Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu is a wonderful hill town, which is located in the midst of Nilagiri, or Nilgiri hills. Ootakamund is popularly called Ooty. Presently people also have identified it as Udhagamandalam, Its meaning in Toda language is village of huts.
Climatic condition of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu is a pleasant one. It rises approximately at 2285 meters above the sea level. In spite of high altitudes no snowfall occurs in the region. One can make visit to Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu at any time between April to June and also September to October. Through out the year myriads of tourists visit the place with lots of joy and enthusiasm. The months of July- August are the monsoon season and it is advisable not to visit the place at that time. Woolens are used to beat the cold. During that time temperature even drops down to 0 degree celcius.
Few interesting stories are popular which relate to the growth and development of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu. John Sullivan , the then British Collector of Coimbatore was one of the people who was fascinated by the beauty of the place. In the year 1822, Sullivan constructed the Stone House. Also a British Army Colony was built. In the year 1821 roadways were built from Sirumugai or Mettupalalam to Kotagiri. Later it saw extension till Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu . Ootakamund was first mentioned as Wotokymund. In the Madras Gazette, published in the year 1821 a mentioning has been made of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu. It was referred as Wotokymund. In the year 1826 Madras Governor visited the place. It was transformed into a sanatorium. A Parsee from Bombay established the first shop here. Few things followed afterwards. For example in the year 1832, the Church Missionary School was formed. A year before i.e in the year 1822 a hotel was built. Also the first coffee estate was built in the year 1837. The year 1869 was a milestone in the history of the town. On that year Madras Residency declared Oatakamund, Tamil Nadu to be their summer residence. So far as the population of Oatakamund, Tamil Nadu is concerned; it has been enumerated to be 81,763. The counting was given by the Indian Census report, which was published in the year 1991.
Tourism in Ootakamund (Ooty)
Beautiful hill station Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu is an ideal destination for tourists and nature lovers. Myriads of tourists who visit Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu every year find ample scope to quench their thirst of beholding nature in full glory.
Botanical Garden is a place of interest of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu. It was supervised by the `Horticulture Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu`. It houses wide-ranging beautiful plants of foreign origin. In this garden one also can find a garden full with Italian flowers. Huge lawns are in tiptop condition and they provide its tourists to relax and enjoy every moment of their visit. With in the garden premise the "Summer Festivals" are organized every year during the month. At that time the visitors and tourists too get attuned with the mood of fun and festivity. The Flower Show is the special attraction of the festival season. Cultural programmes are feted for the enthusiasts who had shown special interests in conventional classical arts. Performance of the adventure spots like trekking also is an integral part of the festival.
In Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu Government Museum is a special attraction amongst the tourists. Placed on the Mysore Road, The Government Museum has a plethora of varied antiquities like items of the tribal society, details of ecological system of several districts of Tamil Nadu. Few artistic work pieces, which represent sculpture, arts and crafts of the state also are in display here.
Visiting Information
Influx of tourists is a common phenomenon in Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu. In fact it is one of the popular tourist destinations in the whole of Indian subcontinent. It is easily accessible from other places of the region. Means of communication viz rail, airways, roadways are much improved.
Airport at Coimbatore is the closest airport of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu which stretches to a distance of nearly eighty eight kms. One can board flights of Indian Airlines for various places like Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai and Cochin.
Railways also serve the needs and requirements of the people of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu. It has the location near about two kms from the City Center. Another important railway station is forty-six km away at Mettupalayam.
One also can take service of a toy train that has established connectivity of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu with Mettupalayam. Another popular hill station, namely Coonor also is linked with Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu via this toy train. Although riding toy train does not run at fast speed, it is ideal for those who want to enjoy the natural scenery.
Excellent network of roadways has established connectivity of Ootakamund, Tamil Nadu with several cities of the country like Bengaluru, Chennai, and Coimbatore.
