Ooty

About Ooty: The 'Queen of Hill Stations' Udhagamandalam, better known as Ooty, is the most popular hill station in South India. Located in the Western Ghats at a height of 2240 metres, Udhagamandalam is the headquarters of the Nilgiri district. The Toda tribe has been living here since time immemorial, but the credit for 'discovering' Ooty, making it accessible and developing it, surely goes to the British. In 1822, John Sullivan, the then Collector of Coimbatore, constructed the 'Stone House', which is now the Chamber of the Principal of the Government Arts College and one of Ooty's better known landmarks. Ooty was the summer capital of the Madras Presidency, in the days of the British Raj.

Ooty is connected by narrow gauge railway from Mettupalayam, which is linked to Coimbatore and Chennai. A ride in this in this 100-year - old railway system is a scintillating experience. The nearest airport is 100 Km away in Coimbatore, which is connected to Chennai, Bombay and Bangalore. Udhagamandalam is well connected by good roads to Coimbatore, Chennai and other closer places.