Travel Guide Kotagiri

28,200 inhabitants. The oldest climatic resort in the Nilgiris owes its name to the tribes who inhabited this part of the mountains, the Kotas. Kotagiri literally translates as "the mountain of the Kotas". The Kotas are still present, but their population has declined drastically to around a thousand. Situated at an average altitude of 1,850 meters, it has a climatic advantage over Ooty, as Kotagiri is protected from the north-west monsoon rains by the Doddabetta, the largest mountain range in the Nilgiris (2,637 m). The town is known as "Little Switzerland of India". But it's the landscape, with its hills covered with tea plantations, that attracts tourists, as the town has no particular charm. Many treks are possible and tours are organized to visit the surrounding natural sites.