Ooty – The Beautiful Hill Station

 

Ooty is a short form of Ootacamund and known as the popular hill station in the state of Tamil Nadu. Located in the mountain range of Nilgiri at the altitude of 2,240 meters above sea level, this place is the headquarters of the Nilgiri district. Lush green tea gardens, dense forests, sky high peaks and excellent weather make this place a perfect tourist attraction. 

Places of interest in Ooty: 

Botanical Garden: This Garden was established in 1847 by Marquis of Tweedale. Garden is spread over the area of 22 hectares and exhibits multi colored flowering plants, grass carpets, variety of ferns, beautiful shrubs and rare colored lilies. Annual flower show held here every year in the month of May. This garden makes a memorable corner in tourist’s mind. 

Doddabetta Peak: This is the highest peak (2623 meters) in Nilgiri and is located about 10 kms. from Ooty. It lies at the junction of the Western & Eastern Ghats and offer beautiful vistas of the Nilgiri Hill ranges that creates mesmerizing effect on tourists. One can have a panoramic view of the landscape through the telescope. 

Pykara Lake: The lake is located at the distance of 21 kms. from Ooty. Pykara contains handful of clear scenery and fresh air with cheerful boating and falls. It’s a happening and tempting picnic spot for the visiting tourists. There is a forest rest house and boat house with restaurant maintained by TTDC. 

Rose Garden: This garden is also an interesting tourist spot for sightseeing located near the charring cross of Vijaynagaram and maintained by the government of Tamil Nadu. The garden has over 20000 varieties of rose and known as the largest rose garden in the country. 

Mukkurathi Peak And National Park: Mukkurathi is a beautiful peak located 40kms. from Ooty. The national park of Mukkurathi is located on the southern corner of the Nilgiri plateau. The Kollaribetta and Nilgiris Peak are other major peaks around. The area is chained by innumberable beautiful and perennial little streams, which fall into Bhavani Puzha. 

Ooty Lake: An another favourite destination for the tourists which is artificially created by its founder John Sullivan. Boat races are conducted in the lake in summer season. House boats are also available here. 

Hindustan Photo Film: HPF is one of the major industrial units of the district. This unit is located around 5 kms. from Ooty railway station. It was inaugurated by Mrs.Indra Gandhi in January, 1967. This unit produces Indu roll films which are used for taking photographs, Indu X-Ray films- the quality of which is among the best in the world, CAT films, special films for space photography, photo typesetting paper and chemicals for the film processing. 

Best time to visit: Ooty trip can be planned in any season throughout the year except July and August. These are the months of monsoon season therewith lots of rainfall. November, December, January, February and March are the peak months of Ooty.