India Guide
Tamil Nadu
Udhagamandalam (Ootacamund)
When John Sullivan, the British burrasahib credited with "discovering" UDHAGAMANDALAM – whose anglicized name, Ootacamund, is usually shortened to Ooty – first clambered into this corner of the Nilgiris through the Hulikal ravine in the early nineteenth century, this was the traditional homeland of the pastoralist Toda hill tribe. Sullivan quickly realized its agricultural potential, and set about planting crops, especially tea. Within twenty years, he had made a fortune, and a town was built, complete with artificial lake, churches and stone houses. Soon, Ooty was the "Queen of Hill Stations", the most popular hill retreat in peninsular India.
Until the mid-1970s "Snooty Ooty" continued to be "home" to the notoriously snobbish British inhabitants who chose to "stay on" after Independence. Since then, travellers have continued to be attracted by Ooty's cool climate and peaceful green hills, forest and grassland. However, if you hope to find quaint vestiges of the Raj, you're likely to be disappointed; what with indiscriminate development and a deluge of holiday-makers, they're few and far between.
Ooty sprawls over a large area of winding roads and steep climbs. Its obvious focal point is Charing Cross, a busy junction on dusty Commercial Road, the main, relatively flat, shopping street that runs south to the big bazaar and municipal vegetable market.
West of the railway station and racecourse (races mid-April to mid-June), the lake, constructed in the early 1800s, is one of Ooty's main tourist attractions, despite being heavily polluted. Boats are available for rent, and you can also go horse riding.
The best time to come is between January and March, thereby avoiding the high-season crowds (April– June & Sept– Oct). In May, the summer festival brings huge numbers of people and a barrage of amplified noise, worlds away from the peaceful retreat envisaged by the sahibs.