Ooty is a hill station located in the southern part of the country in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ooty is situated at a distance of 80 kilometers from the well known Tamil Nadu town of Coimbatore. Ooty was originally known as ‘Udhagamandalam’ and also sometimes as ‘Ootacamund’. This name was anglicized to its most commonly used name ‘Ooty’. This town is a part of the Nilgiri district.
Ooty was declared a summer capital during the reign of the British over the country. It is one of the most popular hill stations of the country which attracts many people from around the world. The region of Ooty was occupied by people belonging to the Toda tribe. These people lived peacefully with each other adopting different professions.
There are certain endangered species of flora and fauna in the region which are being protected these days since they are likely to go extinct, if care is not taken. Ooty is known for its tea plantations which stretch miles and miles across the entire town. Ooty’s tea is in fact even exported to other parts of the world. Some anonymous correspondent had written a letter to the Madras Gazette referring to this place as ‘Wotokymund’. Some say that might be how the name of the place originated. The term Ootaca might be the origin of the name . In the Tamil language, the phrase Otha-Cal refers to the Single Stone. It is well known that the Toda people used to worship the sacred stone.
Ooty is a part of the Nilgiri Hills and has a beauty which can be described as out of the world. The picturesque landscapes are something that have been delighting tourists for years together. The Nilgiri Hills are known as The Blue Mountains. This is probably because of the rare flower Neelakurinchi that grows here. These flowers bloom once in twelve years and when they do they turn the whole valley into something resembling a blue paradise.
The Nilgiri region was ruled by the Ganga kings and later by the Hoysala Empire. Tipu Sultan later on came to power. Agriculture and tourism are the two most important industries of the town. Also, the export of tea brings in a substantial amount of money. But more than in Ooty, tea is cultivated in the slightly less high regions of the Nilgiri Hills.
Ooty is properly connected with other parts of the country by means of road. Ooty also is known by the epithet ‘Queen of Hill Stations’. This lovely town does not have an airport and the nearest one is the one in Coimbatore known as Coimbatore International Airport. Boarding schools are a very common feature of Ooty, present from the days of British rule.
