At an altitude of 1850 meters, Coonoor is the first of the three Nilgri hill stations, that you come to when leaving behind the southern plains. Like Ooty, it's on the toy train line from Mettupalayan.

This now bustling town appears rather squashed between the hills, and it's only after climbing up out of the bustling market area with the bus and train terminals that you'll get a sense of what hill station were originally all about. The steep hills and valleys surrounding are carpeted with tea bushes, interspersed with eucalyptus and silver oak.

Sim's Park is a fine botanical garden on the slopes of a ravine, with hundreds of rose varieties.Nearby viewpoints include Lamb's Rock (5km), overlooking Mettupalayam far away on the plains, and Dolphin's Nose (9km) which has spectacular views onto St.Catherine's Falls on one side and Coonoor and Kotagiri strems, tributaries of the Bhavani, on the other.