Conclusion

So is this Paradise absolutely free of blemish? Not quite. There are mosquitoes and nice large ones thanks to their healthy diet of lush greenery and humans. If it is true that only pregnant females bite because they need protein to nurture the eggs, then there must be plenty of pregnant mosquitoes here. The saving grace is that the malarial anopheles mosquito can survive only up to 1400 m. and the Nilgiris is well above that height. Flies and mosquitoes have traveled to the hills with the tourists. Even in 1860, efforts to keep Ooty sanitary were desultory and inadequate. The Director General of the Medical Department declared the lake the universal cesspool of the place and the next year the Saintary Commissioner described it as an unbearable mass of uncleanliness polluting the atmosphere. Shades of today
The high altitude strains the heart and lungs, so newcomers have headaches and trouble sleeping as organs do double the normal work. A doctor had his hands swell as he reached the hills on his motorbrike. Being a plainsman, his blood vessels had expanded
The greatest deterrent for tourists is the fact that there is no single place where one can get the required permission to visit the various places. Even if the particular office is open but the issuing authority is not present, “sorry” no permission. Maps are not available with the staff. And when most tourists come on weekends, the Wildlife Office is closed both days and the Tourist Office on Sundays. In spite of these irritations, the Nilgiris is worth visiting. And if these little irritations can be removed or ignored, then welcome to Paradise