Longwood Shola

A protected shola forest reserve on Kotagiri's eastern edge, known for birdwatching and for sightings of endemic species such as the Nilgiri wood pigeon. It was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on 24 May 2023, covering 116.01 hectares.

Longwood Shola, Kotagiri
Practical guide

Plan Longwood Shola

Who's going?Tailor Longwood Shola to your trip
Typepark
Nearest baseKotagiri
DistrictThe Nilgiris
Best timeOctober to March is the cooler, drier…
Time neededAbout an hour
EntryFree
Places to visit6Listed businesses9

Longwood Shola is planned from Kotagiri, one of the travel bases in The Nilgiris district. Use Kotagiri for stays, food and local transport, then plan this place as a focused stop.

What to expect

Highlights

Getting there

How to visit

  • Base yourself in Kotagiri or nearby in The Nilgiris, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel.
  • If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.
Timing

Best time

October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.

Weather in Longwood SholaSeasonal guide

Live forecast loads in your browser.

Today at Longwood Shola
Sunrise6:12 am
Sunset6:04 pm
Golden hour best light5:04 pm–6:04 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:04 pm–6:29 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 261°
Moon tonight🌒 Waxing crescent · 24%

Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.

Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop

Stays, food & things to do near Longwood Shola

Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Longwood Shola — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.

2 things to do near Longwood Shola

Top pick
Conservation organisation
Keystone Foundation

The organisation that has done more than anything else to make this small town matter, headquartered on Groves Hill Road since the 1990s. Its campus is open to visitors on weekdays and it publishes its own visiting hours.

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Natural history society
Nilgiri Natural History Society

A natural history society founded in Kotagiri in 2009 to tell the story of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve through field learning rather than display cases. It runs conservation education, film festivals and field programmes across the hills.

Directions Commission-freeView details

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Ranked

More ways to explore Kotagiri

Find food, accommodation and activities across Kotagiri. Browse the guides for places to eat, stay and explore along your route.

Across the whole of Kotagiri

Ranked guides

Top experiences around Kotagiri

5 more places around Kotagiri. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.

viewpointKodanad View Point

10.4 km · ~17 min by cab

A viewpoint near Kotagiri overlooking the Bhavani valley and, on clear days, the plains beyond.

waterfallCatherine Falls

6.6 km · ~16 min by auto

A twin-tiered waterfall near Kotagiri, one of the tallest in the Nilgiris, formed on the Kallar river. Tamil Nadu Tourism and the district administration both say it takes its name from the wife of M.D. Cockburn, the planter credited with bringing coffee to Kotagiri, though the older form St Catherine's Falls was already in use.

viewpointRangaswamy Pillar and Peak

9.2 km · ~15 min by cab

A rock pillar and viewpoint east of Kotagiri associated with a local Rangaswamy temple legend, offering views over the Nilgiri plateau. Sources place it differently: OpenStreetMap maps the cliff at one point and Wikipedia gives another about 4.5 km further east, while Wikipedia's own text calls it 20 km from Kotagiri, which matches neither.

E
Elk Falls, Kotagiri
Place
heritageElk Falls, Kotagiri

5.4 km · ~13 min by auto

Elk Falls, also called Uyilatty Falls after the village beside it, drops in the hills north of Kotagiri; the district administration lists it among the town's waterfalls and the usual published figure is about 7 km out. The fall itself is on no map we can read, so the marker here sits on Uyilatty village, 7.4 km from the bus stand by routed road, and not on the water.

heritageJohn Sullivan Memorial (Kannerimukku Bungalow), Kotagiri

2.3 km · 29 min walk

This restored stone bungalow at Kannerimukku near Kotagiri was one of the earliest European residences in the Nilgiris, associated with John Sullivan, the British collector who opened up the hills from 1819. It now houses a memorial and small museum on Nilgiri history run by a heritage trust, 3.4 km from the Kotagiri bus stand by routed road.

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Before you go

Longwood Shola — at a glance

TimingsDaylight hours; early morning for the birds
Best timeSeptember to November and December to February; leech season is June to September

Entry: No gate and no ticket. It is a reserve forest managed by the District Forest Officer, Nilgiris Forest Division; ask locally before going far in.

Getting here

How to reach Longwood Shola

3.4 km and about four minutes from the Kotagiri bus stand by routed road, or 3.9 km and rather under an hour on foot. Coonoor is 21.6 km from the town, Coimbatore Junction 71.8 km, Coimbatore airport (CJB) 74.4 km.

Getting around Longwood Shola

If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.

If you need help at Longwood Shola
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).

Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.

Nearby

What’s near Longwood Shola

heritageJohn Sullivan Memorial (Kannerimukku Bungalow), Kotagiri

This restored stone bungalow at Kannerimukku near Kotagiri was one of the earliest European residences in the Nilgiris, associated with John Sullivan, the British collector who opened up the hills from 1819. It now houses a memorial and small museum on Nilgiri history run by a heritage trust, 3.4 km from the Kotagiri bus stand by routed road.

2.3 km · 29 min walk · straight line
E
Elk Falls, Kotagiri
Place
heritageElk Falls, Kotagiri

Elk Falls, also called Uyilatty Falls after the village beside it, drops in the hills north of Kotagiri; the district administration lists it among the town's waterfalls and the usual published figure is about 7 km out. The fall itself is on no map we can read, so the marker here sits on Uyilatty village, 7.4 km from the bus stand by routed road, and not on the water.

5.4 km · ~13 min by auto · straight line
waterfallCatherine Falls

A twin-tiered waterfall near Kotagiri, one of the tallest in the Nilgiris, formed on the Kallar river. Tamil Nadu Tourism and the district administration both say it takes its name from the wife of M.D. Cockburn, the planter credited with bringing coffee to Kotagiri, though the older form St Catherine's Falls was already in use.

6.6 km · ~16 min by auto · straight line
viewpointDolphin's Nose, Coonoor

A rocky outcrop near Coonoor offering sweeping views of the Nilgiri escarpment, Catherine Falls, and the plains below.

8.1 km · ~13 min by cab · straight line
viewpointRangaswamy Pillar and Peak

A rock pillar and viewpoint east of Kotagiri associated with a local Rangaswamy temple legend, offering views over the Nilgiri plateau. Sources place it differently: OpenStreetMap maps the cliff at one point and Wikipedia gives another about 4.5 km further east, while Wikipedia's own text calls it 20 km from Kotagiri, which matches neither.

9.2 km · ~15 min by cab · straight line
R
Ralliah Dam
Place
heritageRalliah Dam

Ralliah (Rallia) Dam sits on the Coonoor-Kattabettu-Kotagiri road and was built in 1914 as a catchment supplying drinking water to Coonoor and Kotagiri. Ringed by eucalyptus forest and reached by a short walk, it is a peaceful, little-visited spot popular for gentle trekking.

9.7 km · ~16 min by cab · straight line
B
Brooklane Coonoor Tea Factory
Place
heritageBrooklane Coonoor Tea Factory

A working tea factory 9.5 km east of the Coonoor bus stand on the estate road toward the viewpoints, where the leaf from the surrounding slopes is withered, rolled, oxidised and graded. Coonoor has been the administrative centre of the Nilgiri tea trade since the first plantation in these hills was established beside it in 1854.

10.0 km · ~17 min by cab · straight line
viewpointKodanad View Point

A viewpoint near Kotagiri overlooking the Bhavani valley and, on clear days, the plains beyond.

10.4 km · ~17 min by cab · straight line
viewpointLamb's Rock

A viewpoint near Coonoor overlooking tea and coffee plantations and the Coimbatore plains, named after a former collector of the region.

10.7 km · ~18 min by cab · straight line
heritageHighfield Tea Estate and Factory

Highfield is a long-established tea estate and working factory near Coonoor that offers guided tours explaining the tea-making process from plucking to packaging. Visitors can walk the plantation slopes and buy estate-fresh Nilgiri tea, making it one of Coonoor's popular tea-tourism stops.

11.7 km · ~20 min by cab · straight line
heritageWellington Gymkhana Club

A garrison club that dates itself from the brick cricket pavilion put up for the troops in 1873, though it only took the name Wellington Gymkhana in 1916, and it now runs an eighteen-hole hill golf course at about six thousand feet. Its own history records a race course here before Ooty's longer track was built, nine-hole golf, polo and rugby by the 1930s, its first Indian member in 1943, and the fact that the whole club stands on military land and pays a yearly rent to the Defence Department.

12.3 km · ~21 min by cab · straight line
parkSim's Park

A 12-hectare botanical park in Coonoor established in 1874, laid out in irregular Japanese style with a small lake and rare tree species.

12.5 km · ~21 min by cab · straight line

All 6 places to visit in Kotagiri →

On the map

Where Longwood Shola is

Good to know

Longwood Shola — frequently asked

When is the best time to visit Longwood Shola?

October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.

What are the entry fee and timings at Longwood Shola?

Entry: No gate and no ticket. It is a reserve forest managed by the District Forest Officer, Nilgiris Forest Division; ask locally before going far in. Timings: Daylight hours; early morning for the birds.

How do I reach Longwood Shola?

Base yourself in Kotagiri or nearby in The Nilgiris, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel. If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.

How much time do I need for Longwood Shola?

About an hour.

What else is near Longwood Shola?

Nearby you can pair John Sullivan Memorial (Kannerimukku Bungalow), Kotagiri (2.3 km), Elk Falls, Kotagiri (5.4 km), Catherine Falls (6.6 km), Dolphin's Nose, Coonoor (8.1 km).

Image credits

Photographs: SeethaG (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.