KOTAGIRI

Existing Infrastucture

Kotagiri is a serene town in the Nilgiris Hills, 33 km away from Mettupalayam, in Tamil Nadu, India. Today Kotagiri, one of the smaller towns in the Nilgiri hills, remains relatively unknown to outsiders. Kotagiri however has many firsts to its name. It has the distinction of being the first area in the Nilgiris to be discovered and settled by the English Government, and was the first choice for several Madras Government servants to use as a summer retreat before it sank into anonymity, and before the other two towns of Ooty and Coonoor took over in terms of popularity.

History

Kotagiri, although having no written history of the pre-British period, has been around for eons possibly. The area just below Coonoor and the slopes of the Nilgiri hills has been the traditional home of the ‘kota’ tribes. The name ‘Kota-giri’ itself means ‘mountain of the kotas’. While the todas are the traditional agriculturists of the Nilgiris, the kotas were the traditional artisans and are experts in the art of pottery and terracotta baking. The ‘kota’ tribe is known for their reclusiveness and their reluctance to meet or mix with any outsider. They currently number just around a 1000 members, and are fast declining.

After the forgotten expedition made by Keys and McMohan to the Nilgiris, two civil servants of the Madras Government, J.C.Whish and N.W.Kindersley, made a journey to the hills in 1819. They went through a pass in the hills (now the village of Kil Kotagiri), and as reported back to their superiors, had “discovered a tableland possessing an European climate”. They called the tableland ‘Kotercherry’.

Soon after, the Collector of Coimbatore, John Sullivan, himself journeyed into the hills and built himself a home in Kotagiri. He was the first European resident of the Nilgiri hills. On his suggestion, the Madras Government opened a ‘sanatorium’ in Ooty and started the practice of moving the whole government to the hills during summer. With the town becoming their personal health resort, several Englishmen followed and settled here. The environment could have been to them reminiscent of the valleys and dales of old England.

Nevertheless, Kotagiri remained the first choice for homesick Englishmen wanting to settle in the hills. The area was of a pleasant climate of neither extreme unlike Ooty or Coonoor, which were colder. The plateau also had more of a warm wind than rain through the year. John Sullivan was followed by others including numerous elite like the Marquis of Dalhousie, and by the 1830s, there were some twenty bungalows built around here. They had the best of both worlds, living in Madras during the winter and shifting to Kotagiri during the killing summers.

Kotagiri was neglected only when the new ghat road was built from Mettupalayam at the foothills to Coonoor. Until then the only way to get to Ooty was the horse trail that led through Kotagiri. This trail was built in 1821 by Evan McPherson and was the only way up till around 1870 when a proper road was built.

The Plantation story

The first coffee estate was planted by M.D.Cockburn in 1843, in Kanhutty. Regular planting took off soon after and several plantations were opened. But planting seems to have been around for years before that. Several small attempts were made around the area, with Pope and Magrath opening in Kotagiri, M.D.Cockburn on the Kotagiri ghat, his son George Cockburn in Kotagiri, and Bannerman and Haldwell in Totapolliam.

The first tea plantation however owes its existence to a lady, the daughter of M.D.Cockburn, who opened an estate in 1863, followed by Kodanad. Tea soon took over, and coffee growing was given up. There was a steady growth of tea planting. By the end of the 19th century, it was in around 3000 acres (12 km²), and today it is almost 30,000 acres (120 km²).

Places of interest

The town is surrounded by many tourist spots. One very popular place is the Kodanad view point. Accessible by road, about 30 minutes by vehicle, it provides a splendid view of the great Mysore plateau to one side and the Bhavani river on the other.

John Sullivan's bungalow, the one he built during his stay, has just been renovated and is open to the public. It is located in Kannerimukku, about 20 minutes from the main town.

Other places of interest are the St.Catherine waterfalls, and Rangasamy Peak.

Kotagiri also has some gold deposits, which were mined to levels possible during the Raj. Presently research is going on to determine if it would be possible to extract more gold from the mines.

There is also some considerable bauxite in the area.

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