

·   To record Social, Economic, Religious, political and Psychological changes among the Scheduled Tribes.

·         To recommend weaker communities for inclusion in the list of SC/ST of Tamil Nadu.

·         To publish monographs on the life and culture of the tribal communities

·         To develop tribal Museum with the concept of culture preservation

·         To prepare perspective plans for the uplift of the tribes

Thus the Tribal Research Centre is acting as an integral part of the planned Development of the Tribals. It is concentrating more on Nilgiris district because all the six Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) identified by the Government of India like Todas, kotas, Irulas, Kurumbas, Paniyans and Kattunayakans are exclusive inhabiting since ages in Nilgiri hills.

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

The National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has an active research program in many areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which includes studies of the Sun, interplanetary scintillations, pulsars, the Interstellar medium, active galaxies and cosmology. NCRA also provides exciting opportunities and challenges in engineering fields such as Analog and Digital Electronics, Signal Processing, Antenna Design, Communication and Software Development.

NCRA currently operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), which is located approximately 80 km north of Pune, India and is the largest Radio Telescope operating at low radio frequencies. It is an open access facility and is used by astronomers across the world. NCRA also operates the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT), which is a large Cylindrical Telescope located near Udhagamandalam, India.

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