Planters Punch

Located in the Blue Mountains of the Western Ghats, Ooty in the Indian state of Tamilnadu draws a large number of tourists every year. Lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees greet the visitors en route to Ooty. The hill station itself is a land of picturesque picnic spots. It used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days, later it was made into a summer administrative town. It is situated at an altitude of 2,286 meters above sea level.

Ooty is well connected by good roads. It is 535 km from Chennai (via Salem, Erode, and Coimbatore), 80 km from Coimbatore, 18 km from Coonoor, 155 km from Mysore (via Gudalur), 187 km from Kozhikode, 290 km from Bangalore (via Mysore), 281 km from Kochi (via Coimbatore and Palakkad) and 236 km from Kodaikanal (via Coimbatore and Palani). Ooty is situated on National Highway NH 67. It is connected by road to travelers from the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka via the five main accepted Nilgiri Ghat Roads. There is also a road from Mettupalayam (Coimbatore) to Ooty via Kotagiri. This road does not pass through Coonoor town. Ooty is connected by a lightly connecting train service. The railway station for Ooty is Udhagamandalam Railway Station. Mettupalayam provides the interchange between ‘The Nilgiri Passenger’ NMR metre gauge service and the Nilgiri Express broad gauge service. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is one of the oldest mountain railways in India and connects Ootacamund with the town of Mettupalayam, at the foothills of the Nilgiri Mountains. Ooty does not have a civilian airport and is not connected by air. The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport, at a distance of about 60 miles (96 km). Government Rose Garden, Ooty Botanical Gardens, Ooty Lake, Stone House, Toda huts, Ooty Mountain Railway, Wax World, Ooty, Tribal Museum & Deer Park form the important landmarks in Ooty. Some of the most prominent tourist spots around Ooty are Doddabetta Peak, Pykara River, Pine Forest, Wenlock Downs, Kamaraj Sagar Dam, Mudumalai National Park, Mukurthi National Park, Needle Hill View Point, Frog Hill Viewpoint, Parsons Valley Reservoir, Avalanche Lake, Porthimund Lake, and the Upper Bhavani Lake.