Coonoor
Working tea country on a lower, warmer ridge
A Coonoor tour suits tea-estate visits, cliff viewpoints and the Nilgiri railway, from a 1,850 m town in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
Overview
Coonoor is a hill town in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, at about 1,850 m on the south-east edge of the Nilgiri plateau. It sits lower and a little warmer than Ooty, 19 km away, and suits travellers who would rather walk through tea estates and look over valleys than join a resort crowd. Skies are clearest from October to March, and a Coonoor tour of one or two days covers most of what the town offers.
Tea explains the place better than any single sight. Planting in the Nilgiris began in the 1860s, and the Coonoor and Kotagiri taluks are among the district's main tea-growing areas. Leaf from the estates is sold at auction in Coonoor, in a house run by the Coonoor Tea Trade Association. Nilgiri tea is known for its dark colour and strong aroma, and most of it goes to blends. Visitors can watch how tea is made at the Highfield tea factory, which has operated since 1930, and finish with a tasting.
The railway adds a second thread. Coonoor is the main intermediate stop on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, which opened in 1908, and the station lies close to the locomotive workshops. Boarding here for the shorter run up to Udhagamandalam is a gentler option than riding the whole line from Mettupalayam. The town also holds a public-health landmark: the Pasteur Institute, founded in 1907 to make anti-rabies vaccine, with the cool air cited as the reason for choosing the site.
Viewpoints and walks fill the rest of the time. Sim's Park, laid out in 1874 on about 12 hectares, holds more than 1,000 plant species on terraces and a stretch of natural shola forest. Dolphin's Nose, 10 to 12 km out by road, is a cliff-edge lookout with views toward Catherine Falls. Lamb's Rock is closer, at about 5.5 km, and Law's Falls lies roughly 6 km outside town. A hike to Droog Fort passes through more tea slopes.
Rain averages about 1,670 mm a year, and October is the wettest month, so the clear-sky season begins only as the monsoon eases. In the evenings the town is cool enough for a light jacket, and the town's upper and lower bazaars are the place to look for Nilgiri tea to carry home.
Known for
Tea-making demonstration and tasting
Quick facts
Cool and green at 1,850 m, with a wet spell in October (about 345 mm in that month) and about 1,670 mm of rain over a year.
Coimbatore International Airport, about 67 to 71 km by road
Coonoor station, the main intermediate stop of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Trains from the plains start at Mettupalayam, and Coimbatore railway station is about 71 km by road
Ooty is 19 km away. Coonoor lies at the head of the Coonoor ghat road from the plains.
Carry a rain cover if you arrive in October, the wettest month
Ask the Highfield factory before you go whether tours run on your day, because hours and fees were not found
Give Lamb's Rock (about 5.5 km) and Dolphin's Nose (10 to 12 km) a separate morning each, since both need a drive and a hike
Packages that visit Coonoor
All packages →
5D / 4NNilgiri Tea Country and Toy Train
A Nilgiri toy train tour from Coimbatore: ride the heritage rack railway, walk Coonoor's tea slopes and end in Ooty, with a private car throughout.
Coimbatore → Coonoor → Ooty (Udhagamandalam)Hill Stations & Mountains
5D / 4NTamil Nadu Honeymoon in the Hills
A Kodaikanal Ooty honeymoon package for couples: two nights by Kodai Lake, two among Ooty's gardens, five days, private car from Coimbatore.
Kodaikanal → Ooty (Udhagamandalam)Honeymoon & Romance
6D / 5NMysuru, Ooty and Coonoor Heritage and Hills
A Mysuru to Ooty tour package over six days: Mysuru's palace and Chamundi Hill, then Ooty and Coonoor in the Nilgiris, with private transfers.
Mysuru (Mysore) → Ooty (Udhagamandalam) → CoonoorHill Stations & MountainsPlan a trip to Coonoor
Tell us your dates and we will shape the route.