Ooty is a hill station which is a part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and located at a distance of 80 kilometres from Coimbatore which is a popular city of the South Indian state. Ooty is also known as Ootacamund and sometimes also Udhagamandalam.
Some say that the name Ootacamund came from the name ‘Udhagamandalam’ and the name ‘Ooty’ is just a shortened version of ‘Ootacamund’. This hill station lies on the Nilgiri Hills and that is why the ‘Neelakurinji’ flowers are easily located in this part of the country. These flowers blossom once in twelve years and when they do, they completely cover the valleys with a light shade of blue. The people belonging to the Toda tribes used to reside in the region originally.
The region was eventually taken over by the British Empire who were already ruling most parts of the country by then. Under them, the region had developed in many aspects. Presently, the tourism and agriculture industries are its main industries. The manufacturing of medicines and photographic film is also done.
Road and rail connect Ooty with other parts of the country. The historic sites and natural beauty of the hill station attract tourists from all around the globe. The name ‘Wotokymund’ was used to refer to the place in the March of 1821 by an anonymous journalist who wrote the ‘Madras Gazette’. In the Tamil language, ‘mund’ refers to the Toda village and the word ‘Otha-Cal is believed to stand for ‘single stone’ which refers to the sacred stone that the Toda people are well known to have worshiped.
The landscapes of Ooty are simply magnificent with its lush greenery and the scene of valleys, forests and rare birds and animals. Many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries had been set up to preserve the endangered flora and fauna of the place. The amazing environment and picturesque views are attractions of this hill station. During the reign of the British, Ooty was named the Summer Capital of the country.
The summer months are the best times to visit Ooty and winters are quite chilly. Generally, this place has a unique spring inclined weather throughout the year. The highest temperature ever in Ooty was 25 Degrees Celsius and the average high temperature ranges from 17 to 20 degree Celsius. The average low temperature ranges from 5 to 12 Degree Celsius. While in the other parts of India during the summer months, Ooty keeps people residing in it cool and comfortable.
The region experiences an average rain of 1250mm yearly. The lowest temperature ever in Ooty was -2 Degrees Celsius. The months of December, January, February and March are comparatively drier in Ooty than the other months.
