Nilgiri Mountains, Mountain range in Tamil Nadu, India
The Nilgiri Mountains are a mountain range in northwestern Tamil Nadu spreading across roughly 2400 square kilometers to the borders of Karnataka and Kerala. Peaks like Doddabetta rise to 2637 meters above open grassland and patches of shola forest, while lower valleys hold tea estates and villages.
British survey teams reached the mountains in 1814 and built Ooty into a summer retreat starting in the 1820s. Tea estates followed later, shaping economic life up to the present.
Indigenous groups like the Toda still practice grass management and live in barrel-vaulted huts visible across the valleys today. Badaga villages shape life at middle elevations with their temple festivals and farming between tea estates.
A narrow-gauge railway links Mettupalayam to Ooty along roughly 46 kilometers, climbing over 1700 meters through tunnels and curves. Coimbatore airport lies about 104 kilometers south, offering connections to larger cities.
The name means blue mountains and comes from Strobilanthes flowers that cover the slopes roughly every twelve years. Large areas turn violet-blue then, drawing visitors from across the region.
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