Queen of Nilgiris- Ooty Hill Station
Every time you visit Ooty you will find something new and different just like a breath of fresh air that means whatever is said about Ooty, it seems less always. Ooty the most popular hill station and town present in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Udagamandalam is popularly known as Ooty which is situated in the Nilgiri Hills. From the north of Coimbatore it is situated around 86 km and from south Mysore around 128 km. Due to its natural ambiance, calmness in the air excellent climatic conditions this destination is the center of attraction for tourists around the globe at the time of summer vacations. As we all know Nilgiri Hills are older than that of Great Himalayas thus just like icing on a cake adds pride to this mountain range.
Other than its environmental scenario, Ooty is also famous for its handmade stuff. This beautiful hill town produces some of the most amazing handmade chocolates in the country. The chocolate industry in the place is said to be of sizable quantity and it thus makes these chocolates an Ooty shopping specialty. Other than chocolates, tea and gourmand cheese are also produced here locally.
History
Originally Udagamandalam was occupied by the Toda People, the area came under the rule of the East India Company at the end of the 18th century. The name probably changed under British rule from Udagamandalam to Ootacamund, and later it was converted to Ooty. The major tribes of Nilgiri hill areas are the. Toda, Kota, Irula, and Kurumba. The Nilgiris came into possession of the British East India Company as part of the ceded lands, held by Tipu Sultan, by the treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1799.
The collector of Coimbatore, John Sullivan in the year 1819 discovered Ooty. He built a permanent house at Nilgiri Hill in the year 1820 and this was the beginning. Soon several other British officers built their summer houses. Ooty is in the Nilgiri hills, which means the "blue mountains", so named due to the Kurungi flower which blooms every twelve years. Due to which the slopes look like bluish.
