Tamil Nadu
Ooty
The Nilgiris’ colonial hill station, "Queen of Hill Stations"
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Overview
About Ooty
Ooty (Udhagamandalam) was the British Madras Presidency’s summer retreat, and still carries that colonial hill-station character in its tea estates, botanical gardens, and the UNESCO-listed Nilgiri Mountain Railway climbing up from the plains.
- The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage toy train
- Government Botanical Gardens
- Ooty Lake boating
- Tea estate visits and factory tours
Things to do
Experiences in Ooty
Ride the Nilgiri Mountain Railway
A UNESCO-listed rack railway climbing through the Nilgiri hills.
Walk the Botanical Gardens
Terraced colonial-era gardens with a notable fossilised tree trunk.
Tour a tea estate
See the leaf-to-cup process with tastings at most estates.
When to go
Best time to visit
April-June and September-November; December can bring frost at night.
Practical
Travel tips
Book the Nilgiri Mountain Railway well in advance in peak season (April-June) — tickets sell out fast.
Questions
Ooty: common questions
Yes, it’s one of South India’s most popular summer hill-station escapes — book hotels and train tickets ahead for April-June.
Plan my trip
Planning a trip to Ooty?
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We reply with an itemized plan you can change.