Festivals of Ooty

Lying deep inside Nilgiri district, Udhagamandalam is a paradise if one is looking for an escape from today’s ever busy city life. The environs of Ooty with sumptuous grasslands, lofty blue mountains and amusing weathers, keep bringing in tourists all round the year. Yet the city preserves and treasures its customs, culture and the precious landscapes which it celebrates through various festivals.

Summer festival in Ooty is an important one month festival organized by Tamil Nadu Department of Tourism. A plethora of events are held throughout the month of May, specially meant to draw tourists. Hence this time of the year is preferred for a visit to Ooty. Since Ooty is a summer refuge to many people visiting in the month of May, the Festival lures a lot of travelers to this tourism based city. Important events of the festival are:

•   Boat Races- Hundreds of tourists gather at Ooty Lake to see this two day annual Boat Race.

•   Fruit Show is held at Sim’s Park, Conoor and

•   Vegetable Show is held at Nehru Park, Kotagiri

Cultural programmes are also held during the festival to showcase local dance, music, drama and arts. Every year Ooty gears up for this eventful month. Botanical Gardens, Government Rose Gardens, Sim’s Park, Ooty Lake, Pykara Lake are renovated and decorated to welcome the crowds. Flower show and Boat Races are the highlights of this spectacular event. Hotels and travel agencies offer special discounted prices during Summer festival and the government also ensures infrastructural conveniences to welcome the guests.

MAD festival

MAD (Music, Arts, Dance) festival is an annually held 3 day music festival. The festival is an impressive line-up of both traditional and contemporary music, dance and art performance at the royal Fernhill Palace. This is a great festival and event that gathers musicians and music lovers from Ooty and surrounding cities. The first edition of the festival was showcased in 2012, after which the event gained popularity and started growing every year. The event got the positivity due to the reason that it promotes performing arts cutting across the classification of traditional and contemporary, promoting this royal destination of Ooty as well.

Tea and Tourism Festival in Ooty

Tea and Tourism festival is yet another three day tourist festival, celebrated in the month of January. The festival is jointly organized by, Tamilnadu Tourism Department and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The Festival is methodized with an objective of boosting Nilgiri Tea industry and tourism sectors. Dance, music and other cultural programmes are a part of the festive activities along with promotion schemes for tea planters as well as tourists. Visitors can visit tea gardens, factories, taste and purchase varieties of tea, along with other fun and celebration activities.

Religious Festivals in Ooty

Thaipoosam in Elk Hill MuruganTemple

Thaipoosam festival is a grand festival dedicated to deity ‘Balamurugar’. The festival is celebrated in the month of February at Elk Hill Murugan Temple. The beautifully decorated idol of Balamurugar is taken down the hill to the town, with a procession of devotees. Devotees carry milk for offerings of God. The temple is situated amidst dense flora and beautiful and tranquil environments of the hill adding up to the inducement of visiting the Temple.

Ooty Mariamman Temple Festival

Mariammam Temple was built in the honor of Goddess Mariammam- the Goddess of rain. This annual festival held at the temple is visited by a large number of devotees in the month of April. One can find devotees offering their devotion by walking barefoot on burning coal. Entire village surrounding the temple is decorated to activize the event.

Pongal

Pongal is a four day harvest festival of Tamil Nadu celebrated in the month of January in the honor of Sun God. People visit temples and decorate their homes. Pongal is a sweet dish prepared on this favorable day by the locals dedicating it to the God. Department of tourism makes the festival more memorable to its guests by organizing celebrations of Pongal  and serving Pongal dish, making it convenient for visitors to be a part of the festivity.

Aadi Peruku

Aadi Peruku is a festival exclusively celebrated only in the state of Tamil Nadu to pay tribute to the water bodies. The festival is celebrated around mid month of July.

Bokkapuram Mariammam Temple Festival

The Bokkapuram Temple Festival is a spring festival that is a much awaited and celebrated festival of Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated in the month of February or March. Bokkapuram Temple is a Murugan Temple set in Masinagudi’s beautiful locales. This is an important Ammam festival for which people of Ooty travel to Bokkapuram Temple to be a part of the festivity.