Coonoor is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a small quiet hill town in the Nilgiri hills in southern India. It has a reputation (shared by many Indian hill stations) for being a reality-defying idyllic Shangri-La of sorts. However, the growing networked economy, and the rampant influx of tourists to the region in the past few decades have eroded this image of Coonoor to some degree.
The town is the second largest in the Nilgiri hills after Ooty, the district head quarters. Coonoor’s dominant demographic is a healthy mix of religions, languages and cultures - caused by the tourists who decide to retire here, the Indian Army’s regimental headquarters and Staff College (DSSC) in neighboring Wellington Cantonment, and the local boarding schools. Christianity is a dominant minority religion, with many locals practicing Christianity along with Hinduism or Islam.
Coonoor is home to the Pasteur Institute of India which produces rabiesvaccines.
Coonoor has some Sericulture. The Government operates a Silk Farm, though this is largely a research facility. Floriculture and strawberry cultivation are taking root of late.
