Ooty Lake, Ooty, Tamil Nadu India

Ooty Lake stays in the heart of Ooty with its L shape construction. It is the best place for boating and the summers are primly wonderful. Several boat races are conducted and people have a wonderful time enjoying the sport as such a wonderful place on earth. The function is well planned and organized and there is a huge crowd gathered around the lake at the time of the race. 

The Government Rose Garden (formerly known as the Jayalalithaa Rose Garden, Centerary Rose Park and Nootrandu Roja Poonga) is the largest rose garden in India. It is situated on the slopes of the Elk Hill in Vijayanagaram of Ooty town in Tamil Nadu, India at an altitude of 2200 meters. The Rose Park was established at Vijayanagaram in Ooty town to commemorate the centenary Flower Show in Government Botanical Gardens, Udagamandalam in May 1995. The flowers are arranged in five curving terraces covering four hectares. This garden is maintained by the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department.

The boat houses is the place where the people reside and its also a great experience staying in a boat house. There are a few children parks where the tourists can halt and have a wonderful time with kids. The means of conveyance stays to be horses and ponies and horse ride is the favorite sport for anyone visiting the place.

The lake is surrounded by groves of Eucalyptus trees with a railway line line running along one shore. During the summer season in May, boat races and boat pageantry are organised for two days.

From just behind the central Bus Stand (also near the Railway station) the famous Ooty Lake stretches, in an irregular 'L' shape, for about 2.75 kms in length and varying distances in width(100m – 140m). For the curious, this lake was artificially formed by John Sullivan, the founder of Ooty, in 1823-25 by damming the mountain streams flowing down Ooty valley.

The lake which breached thrice, completely emptying itself, originally extended up to the present day market and ferries were used to get across one side to the other. The lake gradually shrunk in size giving place to the present racecourse, the bus stand and mini garden.

At the far end is the Boat House, where all kinds of boats are available for hire from eight in the morning to six in the evening. Surrounded by lofty eucalyptus trees and shrubs the lake is a scenic delight to ones from the concrete jungles. During summer seasons, in May, boat races and boat pageantry are organized for two days at the lake which draws huge crowd. In recent years the lake and the boat house have become the hub of entertainment for the visitors.

From just behind the Main Bus Stand (also near the Railway station) the famous Ooty Lake stretches, in an irregular 'L' shape, for about two kilometres in length and varrying distances in width. At the far end is the Boat House where all kinds of boats are available for hire from eight in the morning to six in the evening. During summer seasons, in May, boat races and boat pageantry are organised on two days at the lake which draw huge crowds.

In recent years the lake and the boat house have become the hub of entertainment for the visitors. At the boat house end there is children's park with a toytrain. In the adjacent site there is a deer park. A mini-garden is at the bus stand end and a well laid footpath circles the entire lake. Just outside the Boat house local ponies are available for jolly rides at a charge.

For the curious, this lake was artificially formed by Johm Sullivan, the founder of Ooty, in 1823-25 by damming the mountain streams flowing down Ooty valley. The lake which breached thrice, completely emptying itself, originally extended upto the present day market and ferries were used to get across one side to the other. The lake gradually shrunks in size giving place to the present racecourse, the bus stand, mini garden and some part from the mini garden end.

 Ooty has a unique tropical mountain climate, hence the garden has the ideal climatic conditions for growing of roses. Temperature variation is less and the rainfall distribution is uniform in the locale, which results in a long flowering season. The garden is visited by thousands of tourists throughout the year and even in winter, when it is not the flowering season. Initially, when the gardens were developed, 1,919 varieties of roses with 17,256 rose plants were planted. Today this garden has more than 20,000 varieties of roses of 2,800 cultivars. It is one of the largest collection of roses in India.