Facts about Kotagiri: This hill station was the preferred location for the British who looked to escape the heat and the humidity of the plains. In fact, Kotagiri was the summer home of the British in Southern India. Kotagiri is not as well known as some of the other hill stations in South India like Ooty, but it is still a significant one. This small hill station in the Nilgiri Hills was the first one to be discovered by the British. However, when an alternate path was built to Ooty, other than the Horse Trail which passed through Kotagiri, the popularity of Kotagiri started waning until it fell into obscurity. However, of late, tourism has picked up due to various awareness drives undertaken by the government. Kotagiri was originally a coffee plantation. The first coffee plantation was planted in 1843 here which was followed by many more plantations. However, following the first tea plantation in the late 19th century by the daughter of MD Cockburn, tea slowly started taking over coffee until it completely spanned the city. Today, the tea plantations in Kotagiri cover a total area of 30,000 acres.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 14:00:59 +0000