Coonoor

Coonoor sits at about 1,850 metres, lower and warmer than Ooty and about twenty kilometres down the mountain railway, and it kept more of the character of a working tea town: estates run right up to the edge of the settlement, tea factories take visitors, and the slopes are planted rather than built over. Sim's Park, laid out in 1874, holds a large collection of trees and shrubs on a slope. Dolphin's Nose and Lamb's Rock look off the escarpment toward the plains. The railway station is a working stop on the UNESCO line, with the steepest rack section just below it.

History

In the early 1800s travellers from the plains reached Coonoor and Ooty on the Old Ooty Road, and Coonoor had an inspection bungalow where they could rest. By the early 1830s it was the headquarters of a Pioneer Corps finishing the Coonoor Ghat road, laid out under Lieutenant-Colonel Le Hardy of the Madras Army, and under British rule it became the terminus of the Nilgiri branch railway, with a court, a hospital, three churches, schools and hotels for Europeans (Wikipedia, Coonoor).

Highlights

• The tea estates - working plantations up to the town edge, with factory visits.
• Sim's Park - an 1874 botanical garden on a hillside.
• Dolphin's Nose - a cliff viewpoint over the escarpment.
• The railway - the UNESCO mountain line with the rack section below town.

When to go

October to June; April to June is peak season and busy, though less so than Ooty. The monsoon brings fog and closes viewpoints. Tea plucking runs year-round with flushes after rain.

Practical notes

Viewpoints are often fogged in. The town centre is congested. Tea factory visits vary from genuine to sales-oriented. Railway tickets book out well ahead.

Nearby

Ooty lies above on the railway; Mettupalayam is below.

Key facts