Ooty, short for Ootacamund (an anglicized name for Udhakamandala), is a popular hill resort in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India.
Images of Old Buses in Ooty, Nilgiris
The name Udhakamandala is derived from the TODA word “othakal-mund” which means “house in mountains”. Udhaka Mandala also means “Water Abode” in Sanskrit. Ooty stands at 7,347 feet above sea level in the Nilgiri mountain range. It served as the summer headquarters of the Madras Presidency.
Ooty Bus Stand is main Bus Stand for Nilgiris district, located near Ooty Railway Station and Ooty Lake. The state run buses from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka serve the routes from Ooty.
The Coimbatore Bus station is also fairly connected with a plenty of buses to Ooty. There are Government buses as well as comfortable luxury buses plying from this Bus station. From Coimbatore the buses route through Mettupalayam and reach Ooty in about 3.5 hrs. In fact Coimbatore Railway station is just 25 min distance from the bus station if you plan to board a train to Ooty.
The highways connecting Ooty are well managed and follow an interesting route, passing by the boundaries of Kerala and Karnataka.The Coimbatore Bus Station is fairly connected with a plenty of buses to Ooty.
There are Government buses as well as comfortable luxury buses plying from this Bus station. From Coimbatore the buses route through Mettupalayam and reach Ooty in about 3.5 hrs.
In fact Coimbatore Railway station is just 25 min distance from the bus station if you plan to board a train to Ooty. The highways connecting Ooty are well managed and follow an interesting route, passing by the boundaries of Kerala and Karnataka.
The Bus services are regular from nearby cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Calicut, Kanyakumari, Thanjavur, and Tirupathi, Cochin. These buses connect with Ooty at Mudumalai, Conoor and Kotagiri.
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 around the year, 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 eucalyptus 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 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.
Photo Courtesy – Mega Anorak.
