The botanical garden at Udhagamandalam	Ooty Lake
Toda Hut	Fernhills palace

Located in the Blue Mountains of the Western Ghats, Ooty draws a large number of tourists every year. Lofty mountains, great lakes, dense forests, sprawling grasslands, miles of tea gardens and eucalyptus trees greet the visitors en route to Ooty. The hill station itself is a land of picturesque picnic spots. It used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days, later it was made into a summer administrative town. It is situated at an altitude of 2,286 meters above sea level. In recent years, the hill town has suffered from rampant commercialization and various other ecological and infrastructural issues. Ooty is more of a focal point of attraction for tourists, who also undertake auto tours of the surrounding countryside.
Some of the important tourist/historical landmarks of Ooty are as listed below.
• Ooty Botanical Gardens: The 22-acre Botanical Garden was laid out in 1847 and is maintained by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The original purpose of the Botanical Gardens was purely academic: to promote and study the various flora in and around Nilgiris. Now, it is open to the public as a park. The Botanical Garden is lush, green, and well-maintained. A flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held every May. The garden has a 20-million-year-old fossilized tree. One can find a diverse variety of flora, ranging from rare trees (like the cork tree, the paper bark tree, and the monkey puzzle tree), flowering bushes and plants, ferns and orchids. Another major attraction is an Italian-style garden bordering a pool. The place is an ideal location for bird watching.

• Ooty Lake & Boat House: This is an artificial lake built by John Sullivan. It used to be much larger than its present size of 4 km2. It is 2.5 km long and encompassed the present bus stand and race course as well as much of the present market. Boating is the major attraction at the lake. The boat ride allows visitors to enjoy the serene environment at a laid-back pace. The lake is bound by grooves of eucalyptus trees which augment the scenic beauty of the area. Next to the lake there is a Mini Garden with an amusement park for children.

• Centenary Rose Park: In the heart of Ooty town, this garden has been beautifully laid out in terraces with rose tunnels, pergolas and bowers with rose creepers. Today this garden has the largest collections of roses in the country — hybrid tea roses, miniature rose, floribunda, ramblers, roses of unusual colours like black and green — some of the more than 3,000 varieties of roses.

• Stone House: This was the first properly built house in Ooty (at the area called old Ooty), built by John Sullivan. It is inside the premises of the Government Arts College. It now houses government offices.

• Toda huts: There are a few Toda huts on the hills above Botanical Garden, where Todas still dwell. There are other Toda settlements in the area, notably Kandal Mund near Old Ooty.

• Ooty Mountain Railway: The railhead of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. The station is part of the World Heritage Site. Ooty Railway station offers a unique glimpse of the British raj built railways. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is one of the oldest mountain railways in India. Under consideration in 1845, the line was finally opened by the British in 1908 and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway is one of the few in the world that is dependent on steam locomotives.

• St. Stephen's Church: This one of the oldest churches in the town and is a local landmark. Its architecture is essentially early Fothic revival with stained glass typical of the era. It differs from British churches of the same time as it has simplifed buttresses and a stucco exterior. The churchyard is full of colonial headstones, and it remains an active place of worship. It is near the District Court house building.

• Wax World, Ooty: A wax museum that houses life-size look-alike wax statues of personalities of Indian history, culture and heritage housed in a 142-year-old bungalow.

• Ooty Golf Links: A forested and grassy area, mainly home to a golf course.

• Tribal Museum: The Tribal Museum is part of the campus of Tribal Research Centre which is in Muthorai Palada (10 km from Ooty town). It is home to rare artifacts and photographs of tribal groups of Tamilnadu as well as Andaman and Nicobar Islands and anthropological and archaeological primitive human culture and heritage. The Tribal Museum also displays houses belongs to Toda, Kota, Paniya, Kurumba and Kanikaran.