Toda Temple, Ooty – A peaceful tribal village in the hills
The Todas are a tribe that have lived in Tamilnadu along with the other tribes such as Kurumbas and Badagas. The Toda settlements are called munds and there is one such mund with a temple in their traditional half-barrel shape at the top of the hills that form the Botanical Garden campus in Ooty. A smaller model of the temple is at the entrance of the Botanical Garden and it is also where one can buy Toda-made handicraft items.
The trek to the top of the Botanical Garden is scenic and is best taken at a leisurely pace as the last stretch involves quite steep slopes. The below snapshot shows the path we took. It is a pretty simple trek and our 4 year old was able to walk quite comfortably for the most part.
The view of the Toda temple nestled among the surrounding hills with a tea estate in the backdrop is worth it. The Toda temple is built within a circular wall of stacked stones with a break for the entrance.
The temple itself is a structure made of arched bamboo for the side walls, stacked thatch for the roofing and dressed stone with murals make up the front and rear walls with a small opening that acts as the entrance.
The entrance that requires one to crawl is for protection from wild animals.
The Todas are traditionally buffalo farmers with dairy produce as their main source of income. We were told that the temple is opened during special occasions only and not on a daily basis.
The calm, serene atmosphere, the simple hut amidst all the greenery and mountains around will definitely make you want to spend some time here.
Please note that only priests are allowed entry in the temple and others can see it from the outside only.
