If you are looking for a quiet place to spend your holidays with your family and friends and want a place that is cool and beautiful, a hill station is best choice for you. If you thought Tamil Nadu is a place where the sun’s rays are scorching hot and that there is no place for any retreat here, you are badly mistaken. The state is filled with lots of hill stations that are not only beautiful but highly relaxing as well. The State Government of Tamil Nadu has made all the necessary steps to maintain these hill stations in a  perfect manner, so that they are best suited to accommodate thousands of Indian and international tourists.

There are lots of interesting things for tourists at these hill stations like mountains, tea plantations, flower gardens, waterfalls, orchards, sprawling green lawns and the like. These hill stations have some heritage bungalows as well, in which you will be treated like royalty. The peaks here provide scintillating views of surroundings that are ultimate delights for photographers and nature lovers. If you are an adventure enthusiast, you can try out activities like trekking, nature-trails, forest-walks, ornithology and other water sports activities.

Famous Hill Stations in Tamil Nadu

Ooty

Commonly known as Ooty, the hill station of Udhagamandalam is rightly nicknamed as “Queen of Hill stations”. It is the one of the most important tourist attractions in the state. It is the capital of Nilgris district. Located at a height of 7440 feet above sea level, Ooty is surrounded by picturesque sceneries all around. When you are here, you must visit top tourist attractions like the Botanical Gardens, Rose Garden, Ooty Lake, Emerald Lake, Wenlock Down and many more lakes. There is a toy train here which brings ultimate joy to kids. The train is a fun-cum-adventurous ride covering close to 250 bridges. It passes through 108 curves and 16 tunnels. If you want to enjoy Ooty in its full bloom you must come here between April and June. There are two festivals here that attract lots of tourists – one is the annual tea and tourism festival (conducted during January) and the Summer Festival (conducted during May).

Kodaikkanal

If Ooty is the Queen of hill stations, Kodaikkanal is the “Princess of Hill stations”. Located quite close to the temple town of Madurai, Kodaikkanal enjoys a cool and pleasant weather all through the year, which makes it a perfect summer destination. Some of the major attractions here are Byrant Lake, Kodai Lake, Silver Cascade, Rock Falls etc. The waterfalls here provide ultimate thrill and entertainment to tourist and act as a great reprieve from the harsh rays of the sun. Kodai, as it is shortly addressed, is a place that can be visited during any time of the year; however it can be enjoyed to the best possible extent if visited during the summer season. Kodaikkanal is located at 7000 feet above sea level. This place is less crowded than Ooty and the climate is more pleasant here.

Coonoor

Located at about 6000 feet above sea level, Coonoor is a place known for its tea estates. This is part of Nilgiri Mountain Railway, as part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. This place is a haven for ornithologists as lots of wild varieties of migratory birds come here during particular seasons. During the month of January, a tea festival is conducted here, which is a huge hit among tourists. During the summer season of May, a fruit and vegetable festival is conducted here, which brings  tourists of all age groups. Lamb’s Rock, St. Katherine’s Falls, Law’s Falls etc. are some of the famous tourist spots here. Going around tea estates, trekking and bird-watching are some of the activities that you should indulge in while you come here. There are two different seasons during which you can  visit Coonoor – April to June and September to October.