Ooty - The Queen of Hills

The Queen of hills is always a place of tourism interest for many

especially for people of Tamilnadu during the summer. The Ooty - capital of Nilgiris district is 105 kms away from Coimbatore. It is at an altitude of 2240 mtrs above the sea level. Nilgiris - is known as Blue Mountains and this place have lots of picnic places to visit. It is a scenic beauty to see the tea plantations lined up on the slopes along with houses built in the slopes.

One have to go through lots of almost 14 hair pin bends, from Kallar to Coonor in the ghat road. To reach this place, one have to reach Coimbatore either through train or through plane and from there travel either through the ghat road or take the toy train that chugs through the hills.

There are lots of tourist places to be seen in Ooty

Botanical Garden which covers a vast area of over 55 acres. The entire area is green with well maintained lawns and have many rare species of trees too. The garden is maintained by the Horticulture Department of Tamilnadu. Every Summer especially during the month of May, the Summer Festivals are held and the plants and trees and the beautiful roses are great attractions to the tourists.

Ooty Lake
The Ooty lake stretches from the Main Bus stand to about 2 kms. Tourists enjoy going on boat rides in this lake. The boat house is located on the far end and the tourists can rent out any kind of boat.

During summer boat race takes place. A small area near the boat house is converted into children's park with a toy train and it have become a great hit. The deer park which is just near the children's park is also a major attraction. Ponies are also found outside the boat house to go on for a ride.

This Ooty lake is not a natural lake but an artificial one which was formed in the year 1823 to dam the mountain stream water during the rainy season.

Dhoddabetta
The tallest peak in the Nilgiri hills hae always been a great attraction to tourists. The natural beauty in the surrounding is unbeleivable and stunning.There is a telescope house from which people see all around the hills. Tourists never forget to take a snap of themselves in this area.

Government Museum
This museum hosts a lots of tribal objects.

Pykara Falls
On the road from Ooty to Banglore, the Pykara falls is situated. This is quite close to Mudumalai also. There is a dam built on the river and the falls have formed a lake where it falls from the mountain. There is a forest rest house and the dam is protected with fence. Just near the dam is the Toda settlements, and wild life habitats. There is a boat house and it also have an restaurant attached to it.

Trekking is a major sports attraction in Ooty. From the base cap at Parsons Valley, one can start their trekking.

Ooty is a shopping paradise too. One can get almost anything in Ooty. Fresh vegetables are available all through the year. The Tibet market is also a famous place in Ooty for a great shopping experience. One should definitely have the art of bargaining to shop in this market.

Shopping never ends without getting the different flavours of Tea and the Eucalyptus Oil.