Ooty, the 'Queen of Hill Stations' is also known as Udhagamandalam. It is the capital of Nilgiris district as well. One of the most popular hill stations of India, it has Nilgiris, the 'Blue Mountains', in its background. The hill town of Ooty, discovered by a British Collector, John Sullivan, was once a summer resort and weekend getaway for the Madra residency, during the colonial times in the 19th century. Located at an altitude of 2,240 meters above sea level, it has a number of popular tourist attractions to boast of. One of the major attraction is its popular tea estates. This hill station in Tamil Nadu is nestled in the Nilgiri ranges of Snowdon, Club Hill, Doddabetta as well as Elk Hill. One of the most well-known hill stations in the Southern part of South India, is visited by a large number of local as well as foreign tourists.The best time to visit ooty is from October to June.

From 1104 to 1141 AD, Ooty was under the rule of Vishnu Vardhana, a ruler of the Hoysala Kingdom. Another well-known ruler of Ooty was Tipu Sultan. In the year 1799, this hill town came under the British East India Company, after Tipu Sultan had to sign a treaty with the company. During the 19th century, John Sullivan, a British Collector started developing Ooty in the form of a summer retreat for the British. Throughout that time, a number of clubs, cottages, and other buildings were built that offered entertainment and recreational facilities to the British officials. Rail connection was laid to reach Ooty during 1880. Gradually, this hill town became the place for the growing of tea leaves, thus, came up several tea estates. After independence, the Government of India, started promoting Ooty as a tourist destination.

Ooty boasts of being home to a number of recreation clubs, which are quite popular amongst the tourists. You can enjoy a number of recreational activities and interesting pass time activities at these clubs. Some of such clubs are:

The Indian Rupee is the official currency in Ooty. An Indian Rupee is made up of 100 paise and have note denominations of Rs 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. The coins are in denominations of Rs 1, 2, 5 and 10 paise. ATM's are available all around Ooty and most foreign cards are also accepted. In the case of Currency exchange, you can take the services of banks where you can avail the best rates. However, most of the hotels also have an exchange desk.

Shopping in Ooty can be great fun, since it is popular for various kinds of products. The shops in Ooty are filled with fresh tea leaves, freshly plucked and packed as well as natural products from forests. Then, you can also purchase pure honey from special shops or shopping malls. Another extremely popular thing of Ooty is the Eucalyptus oil that is known to have medicinal value. Next in line are beautifully embroidered stuff , handcrafted by the people of Toda community. The shops also have stunning pieces of Silver Jewellery

Tourists in Ooty can enjoy multi-cuisine delicacies. If you love food, Ooty has numerous options for you, whether you are vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Cuisines of Ooty are extremely popular. There are several restaurants and eating joints, all over the place. One can relish dishes of various cuisines such as Indian, Chinese, Italian and other international dishes. Bakery items such as cookies, breads, buns, tarts, cakes, pies and brownies are quite popular in Ooty. You can enjoy a variety of Ice Creams too. South Indian dishes are extremely popular such as Sambar, Dosa, Uttapam, Vada, and Uppuma.