Ooty
Ootacamund(officially, Udhagamandalam sometimes abbreviated to Udhagai or Ooty listen), is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. Originally occupied by the Todas, the area came under the rule of the East India Company at the end of the 18th century. Today the town's economy is based on tourism and agriculture, with manufacturing of medicines and photographic film also present. The town is connected to the rest of India by road and rail, and its historic sites and natural beauty attract tourists.
The origin of the name Udhagamandalam is obscure. The first mention of the place occurs in a letter of March 1821 to the Madras Gazette by an unknown correspondent as Wotokymund. In early times it was called OttaikalMandu "mund" is the Tamil word for a Toda village, and the first part is probably a corruption of the local name for the central region of the Nilgiri Plateau.Another likely origin of the stem of the name (Ootaca) comes from the local language where Otha-Cal literally means Single Stone.This is perhaps a reference to a sacred stone revered by the local Toda people.
The name probably changed under British rule from Udhagamandalam to Ootacamund, later shortened to Ooty.Located in the Blue Mountains of the Western Ghats, Ooty draws a large number of tourists every year. Lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees greet the visitors en route to Ooty. The hill station itself is a land of picturesque picnic spots. It used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days, later it was made into a summer administrative town.
It is situated at an altitude of 2,286 meters above sea level.Ooty is situated in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Many of the forested areas and water bodies are off-limits to most visitors to protect this fragile ecosystem. Some areas of the Biosphere Reserve have been earmarked for tourism development, and steps are being undertaken to open these areas to visitors whilst conserving the area. Much of Ooty has already been damaged by rampant commercialization as a result of tourism.
