"Ooty - Hill station in the Blue Mountains" Udagamandalam by Willettsworld

Ooty, short for Ootacamund but officially known as Udhagamandalam, is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains) that was occupied by the British in the early 19th century to escape the summer heat in Madras (Chennai). They built many colonial buildings such as churches, post offices, court buildings and schools during the 19th century and accessed it all with the rest of Tamil Nadu via a mountain railway. This has become known as the Toy Train (officially known as the Nilgiri Mountain Railway) and is one of the oldest mountain railways in India. The railway is one of the few in the world that is dependent on steam locomotives and is the only rack railway in India. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 and is very popular with tourists and is the only way to arrive and/or depart Ooty.

Being as Ooty is over 2200 meters above sea level, the climate and flora and fauna is different to the rest of the country. With this in mind, the British created a botanical garden, here, to promote and study the various flora in and around Nilgiris. Other attractions include a large boating lake, trekking around the tea plantations and Toda (local tribal people) villages and horse riding. I liked Ooty a lot. It's a lot cleaner, cooler and less humid and the pace of life is less frantic than other places in India. I came here by bus from Mysore which involved climbing up the hills via a series of 36 hairpin bends which was quite enjoyable! If you're in the Bangalore/Mysore area then Ooty and the Nilgiris should certainly be high up on your list to visit.