India GOWhat to buy in Ooty and Coonoor
The things Ooty is famous for are edible: Nilgiri tea, homemade chocolate and varkey, the crisp local biscuit. Add eucalyptus oil and woollens for the cold evenings. The most distinctive craft is Toda embroidery, red and black counted-thread work that only Toda women make; buy it at outlets that pay the embroiderers directly. Below is what to buy and where, in Ooty and in Coonoor.
What to buy, and where
Nilgiri tea
Nilgiri orthodox tea has held a Geographical Indication since 2008. Orthodox means the whole leaf is rolled rather than cut, so the high-grown Nilgiri teas are sold as single-estate lots. Buy it at the shop of the Ooty Tea Factory & Museum after the tour, at the Highfield tea estate near Coonoor, which sells its own estate and flavoured teas beside the fields, or freshly packed at the Municipal Market.
Homemade chocolate
Ooty's chocolate tradition goes back to King Star, opposite the Botanical Garden, making fudge and truffles by hand since 1942 with no preservatives; a tin of its fudge is the classic gift. Modern Stores (Moddy's), on the go since 1951, sells chocolate alongside varkey. The Ooty Chocolate Factory, in the same building as the tea factory, has a large shop including tea-flavoured chocolate, and Cocoapods sells handmade bars in flavours like rum-raisin and fig-honey. Coonoor's shops hand-pour slabs with nut, cardamom, coffee and chilli.
Ooty varkey
A crisp, flaky biscuit of wheat flour, mava and ghee, sweet or salted, made by more than 90 bakers in the district and holding a GI tag. It is sold warm, in paper, by weight. Buy it at West Coast Bakery on Commercial Road, Impala Bakery in central Ooty or Crown Bakery in Coonoor, which has used the same wood-fired oven since 1880.
Eucalyptus and lemongrass oil, spices
Small bottles of eucalyptus and lemongrass oil, spices and hill produce fill the lanes of the Municipal Market, the town's working market of up to 1,500 stalls; weekday mornings are calmest. The Highfield estate shop also sells eucalyptus oil.
Toda embroidery
Pukhoor, meaning flower, is worked in red and black wool on white cotton, counted thread by thread without a frame, so the cloth looks almost woven and is used on both sides. It has a GI registered in 2013: only hand embroidery by Toda artisans in the Nilgiris qualifies, and machine-made or printed copies sold as Toda work infringe it. Buy at Shalom off Club Road, Ooty (daily 10:00–17:30), or at the Green Shops. Small pieces start at a few hundred rupees; a dupatta is about ₹3,950 and a saree about ₹7,000. Prices are marked, and haggling over hand-counted work is not the market custom.
Wild honey and forest produce
The Green Shop of the Keystone Foundation, which has worked with Nilgiri indigenous communities since 1993, sells wild honey gathered by Kurumba and Irula honey-hunters, beeswax goods, organic spices and millets under its Last Forest label, alongside Toda embroidery. Branches in Bedford (Coonoor), Ooty and Kotagiri; the money goes back to the forest communities.
Woollens
The Tibetan Market near the Botanical Garden, stalls run largely by Tibetan women, sells shawls, cardigans, jackets, pullovers, gloves and caps at reasonable prices; bargaining is expected.
Books on the Nilgiris
Higginbothams on Commercial Road, the hill branch of India's oldest bookselling chain, founded in Madras in 1844, keeps a run of Nilgiris titles that is hard to find elsewhere.
Where to shop
In Ooty, most shopping is on and around Commercial Road and Charring Cross: the bakeries, King Star, Higginbothams and the souvenir shops, and the Municipal Market is in the Main Bazaar. The Tibetan Market and the Shalom embroidery shop are a short way off, near the Botanical Garden and on Club Road. The tea and chocolate factory shops come at the end of their tours.
In Coonoor, Bedford has the Green Shop, the Highfield estate is about 2 km from upper Coonoor, and Crown Bakery is in Lower Coonoor. Shop by shop: markets.
Before you buy
- Check that Toda work is real — Genuine Toda embroidery is hand-counted by Toda women; buy from Shalom or the Green Shops, which pay the embroiderers directly.
- Bargain at stalls, not at craft shops — Bargaining is expected at the Tibetan Market; craft and estate shops have marked prices.
- Bring a cloth bag — The Nilgiris district bans use-and-throw plastic, including carry bags of any thickness, so bring your own.
- Dress for the evening — Even in summer the evenings are cool, and December–January nights can bring frost: if you came dressed for the plains, the Tibetan Market is where to fix it.
FAQ
What is Ooty famous for buying?
Nilgiri tea, homemade chocolate, varkey biscuits, eucalyptus oil and woollens. The most distinctive craft is Toda embroidery.
Where can I buy homemade chocolate in Ooty?
At King Star opposite the Botanical Garden, making chocolate since 1942, at Modern Stores (Moddy's), at Cocoapods and at the Ooty Chocolate Factory shop.
What should I buy in Coonoor?
Estate tea at Highfield, varkey and bread at Crown Bakery, and wild honey and Toda embroidery at the Green Shop in Bedford.
Where is the Tibetan Market in Ooty?
Near the Botanical Garden. It sells shawls, cardigans, jackets, gloves and caps, and is open roughly 10:00 to 20:30.
What clothes should I wear in Ooty?
Bring a warm layer at any time of year: evenings are cool, and December–January nights can bring frost. Woollens are sold cheaply at the Tibetan Market.
Sources (3)
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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