8 MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. I. trees. It was formerly the residence of Lord Elphiustone when 

 Ge"^al Governor of Madras. 

 Description. Separated from the Kaity valley by a spur, on which is built the 

 Rest-house on the Ootacamand and Coonoor road, is Arvenkad, 

 a valley of a similar configuration and character. The drainage 

 of this valley flows into the Coonoor river. The old road to 

 Ootacamand runs up the hollow of this valley ; the present one 

 is formed by a cutting along its northern side, a spur of Dodda- 

 betta. 



The Orange Valley is so called from the w41d oranges and limes 

 with which it abounds. It starts from the north-east angle of 

 Doddabotta, and skirting the Kotagiri table -land, breaks through 

 the edge of the plateau, and descends to the low country at a spot 

 exactly opposite the Gajalhatti Pass. It is a deep indentation, 

 not above 4,500 feet above the sea level, and being shut in 

 by lofty hills, the temperature is very high. Owing to this 

 feature and to the richness of the soil, the vegetation in this 

 valley is more nearly tropical than in any other locality above the 

 ghdts. 

 Scenery. I know of no description which brings out the peculiar features 



of the Nilagiri scenery so truthfully or effectively as the follow- 

 ing. ^ After remarking upon the configuration of the hills, their 

 aspect from the plains, and the different appearance which the 

 forest of the slopes assumes as the table-land is approached from 

 below, the writer continues : — 



" The interior of the plateau consists chiefly of grassy undulating 

 hills, divided by narrow valleys, which invariably contain a stream or 

 a swamp. In the hollows of the hill-sides nestle small beautiful 

 woods, locally known as shdlas. It is seldom that so much variety 

 of beauty is found in so small a compass. From the bleak heights of 

 the Kundas, with their storm-beaten, moss-hung woods and rank, 

 coarse grass, to the springy turf and many colored sholas of 

 Ootacamand, and the tropical vegetation of the western slopes, every 

 five or ten miles brings the traveller to a new climate and new sceuery. 

 Even on the summit of the plateau the rainfall varies with each 

 different aspect, and ranging from about 30 inches to 150 or more, 

 produces a corresponding range of vegetation. It is, however, the 

 views over the edges of the table-land that are most singular and 

 striking, from the extreme abruptness of the descent. Let a visitor 

 take a short ride in almost any direction from almost any part of the 

 plateau, and passing along shady English-looking lanes, sheltered by 

 thickets of blackberry and wild rose ; across bare breezy downs, 

 sometimes dotted with twisted crimson flowering rhododendron trees, 

 and intersected by swampy valleys, where buffaloes wade and wallow, 

 through dense woods carpeted with rare beautiful fei-ns and gorgeous 



1 Brekks' Ntlayiris. 



