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.
