World Travel 4 Indians

Brief
A quiet hill station ,an hour away from Ooty, and reached by a delightful toy-train, Coonoor nestles snuggly in the lap of the famous blue Nilgiri hills.

A delightful town with exquisite scenery all round, there is much to see at this idyllic, lesser-known retreat covered by grassy meadows, a profusion of sunflowers, marigolds and rhododendrons, all growing wild.

With steep hills and valleys carpeted with tea bushes, interspersed with eucalyptus and silver oak, life moves at a gentle pace in this town of tea estates.

Commanding a breathtaking view of the Coimbatore plains, it is a paradise for avid trekkers and naturalists with its vast stretches of undisturbed shoals forests. An essentially small tea garden town, the weather remains pleasantly cool throughout the year.

History

Coonoor Tour Packages, Coonoor is part of the magnificent Nilgiri range, so called because of the magical blue mist that hangs around the mountains. It was first discovered for the outside world by John Sullivan.

In May 1819, Sullivan visited the eastern plateau for three weeks with a noted French naturalist, who was named somewhat pompusly, Jean-Baptiste Louis Claude Theodore Leschenault de la Tour. Despite that name, he was no stranger to the ills that befell white men in the plains of India.

But on reaching the hire altitudes near Coonoor, he recovered and got his strength back. Sullivan built the first stone house in Ooty. Between 1820 and 1827, he pleaded with the directors of the East India Company to develop that area in the Nilgiris as a sanatorium for sick European troops in India.

When they finally capitulated, they began developing the area and also laid down the first railway lines -- which still exist as

The Blue Mountain Railway thus making it easier for the ailing. But long before heat-and-dust-ravaged white men began making the pilgrimage to the hills and health, the Danayakas held the country adjoining the Coimbatore region which included the talukas of Kotagiri and Coonoor.

The Toda tribe have lived in these parts since time immemorial. Some of their ancient tribal homes can still be found on the outskirts of the region.

Culture
A Tea and Tourism Festival is held in Coonoor every winter.

Climate & Geogaphical Location
The weather remains pleasantly cool throughout the year. Coonoor is situated on the eastern side of the southern extremity of the Doddabetta range, at the elevation of 1,858 mtrs above mean sea level.