Ooty

Ooty, India

A view of Ooty Lake from a wooden boat during a golden sunset.

Go for cool air, tea-garden hillsides and a slower pace than the plains, and plan around the monsoon rains and the weekend crowds.

The place

Ooty sits at about 2,240 m in the Nilgiri Mountains, part of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu. It is the seat of the Nilgiris district and home to roughly 88,000 people, so it feels more like a lively market town than a village. The centre has shops, bus stands and a steady flow of traffic, while residential streets climb the slopes around an artificial lake. The air is much cooler than in the plains below. Summer days are mild and evenings can turn chilly, so a warm layer is worth packing at any time of year. Rain arrives with both monsoons, which brings green hillsides in the wet months and mist that can linger until late morning. Tea estates cover many of the slopes, and shola forest survives in the valleys. Much of the surrounding land lies within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, a large protected landscape of meadows, grassland and forest. Tourism and tea are the two main sources of income, and the hill-station character shows in the old bungalows, the boating on the lake and the slow, winding roads that rarely allow fast driving.

Its story

Ooty's story begins with the wider Nilgiri hills, which appear in early Tamil literature in the epic Silappathikaram. Several communities lived on the hills, including the Badaga, Toda, Kota, Irula and Kurumba peoples, and the Toda in particular have a long connection to the plateau. Over the centuries the region passed among the Tamil kingdoms of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, and later among other South Indian dynasties, including the Vijayanagara Empire. Tipu Sultan took the Nilgiris in the eighteenth century, and the British gained control of the area in 1799, placing it within Coimbatore district of the Madras Presidency. In 1819 John Sullivan, the collector of Coimbatore, reported that the cooler hills could serve as a summer retreat. He built a residence nearby and began a road from Sirumugai, which reached Coonoor in the early 1830s. Governor Stephen Lushington encouraged the hills as a sanatorium, and the town grew around an artificial lake. The Government Botanical Garden was laid out in 1842. Ooty became a municipality in 1866, and reservoirs at Marlimund and Tiger Hill brought roads, drainage and water supply. Its summer role grew from there.

What to see

Culture

Ooty's culture blends Tamil traditions with the older customs of the Toda, Badaga and other hill communities, and with the colonial-era hill-station habits of the past two centuries. Temples across the district follow the rhythms of Tamil Hindu worship, with regular festivals and processions. Much of daily life runs on tea, with estate workers, shopkeepers and families gathering in small eateries through the day. Visitors are welcome in most public places, but the hills also have villages where people value privacy. Modest dress is expected at temples, and the common greeting is a polite namaste or a nod. Many shopkeepers and drivers speak Tamil first, with English and some Hindi, so a few courteous words of Tamil are appreciated. Bargaining is normal at small stalls but not at fixed-price shops. Ask before photographing villagers, religious ceremonies or anyone at work on the estates, and remove your shoes before entering any temple or shrine.

What to wear

Traditional dress in the Nilgiris reflects the mix of Tamil and hill communities. Tamil women wear the sari, usually in cotton or silk, often in bright borders and plain bodies, while men wear the veshti, a white or cream cotton cloth wrapped at the waist. The Toda are known for their own distinctive shawls with bold embroidered borders, traditionally worn by both men and women in cool weather. Badaga women have worn sarees and jewellery shaped by their own customs, and older women still favour them at festivals. In everyday life, most people wear cotton shirts, trousers, salwar kameez and jeans, with sweaters and shawls for the evening chill. Younger people in town dress much like those in other Indian cities. Visitors should pack layers, because mornings and evenings are cool and rain can arrive suddenly. A light waterproof jacket, a warm fleece and closed shoes with grip suit the steep, wet paths. At temples, cover the shoulders and knees, and avoid shorts and sleeveless tops.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. January to March suit most visitors, with the driest weather, clearer skies and cool nights. The south-west monsoon brings heavy rain from June to September, October is the wettest month of the year, and December is comparatively dry, while the mornings can be misty and damp.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Ooty has no airport, so fly into Coimbatore and take a taxi or bus up the winding hill road, which takes a few hours. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway runs from Mettupalayam up to Ooty, so the train can take you all the way up the hill.

Budget. low

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources