The Nilgiri Range or literally the Blue Mountains are the name given to a range of mountains panning across the states of Ooty in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India. These are referred to as `Blue Mountains` because of the lavender-blue flowers of the famous Strobilanthes that bloom to cover the hills in floral profusion during the season. The Nilgiri Hills offers spectacular picturesque beauty and refreshing climate. The abundant vegetation and the lavender-blue gleam of the mountains here offer a promise of a summer of peace and renovation.

This range is part of the larger Western Ghats mountain chain making up the western edge of the Deccan Plateau. They are often referred to as the Nilgiri hills. The height of the hills in the Nilgiri range varies between 2280 and 2290 metres and the highest point in these mountains is the mountain of Doddabetta, with a height of 2,637 meters.

The Camellia tea brought to the Nilgiris in the 1860s is amongst India`s most prominent plantation crops and is like a second skin to the slopes of the Nilgiris all round Ooty. It is believed that the name Nila, has been in use for over 800 years since, the King of the Hoysalas Vishnu Vardhana, who ruled from 1104 to 1141 AD seized the Nilgiris Plateau. The name Nilgiri was due to the blue haze, which envelops the range with most distant hills of considerable size.