Ooty nestles in an amphitheatre created by four majestic hills—Doddabetta, Snowdon, Elk Hill and Club Hill. These hills are part of the Nilgiri ranges that are really the meeting point for the Western and the Eastern Ghats. But why the ‘blue’ mountains—one would naturally wonder at the name. Do rest assured, when the lavender-blue flowers of the famous Strobilanthes cover the hills in floral profusion, it would be time to stop wondering, for it is these funnel-shaped blossoms that are the reason for the name. 

Although signboards all around scream and beg to make people call this 36-sq-km hill resort Udhagamandalam, their pleas obviously fell on deaf ears. As the blaze of the afternoon sun gives way to a nippy evening, one can make his way towards the nearby lake. This part of Ooty was once a huge bog with a west-flowing stream. A Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation venture, it remains open from 8 am to 6 pm. Sitting at the edge of the lake and watching the sun dipping down to herald darkness, is a soothing experience, to put it lightly.

The beautiful Botanical Gardens are, in a word, Ooty’s milestone. The Botanical Gardens of Ooty, established in 1847, are much like the typical, manicured and planned gardens one sees so often. But the real beauty of the place is its plants—an amazingly diverse array with trees, shrubs and herbs of a mindboggling number of species. And the flowers were really something to write home about. Was it the altitude—Ooty nestles at 2240 m above sea level—and the rarefied air, or the lack of polluted air that gave these flowers an added shine and gloss? They smiled from everywhere as one ambles about the lovely, spread-out profusion. The fossil tree trunk that one sees here is believed to be 20 million years old!

The great charm of Ooty is not so much the specific tourist destination; it is, in fact, the long lovely walks that it offers. Anywhere you go, the serenity of the Nilgiris will be all around you. Specially the strategic points from where one could either see Ooty or the view all around, like Snowdon, Ketty Valley, the Wenlock Downs and, of course, Doddabetta. Further, one could hire a horse either near the boathouse or at the Savoy—for a slightly more exhilarating excursion in and around town.