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 Udhagamandalam
(Ooty), the capital of Nilgiri district, is popularly
known as the "Queen of hill stations' among the tourist
circuits. It is situated at a distance of 105 km away from
Coimbatore. The height of the hills in the Nilgiri range
varies between 2280 and 2290 metres, the highest peak being
Doddabetta at a height of 2623 metres.
Couched amidst those gorgeous blue mountains of southern
India, there is something special about the erstwhile
British township of Ooty. Year after year, it draws
tourists, adventure enthusiasts, honeymooners and the film
industry like bees to nectar. Sure, many wise travelers
believe that Ooty is a dumpyard, a degraded, over-rated hill
station, and so on. Nevertheless, the wiser one will see how
Ooty can soothe strung-up nerves and become the backdrop for
a wondrous holiday.
Botanical Garden
A variety of exotic and ornamental plants adorn this garden
which is the venue for the Flower show held in May every
year. There is a fossil tree trunk 20 million years old in
the midst of the garden.
Lake
Boating is possible from 08.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs on all days.
The lake garden and toy train rides are other attractions.
Government Museum
The Government Museum, Mysore Road, Udhagamandalam has items
of tribal objects, district's ecological details and
representative sculptural arts and crafts of Tamilnadu.
History
It is believed that the name Nila, has been in use for over
800 years since, the King of the Hoysalas Vishnu Vardhana,
who ruled from 1104 to 1141 AD seized the Nilgiris Plateau.
His General Ponisia recorded this fact in 1117 AD with
mention of Todas. The name Nilgiri was due to the blue haze,
which envelops the range with most distant hills of
considerable size.
This Nilgiri territory came into possession of the East
India Company as part of the ceded lands, held by Tipu
Sultan, by the treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1799. Rev. Jacome
Forico, a priest was the first European who visited Nilgiris
in 1603 and released his notes about the place and people of
Nilgiris. In 1812 surveyor William Keys and Macmohan visited
the top of the plateau.
In 1818, Wishand Kindersley, Assistant and Second Assistant
to Collector of Coimbatore visited this spot and submitted
their experience report to the Collector of Coimbatore Mr.
John Sullivan. Settlement in Udhagamandalam began in 1822
with the construction of the Stone House by John Sullivan,
the then Collector of Coimbatore. The bungalow, which is
locally called "Kal Bangla", is one of the landmarks of
Udhagamandalam and is now the Chamber of the Principal of
the Government Arts College.
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