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Ooty (; officially Udhagamandalam, anglicized: Ootacamund (), abbreviated as Udhagai) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 86 km (53 mi) north west of Coimbatore, and the headquarters of the Nilgiris district. In the Nilgiri hills, it is known as the "Queen of Hill Stations" and is a popular tourist destination. Originally occupied by the Toda people, the area came under the rule of the East India Company in the 18th century. It later served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency. The economy is based on hospitality industry serving tourism and agriculture. The town is connected to the plains by the Nilgiri ghat roads and Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Etymology The region was earlier known as Ottakal Mandu, with Otha-Cal meaning "single stone" in Tamil, a reference to a sacred stone revered by the local Toda people and Mandu, a Toda word for "village". This later became Udhagamandalam which was anglicised to Ootacamund by the British, with the first part of the name (Ootaca), a corruption of the local name for the region and the second part (Mand), a shortening of the local Toda word Mandu. The first known written mention of the place is given as Wotokymund in a letter dated March 1821, written to the Madras Gazette by an unknown correspondent. Ootacamund was later shortened to Ooty. Ooty is in the Nilgiri hills, meaning the "blue mountains", so named due to the Kurunji flower, which used to give the slopes a bluish tinge. History The earliest reference to Nilgiri hills is found in the Tamil Sangam epic Silappathikaram from the 5th or 6th century CE. The region was a land occupied by various tribes such as Badagas, Todas, Kotas, Irulas and Kurumbas. The region was ruled by the three tamil kingdoms of Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas during various times. The Todas are referenced in a record belonging to Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana and his general Punisa, dated 1117 CE. It was also ruled by various dynasties like Pallavas, Satavahanas, Gangas, Kadambas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara empire. Tipu Sultan captured Nilgiris in the eighteenth century and the region came into possession of British in 1799. It became part of Coimbatore district of the Madras Presidency. In 1818, J. C. Whish and N. W. Kindersley, assistants to John Sullivan, then collector of Coimbatore district, visited Kotagiri near Rengaswamy peak. Sullivan established his residence there and reported to the Board of Revenue on 31 July 1819. He also started work on a road from Sirumugai which was completed in May 1823 and extended up to Coonoor between 1830–32. In August 1868, the Nilgiris was separated from the Coimbatore district and James Wilkinson Breeks was appointed its commissioner. On 1 February 1882, Nilgiris was made a district and Richard Wellesley Barlow who was the then commissioner became the first collector of Nilgiris. The region serves as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency and was visited by British officials as a summer retreat. Soldiers were sent to the nearby Wellington to recuperate. After Indian Independence, the town developed into a popular hill resort and Wellington became the home of the Defence Services Staff College of the Indian Army. Geography Ooty is located in the Nilgiri hills, which form a part of the Western Ghats in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is separated from the neighboring state of Karnataka by the Moyar river in the north and from the Anaimalai and Palani hills in the south by the Palghat Gap. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 feet) above sea level. The total area of the town is 30.36 km2 (11.72 sq mi). Doddabetta is the highest peak (2,623 km or 1,630 mi) in the Nilgiris, about 10 km (6.2 mi) from Ooty. Ooty Lake is an artificial lake covering 65 acres (26 ha) created in 1824. Pykara, a river located 19 km (12 mi) from Ooty, rises at Mukurthi peak and flows through a series of cascades with the last two falls of 55 metres (180 ft) and 61 metres (200 ft) known as Pykara falls. Kamaraj Sagar Dam is located 10 km (6.2 mi) from the Ooty. Emerald Lake, Avalanche Lake and Porthimund Lake are other lakes in the region. Climate Ooty features a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) under Köppen climate classification. Because of its high altitude, the temperatures are generally lower than the surrounding plains with the average between 10–25 °C (50–77 °F) during summer and 0–21 °C (32–70 °F) during winter. The highest temperature ever recorded was 28.5 °C (83.3 °F) and the lowest temperature was −5.1 °C (22.8 °F). The town gets heavy rainfall during both South-West and North-East monsoons and the average rainfall is about 1,100 millimetres (43 in) of precipitation annually. Biodiversity and wildlife Ooty forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the largest protected forest area in India. It was declared as a protected reserve in 1986 and is part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. Mudumalai National Park and tiger reserve lies on the north-western side, about 31 km (19 mi) from Ooty and was established in 1940 as the first wildlife sanctuary in India. The region is part of the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion. Nilgiris harbours thousands of plant species including medicinal plants and endemic flowering plants. Stunted evergreen trees grow in shola forest patches above 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and are festooned with epiphytes. The native vegetation consisted of Meadows and grasslands on the hillsides with shola forests in the valleys. When the British populated the town, invasive species of pine, wattle and eucalyptus were planted along with tea plantations and they became the dominant species replacing the native vegetation. The region has one of the largest bengal tiger populations. The Indian elephant is the largest mammal in the region. The gaur is the largest ungulate in the region that frequent grasslands in the vicinity of water sources. Other mega-fauna include Indian leopard and sloth bear. Smaller fauna include Jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat, leopard cat, dhole, Golden jackal, Nilgiri marten, Small Indian civet, Asian palm civet, brown palm civet, ruddy mongoose, wild boar, Indian pangolin, Indian crested porcupine and Indian giant squirrel. Indian giant flying squirrel, Smooth-coated otter groups are observed along the Moyar River. Deer include sambar deer, chital, Indian spotted chevrotain, Indian muntjac, four-horned antelope and blackbuck. Monkeys, including the endangered Nilgiri langur, bonnet macaque and gray langur are also found in the region. Nilgiri tahr is an endangered ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiris and is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. Bats are found in darker caves in the hills. More than 200 species of birds are found in the region. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Udhagamandalam had a population of 88,430 with a sex-ratio of 1,053 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average .... Discover the Cal R Bombay popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Cal R Bombay books.