Explore Ooty: A Comprehensive Travel Guide

Ooty – The Queen of Hill Stations

The beautiful town of Udhagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. It’s fascinating gardens and cottages, beautiful lakes and waterfalls, vast stretches of grasslands, lofty mountainous peaks and frosty weather makes it a lovely blend of adventure, beauty and romance.

Places to visit in Ooty

The small town of Ooty offers galore of attractive destinations.

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens attract tourists from all over the world. The garden has an explicit collection of flowers, trees, beautiful shrubs and coloured lilies.

Ooty Lake & Boat House

Ooty Lake is behind the Central Bus stand and near to Ooty Railway station. Local ponies for jolly rides, boat races, children park, deer park are the means of entertainment for the visitors.

Rose Centenary Garden

Laid on 10 acres of land, situated in the heart of Ooty town is the enchanting Rose Centenary Garden. It is maintained by Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department. Its prominent features include the unusual colours and collection of roses that will simply captivate your senses. “Nila Maadam” is located in a spot from where visitors can see the entire rose garden.

Pykara Lake & Pykara Boat House

Pykara village is 19 kilometres from Ooty. Pykara Lake is a clean and scenic lake located between the hills. It is an isolated lake free from pollution and crowd.

Shooting Spots

The picturesque meadows found at 6 and 9 miles from Ooty town are the well-known Shooting Spots. This location has been a preferred location for Indian movies. A calm lake alongside the route leading to the viewpoint, surrounded by mountains and aligned by huge trees makes it an excellent picnic spot.

Avalanche Lake

Avalanche Lake derives its name from it being formed naturally due to a landslide back in 1823. This stunning spot is located at about 28 kilometres from Ooty. The lush green hillside landscape with clear water all around makes it a unique experience for tourists, especially for nature lovers.

Belikkal Lake

Belikkal lake is a popular tourist destination in Ooty. Spotting elephant, deer and tiger around the lake is very common, it being the source of drinking water for the wildlife living in the surrounding forest. It is also a nice spot for bird watching. Tourists can engage in trekking and hiking near the lake with the help of a proper guide.

Upper Bhavani Lake

A perfect getaway at around 48 kilometres from Ooty is the Upper Bhavani Lake. For people looking out for indulgence with nature, do not miss out on visiting the Upper Bhavani lake.

Sim’s Park

Sim’s Park is named after Mr. J.D. Sim, a former Secretary to the Government, who laid out the garden in 1874. The place has an exotic garden with many unique species of plants and shrubs. Tourists can witness the Annual Fruits and Vegetables show held every year in the month of May.

Nilgiris Mountain Railway

The Nilgiris Mountain Railway was built by the British in 1908. It is a 1000 mm metre gauge railway operated by the Southern Railway The train covers a distance of 26 kilometres connecting Ooty and Mettupalayam.
In July 2005, UNESCO declared the Nilgiris Mountain Railway as an extension to the World Heritage Site of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The train ride is a real delight to experience the tranquility and scenic atmosphere of Ooty.

Doddapetta Peak

Doddapeta meaning “a big mountain” is the highest peak located at 2637 meters in the Nilgiris Mountains. It is at a distance of 10 kilometres from Ooty covered by a reserved forest area around its peak. One could get an amazing view of the whole district from ‘The Telescopic House’ set up by the Tourism Department.

The Tea Factory & Tea Museum

The perfect aroma of tea could be found in Nilgiris District, home to the largest tea growing belts in India. Dodabetta Tea Factory at Coonoor was founded in 2005 and spreads out over an area of 1 acre of land. Adjacent to the Dodabetta Tea Factory is the Tea Museum.

Emerald Lake

Another very prominent tourist spot at Ooty is the Emerald Lake, located in Silent Valley in the Nilgiris District. It has a wonderful sun rise and sunset view and variety of birds in the locale. An ideal place for lovers of photography to soak in the natural beauty.

Things to do in Ooty:

Apart from visiting the spectacular locations, experiencing the joy of boating and the fun ride in the Nilgiri Mountain toy train, tourists also have the option of engaging in other entertaining activities such as fishing, golfing, horse racing and trekking. You could go shopping for handicrafts and woolen clothes. Homemade chocolates, tea, and spices are also very famous in Ooty.

Ideal time to visit Ooty

Ooty has a pleasant climate between the months of March to June. This constitutes the peak season for tourists to visit Ooty as you can venture out for sightseeing and have fun.

How to reach Ooty?

Ooty is well connected by road to major cities including Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Mysore, Calicut. By rail, Ooty is connected to Mettupalayam by narrow gauge and going forward is connected to Coimbatore. The nearest airport is Coimbatore at a distance of 104 kilometres.

Best Hotels to stay in Ooty

Looking for the best hotels in Ooty? Our guide highlights top-rated accommodations, including luxury resorts, family-friendly hotels, and budget-friendly options. Book your stay today!