Ooty Hotels

Ooty, short for Ootacamund is a popular hill resort in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India. The name Udhagamandalam is derived from the TODA word "othakal-mund" which means "house in mountains". Ooty stands at 7,347 feet above sea level in the Nilgiri mountain range. It was founded in the 19th century by the British, and served as the summer headquarters of the Madras Presidency (Madras is now Chennai). Understand: Located in the mountainous range called the Nilgiris ("Blue Mountains"), it draws swarms of tourists every year. The weather is quite pleasant at a mean of 15-20 C around the year, dropping to lows of 0 C during winter. The landscape is marked by rolling hills covered with dense vegetation, smaller hills and plateaus covered with tea gardens, and eucalyptus trees. Many portions of the hills are preserved as natural reserve forests, and special permits will be needed to camp in noncamp sites. Ooty is not the destination in itself, as much as it is the focal point of attraction. Auto touring the surrounding country side is certainly a must do. Unfortunately, the hill town suffers from overcrowding and erosion of natural resources. Tourism has placed an enormous strain on the natural resources resulting in pollution, water shortage and roads. The hilly region also houses smaller towns like Coonoor and Kotagiri. These smaller towns are a better choice to visit and spend time in, since they are off the beaten path, yet less than 1 hour away from Ooty. They enjoy the same natural climes and prices are a lot cheaper. Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam, which stands 7,349 feet above sea level in the Nilgiris, is known as the Queen of southern hill resorts of India. Ooty, as it is popularly known, spreads over 36 square miles, and the temperature ranges from 25 degree celsius in summers, to near freezing in winters. This famous hill station is at the junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, three southern states of India. It was founded by the Britishers, in the early part of the 19th century, to serve as summer headquarters for the government of Madras. Before that time, the area was inhabited by Todas. These tribal people still inhabit the area, but only around 3000 remain.