Better known as Ooty, Udhagamandalam sometimes Ootacamund and sometimes Udhagai is the district capital of the Niligiris district in Tamil Nadu. Ooty is a municpal town, located at a distance of 80 kms north of Coimbatore. Originally occupied by the Todas, the area came under the rule of the East India Company at the end of the 18th century. Today, the town's economy is based on tourism and agriculture, along with manufacture of medicines and photographic film. The town is connected to the rest of India by road and rail, and its historic sites and natural beauty attract tourists. Though being a part of Tamilnadu, often tourists from Eastern side use to cover Ooty during their Karnataka due to its easy accessibility from Bangalore and Mysore. It takes around 5 and half hours to reach Ooty from Bangalore, the distance being arund 270 kms. From Mysore, the distance is 164 kms and it takes around 3 hours.


What to See :
Located in the Blue Mountains of the Western Ghats, Ooty draws a large number of tourists every year. Lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees greet the visitors in route to Ooty. The hill station itself is a land of picturesque picnic spots. It used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days, later it was made into a summer administrative town. Ooty is situated at an altitude of 2,286 meters above sea level.

Dodabetta Hills
Dodabetta Hills is situated at the top most part of Ooty which offers an excellent view of the whole town. The area is a popular picnik spot and facilities are provided to view the city with telescopic lenses.

Government Rose Garden.
The Government rose garden (formerly known as the Jayalalithaa Rose Garden, Centerary Rose Park and Nootrandu Roja Poonga) is the largest rose garden in India. It is situated on the slopes of the Elk Hill in Vijayanagaram of Ooty town in Tamil Nadu, India at an altitude of 2200 meters. Today this garden has one of the largest collection of roses in the country with more than 20,000 varieties of roses of 2,800 cultivars. The collection include Hybrid Tea Roses, Miniature Roses, Polyanthas, Papagena, Floribunda, Ramblers, Yakimour and roses of unusual colours like black and green.

Ooty Botanical Gardens
The 22-acre (89,000 m2) Ooty Botanical Gardens was laid out in 1847 and is maintained by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Botanical Garden is lush, green, and well-maintained. A flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held every May. The Gardens have around a thousand species, both exotic and indigenous, of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, herbal and bonsai plants.The garden has a 20-million-year-old fossilized tree. Bird Lovers often visit this place which is home to many bird species like Nilgiri Flycatcher, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Kashmiri Flycatcher during winters, Oriental White Eye, Nilgiri Black Bird etc.

Ooty Lake
Ooty lake covers an area of 65 acres. The Boat house established alongside the lake, which offers boating facilities to tourists, is a major tourist attraction in Ooty. It was constructed in 1824 by John Sullivan, the first collector of Ooty. The lake was formed by damming the mountain streams flowing down Ooty valley. The lake is set among groves of Eucalyptus trees with a railway line running along one bank. During summer season in May, boat races and boat pageantry are organised for two days at the lake.

Stone House
Stone House is the first bungalow constructed in Ooty. It was built by John Sullivan and was called as Kal Bangala by the tribals (Kal means stone in local tribal language). John Sullivan started building Stonehouse in 1822, acquiring land from the Todas at one rupee an acre.Today, it is the official residence for the principal of the Government Arts College, Ooty.

Ooty Mountain Railway
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam locomotives.NMR comes under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Division. In July 2005, UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the World Heritage Site of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the site then became known as "Mountain Railways of India." after it satisfied the necessary criteria, thus forcing abandonment of the modernisation plans. For the past several years diesel locomotives have taken over from steam on the section between Coonoor and Udhagamandalam. Local people and tourists have led a demand for steam locos to once again haul this section.

Wax World, Ooty
A wax museum that houses life-size look-alike wax statues of personalities of Indian history, culture and heritage housed in a 142-year-old bungalow.Located in the Ooty-Coonoor road.

Tribal Museum
The Tribal Museum is part of the campus of Tribal Research Centre which is in Muthorai Palada (10 km from Ooty town). It is home to rare artifacts and photographs of tribal groups of Tamil Nadu as well as Andaman and Nicobar Islands and anthropological and archaeological primitive human culture and heritage. The Tribal Museum also displays houses belongs to Toda, Kota, Paniya, Kurumba and Kanikaran.