Ooty pronunciation (help·info), short for Ootacamund pronunciation (help·info) (the official name is Udhagamandalam (Tamil: உதகமண்டலம்), sometimes abbreviated to Udhagai (Tamil: உதகை), is a city, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. The origin of the name Ootacamund is obscure, but "mund" is the Badaga word for a Toda village, and it is probably a corruption of the Badaga name for the central region of the Nilgiri Plateau.[1] Another likely origin of the stem of the name ("Ootaca") comes from the local language Tamil where "Otta-Cal" literally means "Single Stone". This is perhaps a reference to a sacred stone revered by the local Toda people. Udhagamandalam is a more recent official Tamil name for the town. Ooty stands at an approximate height of 7,440 feet (2,268 metres) above sea level.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Tourism Industry
3 Local Economy
4 Historical Sites
5 Places of Natural Beauty and Protected Natural Areas
6 Transport Infrastructure
6.1 Road
6.2 Rail
6.3 Air
6.4 Bus Services
6.5 Train Links
7 Educational Institutions
7.1 Schools
7.2 Colleges
8 Demographics
9 References
10 External links
//

[edit] History

Front of Ootacamund Club, 1905.
The Nilgiri Hills were part of Chera Empire in ancient times. later it fell in to the hand of ganga dynasty. and then Hoysala empire under king Vishnuvardhana in the 12th century. They then became part of the Kingdom of Mysore of Tipu Sultan who later surrendered them to the British in the 18th century.
John Sullivan, the British governor of neighbouring Coimbatore province, liked the climate of this forested land, and occupied it by taking land from the native tribes (Toda, Irumba and Badaga); often buying up many square kilometres in a day for the price of a few meals.
The hills were developed rapidly under the British Raj because they were almost entirely owned by private British citizens, unlike the rest of India. Ooty served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency, and had winding hill roads and a complicated rack railway system built by influential and enterprising British citizens with venture capital from the Madras government.
It is believed the Blue Mountains appear so because of the vast Nilgiri forest surrounding them.

[edit] Tourism Industry

A panaromic view of Ooty
Located in the mountainous range called the Blue Mountains or Nilgiris, Ooty draws a large number of tourists every year. The weather is quite pleasant at a mean of 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F) year round, dropping to lows of 0 °C (32 °F) during winter. There is no snowfall.
The hill town suffers from rampant commercialization and erosion of natural resources. The tourism industry has placed an enormous strain on the natural resources resulting in pollution, a water shortage, and bad roads. The number of visitors that was about 1,681,000 in 2001, 1,834,000 in 2003, and h 1,725,000 in 2005.
The landscape is quite unlike the rest of India, marked by rolling hills and plateaus covered with dense vegetation, tea gardens, and eucalyptus trees. Many portions of the hills are preserved as natural reserve forests, and special permits are needed to camp outside of campgrounds. Ooty is more of a focal point of attraction for tourists, who also undertake auto tours of the surrounding countryside.
The hilly region also houses smaller towns like Coonoor and Kotagiri. These towns are less than an hour's drive away from Ooty and enjoy the same climate, but have fewer tourists and cheaper prices.

[edit] Local Economy
Ooty is also a district headquarters. Though much of the local economy is now dominated by tourism, Ooty still is a supply base and market town for the surrounding area which is still largely dependant on agriculture, notably the cultivation of "English Vegetables" which are grown here because of the cool climates. This primarily consists of potato, carrot, cabbage and cauliflower. There is a daily wholesale auction of these products at the Ooty Municipal Market. Dairy farming has long been present in the area and there is a cooperative dairy in Ooty manufacturing cheese and skimmed milk powder.
As a result of the local agricultural industry, some research institutes are based in Ooty. These include a soil conservation centre and a potato research farm. Efforts are being made to diversify the range of local crops and subsequently some Floriculture and Sericulture is being introduced in the local area, as well as the cultivation of mushrooms.
The only significant manufacturing industry is Hindustan Photo Films, the erstwhile photo film manufacturer in India. This is located on the outskirts of the town at Indu Nagar. Other manufacturing industries are located in the wider area. The most significant of these are in Ketti (manufacture of needles); Aruvankadu (manufacture of cordite) and Coonoor (manufacture of rabies vaccine).
There is some cottage industry activity in the area including chocolate manufacture and carpentry.
Though the local area is known for tea cultivation, this is neither grown nor processed in Ooty. Tea is grown at slightly lower altitude and hence Coonoor and Kotagiri are local centres of tea cultivation and processing.

[edit] Historical Sites

Ooty Botanical Gardens

Ooty Boat House
Ooty Botanical Gardens
The 22 Acre Botanical Garden was laid out in 1847 and is presently maintained by the government of Tamil Nadu. The original purpose of the "Botanical Gardens" was purely academic: to promote and study the various flora in and around Nilgiris. Now, it is open to the public as a park that can be enjoyed by visitors. The Botanical Garden is also a heaven for bird watchers where a variety of birds, both seasonal and year-round residents, can be sighted.
Stone House
This was the first "Pukka" house in Ooty, built by John Sullivan. It is situated inside the premises of the Government Arts College.
The Railway Station
The railhead of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. The station itself is part of this World Heritage Site. Ooty Railway station offers a unique glimpse of the British raj built railways.
The Ooty Lake & Boat House
This is an artificial lake built by John Sullivan. It used to be much larger than its present size, and encompassed the present bus stand and race course as well as much of the present market.
The Fernhill Palace, Fernhill
This former palace situated around 1 km from the Ooty bus stand can be visited for an entry fee of Rs 50. It has been converted into a Hotel.
Kandal Cross Shrine
St. Stephens Church
Lawrence School, Lovedale

[edit] Places of Natural Beauty and Protected Natural Areas
Note: Ooty is situated in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Many of the forested areas and water bodies are off limits to most visitors in order to protect this fragile ecosystem. Some areas of the Biosphere Reserve have been earmarked for Tourism Development, and steps are being undertaken to open these areas to visitors whilst conserving the area. Generally tourists are encouraged to observe any local signage and not to enter reserved forests and protected areas. Much of Ooty has already been damaged by rampant commercialisation as a result of tourism. Some steps are being introduced to limit the impact of pollution by tourists in the biosphere reserve such as making the area a plastic-free zone. This largely applies to plastic bags.
Doddabetta Peak.
The highest point in the Nilgiri Hills, offering spectacular views over the town and district. There is road access to the summit. There is a reserved forest area around the peak.
Ketti Valley.
There is a view point called "Valley View" on the main Ooty to Coonoor road.
Wenlock Downs and Sixth Mile.
A popular film shooting area situated in this hilly grassy area.
Ooty Golf Links.
A forested and grassy area, partially home to a golf course
Pykara Lake and Pykara falls.
The most accessible of all the nearby lakes. A boathouse and picnic area has been developed to provide access to this area. Most of the remainder of the lake is within a reserved forest and off limits to visitors.
Kamraj Sagar Lake
On the way to Pykara. A nearby lake bordered by pine forests.
Mudumalai National Park
Situated at a lower altitude and easily accessible to visitors. It borders the Bandipur National Park in Karnataka
Mukurthi National Park
A large protected area generally not accessible to visitors. It also contains a lake and peak of the same name.
Parsons Valley Reservoir
This is the primary water source for the town and is mainly in a reserved forest and is thus largely off-limits to visitors.
Emerald Lake.
Near the town of the same name. There is a view point near the dam. The rest of the are is mainly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors
Avalanchi Lake
Adjacent to the Emerald lake. This is mainly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors
Porthimund Lake
This is mainly in a reserved forest and is largely off-limits to visitors
Upper Bhavani Lake.
Most of this is within the Mukurthi National Park (and also largely off limits to visitors)

[edit] Transport Infrastructure

[edit] Road
Ooty is situated on National Highway 67. It is connected by road to travellers from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka via the five main accepted Nilgiri Ghat Roads.

[edit] Rail

A typical Nilgiri train on the rack section
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway(NMR) is one of the oldest mountain railways in India. The NMR was declared by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in July 2005. This connects Ootacamund with the town of Mettupalayam, at the foothills of the Nilgiri Mountains. It is the only rack railway in India, and uses the Abt system.

[edit] Air
Steps are being undertaken to start a helicopter service to Ooty from Coimbatore. The air service provider Pawan Hans has made an offer of running this service.[2] Ooty has a helipad at Theetukkal, though this still has no passenger facilities. It is likely a new purpose built heliport will be constructed, though a place is still being sought.
The nearest airport to Ooty is Coimbatore Airport which lies 90km south east of Ooty. The journey takes about 3 hours by road. Mysore also has an airport which lies 165 km north of Ooty, though Mysore has fewer air connections than the larger Coimbatore Airport. Bangalore Airport lies 290 km north of Ooty.

[edit] Bus Services
Ooty, being district capital, has the most frequent bus connections from nearby large towns in the district (such as Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur). There are bus connections to most villages in the district via one of three towns. There are also frequent bus connections to the nearest mainline railheads of Mettupalayam and Coimbatore.
As Ooty is in Tamil Nadu state most direct bus connections are from towns in this state:
Medium haul origins: Erode, Salem, Sathyamangalam, Karur and Dindigul
Long haul express routes from: Chennai, Thiruchirapalli, Madurai, Thanjavur and Kanyakumari
There are several buses from the nearest large main cities of Mysore and Kozhikode (in the two bordering states). Direct buses can be boarded for Ooty from many other parts of Karnataka and Kerala, including local connections to Palghat and Sultans Battery in Kerala, as well as Gundlupet in Karnataka. The capital cities of these two states (Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram respectively) are also connected via direct bus links.

[edit] Train Links
Ooty is connected to Chennai (formally Madras) by a nightly connecting train service. Mettupalayam provides the interchange between 'The Nilgiri Passenger' NMR metre gauge service and the Nilgiri Express broad gauge service. The complete journey on these two trains takes 16 hours. This journey can be shortened considerably by avoiding the NMR and taking road transport from Ooty to the broad guage railhead at Mettupalayam (40km from Ooty by road), or travelling further to Coimbatore for more rail services. Coimbatore has several rail links to destinations across India. In addition to the 'Nilgiri Express' which also stops in Coimbatore there are more trains from Coimbatore to Chennai.

[edit] Educational Institutions
Boarding schools have been a feature of Ooty since days of the British Raj. They are now a significant contribution to the local economy. The facilities and standards of education are considered amongst the highest of India and so these schools are popular amonst the elite of India and some of its neighbouring countries. Several of these now also operate as day schools.

[edit] Schools
Hebron School, Ooty
Breeks Memorial School
Laidlaw Memorial School, Ketti
The Lawrence School, Lovedale, Ooty unofficial site
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Indunagar, Ooty
Good Shepherd International School
St. Hilda's School
Nazareth Convent School
Rex Higher Secondary School
Woodside School
Kingsbury Montessori School
St Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Ooty
Blue Mountains School, Ootacamund
JSS Public School
Infant Jesus school, Kandal Cross, Ooty
Nilgiris Matriculation School

[edit] Colleges
CSI College of Engineering
Government Arts College
Emerald Heights College
Monarch International College of Hotel Management
JSS College of Pharmacy
Swiss MeritInn College of Hotel Management
Merit International Institute of Tech.
Tribal research Centre (Part of the Tamil University)

[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[3] Udhagamandalam had a population of 93,921. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Udhagamandalam has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 75%. In Udhagamandalam, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] References
^ Sir Frederick Price Ootacamund, A History (Madras: Govt. Press) 1908 pp14-15
^ {http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/31/stories/2007073159040600.htm}
^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.

[edit] External links
Ootacamund travel guide from Wikitravel
[show]
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Biosphere Reserves: · Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve · Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve · Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve ·National Parks: Guindy National Park · Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park · Indira Gandhi National Park · Mudumalai National Park · Mukurthi National Park · Palani Hills National ParkWildlife Sanctuaries: Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary · Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary ·Bird Sanctuaries: Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary · Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary · Conservation reserves: Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve
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