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Ooty, short for Ootacamund (an anglicized name for Udhagamandalam), is a popular hill resort in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India. The name Udhagamandalam is derived from the TODA word "othakal-mund" which means "house in mountains". Ooty stands at 7,347 feet above sea level in the Nilgiri mountain range. It was founded in the 19th century by the British, and served as the summer headquarters of the Madras Presidency (Madras is now Chennai).
Located in the mountainous range called the Nilgiris ("Blue Mountains"), it draws swarms of tourists every year. The weather is quite pleasant at a mean of 15-20 C year round, dropping to lows of 0 C during winter. The landscape is marked by rolling hills covered with dense vegetation, smaller hills and plateaus covered with tea gardens, and eaucalyptus trees. Many portions of the hills are preserved as natural reserve forests, and special permits will be needed to camp in noncamp sites.
Ooty is not the destination in itself, as much as it is the focal point of attraction. Auto touring the surrounding country side is certainly a must do. Unfortunately, the hill town suffers from overcrowding and erosion of natural resources. Tourism has placed an enormous strain on the natural resources resulting in pollution, water shortage and bad roads. The hilly region also houses smaller towns like Coonoor and Kotagiri. These smaller towns are a better choice to visit and spend time in, since they are off the beaten path, yet less than 1 hour away from Ooty. They enjoy the same natural climes and prices are a lot cheaper.
Get in By plane - The Coimbatore airport is the closest to the hills at 3-1/2 hours by road. There are flights into Coimbatore from most parts of India including Mumbai (Air Deccan, Indian Airlines,Jet and Go Air), Chennai ( Air Deccan, Paramount, Indian Airlines and Jet) and Bangalore. The Mysore airport is about 5 odd hours away from Ooty by road (but Mysore airport is currently closed and only expected to open for light aircraft), and lies to the North of Ooty. The road trip is quite scenic from either airport. By train The hills are connected to Chennai by a nightly train. The Nilgiri Express (Train No. 6271) leaves from Chennai at night, and reaches Mettupalayam, a small town at the foothills of the Nilgiris early the next morning.
The train, a standard diesel powered locomotive continues from Mettupalayam as a small coal powered historic locomotive that is a remnant of Swiss engineered trains imported in the late 1800s. The coal train is much smaller, and can only accommodate a portion of the passengers that disembark at Mettupalayam. A through ticket from Chennai to Ooty will ensure a place in the smaller train, although many prefer the faster route of taking a cab or a bus from Mettupalayam. The coal train takes a very scenic route, and the pace of travel will let you take in the beautiful scenery at leisure (the journey takes about 5-1/2 hours compared to 2 hours by road).
The train uses a rachet and pinion system to haul itself up steep slopes, and also to prevent the train from sliding down when stopping. The train is often pushed from behind as well as pulled from the front by two separate coal engines. There are brakesmen at the rear of every carriage who will apply and release hand powered brakes individually for that carriage. The train often travels only at 5 - 10 Kmph, allowing some adventerous passengers to disembark from the train and walk along the train. This practice is not recommended and can be dangerous, besides there is a good chance that the train will speed up, and you will be unable to get back on board.
Mettupalayam can prove to be a bottle-neck during the peak season of April-June with cabs charging exorbitant rates. The train is often quite regular in this part of the country, and is by far the most comfortable way to get here. There are other trains from Chennai to Coimbatore. The journey can be continued from Coimbatore by road, a 3-1/2 hour journey. By car The Nilgiris are in Tamil Nadu, but it is quite near the borders of neighboring states Karnataka and Kerala. The hills consequently can be reached from within Tamil Nadu by travelling up a heavily forested winding road, with many sharp hair-pin beds.
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