Ooty is one of the most popular hill stations of India located in the Southern part of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. Ooty is a town, municipality and capital of the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu and is located almost 80 kilometers to the north of Coimbatore, an important city of Tamil Nadu. The hill station of Ooty is located on the Nilgiri Hills and is a popular destination among tourists coming from other parts of the country and from other countries across the globe. The calm atmosphere and lovely weather seem to do the magic for these tourists.
The area was occupied by the Toda tribes a long time ago, and according to history, the tribes who lived peacefully with unity among people of the tribe, handed over the region to the British who were already ruling other parts of the country by then. Ooty’s main income comes from agriculture, tourism and manufacturing of photographic films and medicines. Also tea grown in the region is well known as one of the best tea-kinds produced in entire of India. Education imparted in this town is popular for having a high quality. Ooty is connected to other regions in India by railways and roads. Although the town does not have an airport, the nearest airport is in the nearby city of Coimbatore.
In the year 1821, the name ‘Wotokymund’ was used to refer this region in a letter from an unknown correspondent to the Madras Gazette. Some say that since ‘mund’ in Tamil is a word used for the ‘toda village’, the latter part of the name must have originated from that. In the local language, ‘Otha-Cal’ means ‘Single Stone’ which the Toda tribe is known to have worshipped. This stands as a likely explanation of the name. Some other people say Udhagamandalam might have been simply shortened to Ootacamund during the reign of the British, which further got shortened to Ooty over a period of time.
Ooty is famed as ‘The Queen of Hill Stations’ and the British even named the region its summer capital during their rule. The Nilgiri Hill, over which the hill station of Ooty is located, is known as the Blue Mountains. This might be because of the numerous eucalyptus trees lined across the region or simple because of the kurunji flower which grows here and blooms once every twelve years, making the hills look like a blue heaven. Not much is known about whether Ooty was truly occupied by any ruler or dynasty. What is known is that the region was populated by the Toda and a few more tribes. These tribes lived peacefully and survived by means of trade and some other specialized activities.
