Ooty - In the Nilgiri Hills
Town at high elevation (2,240 metres) so much cooler
Popular Tourist spot for Indians from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka
Echoes of a Colonial Hill Station but centre of town is still manic
We stayed in the Sullivan Court Hotel which is part of the ITC Fortune chain. It's a nice hotel with an unusual full-height atrium inside. This hotel caters for touring parties and large gatherings so it was ever so slightly production-line ish. Food OK but not fantastic although the South Indian crab curry was pretty special
Sightseeing
Government Botanic Gardens - a well-established botanic garden on the side of one of Ootys many hills. Resting on its laurels TBH. All the botanic gardens we saw in South India had a strong emphasis on brightly coloured flowers grown in pots. The Indian tourists thought we were very exotic so we were asked many times to pose with them for selfies.
Government Museum with lots of info about the hill tribes of the Nilgiris and how the British Colonial influence wasn't THAT bad here.
Ooty Boat House - boat trips on the underwhelming lake, horse rides, a small funfair, a minature Lakeside train and tons of tat stalls. Very popular and heaving with South Indian tourists and day-trippers.
Thread museum - a large shed full of beautiful flowers made by laboriously hand-winding brightly coloured thread. Unique, Amazing and totally Indian.
The Karnataka Siri Horticulture Garden - an anomaly as it is located in Tamil Nadu but run by the Government of Karnataka. A big dramatic garden with lots of topiary, ponds a water feature (out of order) and strangely a suspension bridge. Land used to belong to the Maharaja of Mysore apparently.
The bazaar - small but quiet as it is in a pedestrian-only enclave
Ooty railway station which is under major renovation to the imposing front and the platform at the back and Ooty bus stand which is next door.
The famous Government Rose Garden which had pretty much no roses in bloom. The reason for this is they follow normal temperate seasons so all the roses had been pruned back, just as we would do. It's still a spectacular setting looking out over the many hills that Ooty is built on.
The Tamil Nadu official booze shop called TASMAC sells strong beer (8%) and spirits which seems to be what the South Indians like and gives a clue as to why the State Government are trying to limit the availability of alcohol.
Full size snooker table in hotel - Ooty is the birthplace of Snooker
