Kotagiri facts: Nice to know

At a greater height than Coonoor but lesser than Ooty, Kotagiri town is at the eastern end of the Nilgiri plateau, 1950 metres (6400 feet) above sea level

• Kotagiri was the first place in the Nilgiris to be ‘discovered’ by Europeans in the nineteenth century before Ooty and Coonoor

• Travel 28 km west from Kotagiri to reach Ooty. Or travel 20 km south-west to reach Coonoor

• Unlike the other two hill stations, Kotagiri is not shut in by hills all around, so the air is always fresh

• The onslaught of the south-west monsoon from neighbouring Kerala is thwarted by the high hills of Doddabetta, so the rainfall is not excessive here

• The monsoon months of June-September tend to be more windy than rainy. That said, it is in the very nature of hill stations to have sudden outbursts of rain on any given day right through the year

• The returning north-east monsoon brings heavier rains in October-December. These are typically short, heavy bursts in the night wit   h the mornings being generally fresh and fine