Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Garden is a pleasant place for a stroll. There are good views over Ooty from the hilltop
location.
Tribal Research Centre Museum
(Muthorai Palada; 10am-1pm & 2-5pm Sat-Thu)
It's hard to say why you should love this
museum more: for its decently executed exhibits on Nilgiri and Andaman tribal groups, or
the decomposing corpses of badly stuffed local wildlife. Seriously, the artefacts are fant-
astic - you may never get the chance to hold a Stone Age bow in your life again - and de-
scriptions of the tribes are good, albeit academically anthropological. It's just beyond the
village of Muthorai Palada (M Palada), 11km south of Ooty on the way to Emerald and
served by frequent buses. A rickshaw costs around ?350 return. Note that opening times
can be a bit fluid.
MUSEUM
CHURCH
St Stephen's Church
( 10.30am-5pm, services 8am & 11am Sun)
Perched above the town centre, the immaculate St
Stephen's, built in 1829, is the oldest church in the Nilgiris. It has lovely stained glass,
huge wooden beams hauled by elephant from the palace of Tipu Sultan some 120km
away, and the sometimes kitschy, sometimes touching, slabs and plaques donated by
colonial-era churchgoers. In the quiet, overgrown cemetery you'll find headstones com-
memorating many an Ooty Brit.
Nilgiri Library
(Hospital Rd; reading room 9.30am-1pm & 2.30-6pm Sat-Thu)
This quaint little haven in a crumbling
1867 building has more than 60,000 books, including rare titles on the Nilgiris and hill
tribes. Visitors can consult books in the reading room in return for a donation (whatever
you want to give).
LIBRARY
Activities
Hiking & Trekking
To make the most of Ooty, you should get out into the beautiful Nilgiris. Ooty's tourist of-
fice and many accommodation places can put you in touch with local guides who do day
trips for ?400 to ?450 per person including lunch. You'll normally drive out of town and
