Athigaratty is a serene hamlet located in the Nilgiri Hills in the state of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 in South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

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Athigaratty is located 10 km from Udagamandalam and 18 km from Coonoor

Coonoor

Coonoor is a town and a municipality in the Nilgiris district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its production of Nilgiri tea....

. It is one of the largest Badaga Hattis

Badaga Hattis

Source: Wing Commander Bellie Jayaprakash in http://badaga.wordpress.com/badaga-villages-nakku-betta-hattis/Badaga Hatti, is a village or hamlet spread around the Nilgiri Hills,a Tamil Nadu district, in Southern India...

 (villages) in the Nilgiris

Nilgiris (mountains)

The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India...

 in terms of the number of houses, next only to village of Nanjanadu. The major occupation of the Athigarattyians is tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 plantation. The local dialect of the Nilgiris, Badaga

Badaga

Badaga may refer to:*The Badaga people, an indigenous people inhabiting the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, India.*The Badaga language, spoken by the Badagas....

, is spoken here. Athigaratty is popular for its 'Ther Abba

Temple car

Temple cars are chariots used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart....

'(Ther=chariot, Abba=Festival), an annual carnival which draws a large crowd from around the Nilgiris.