Nilgiris: The handmade chocolate centre of India

Hyderabad: Nilgiris in South India has the best cottage industry of handmade, preservative-free chocolates, with about one-fourth of the area's population involved in the trade. The area's year-round cool climate makes it an ideal, natural, and cost-effective place for producing dozens of varieties of chocolates.

Origin

The art of making chocolates, cakes, and fudge originated from former cooks of the British in the pre-independence era, which later became a tourist attraction during the 1990s.

Popularity

Nilgiri chocolates are renowned for their rich, homemade, and artisanal quality, often featuring over 200 unique flavors like ginger, chili, and lavender from shops like Moddy's Chocolates and The Ooty Chocolate Factory.

Chocolate souvenirs

The town is filled with small, family-run units and large-scale, all-women factories producing thousands of kilograms monthly, making them a popular souvenir for tourists.

Family craftsmanship

In the Nilgiri hills, a quiet food identity has grown alongside tourism, as Ooty and nearby Coonoor steadily earn recognition for handmade chocolates shaped by climate, culture, and decades of small family craftsmanship.

Tradition

For many travellers, the Nilgiri Blue Mountains are remembered for misty mornings and colonial architecture. Yet another memory often travels home packed in chocolate boxes. Tourists actively search for these chocolates while exploring these hill stations. Families who make chocolates here have passed recipes through generations, refining flavours quietly. Shops multiplied as demand rose with growing tourism. What began as a local practice became an unspoken tradition.

Cool climate

The chocolate legacy here developed naturally. Its cool climate creates perfect conditions for chocolate-making, requiring no refrigeration. Gradually, small family-run businesses began crafting handmade chocolates using fresh ingredients and traditional methods, turning simple recipes into a cherished local specialty.

Small shops

Nilgiri 's chocolate shops are found everywhere, especially around popular stores. Most stores are small, warmly lit spaces with glass counters showcasing everything from classic milk chocolates to artisanal truffles. Some of the shops even allow tourists to watch basic chocolate-making processes, making the experience more personal.

Wide range

There is a very wide range of flavours in dark and milk chocolate, nuts, pralines, truffles, caramel, and even fruit like Orange, Blueberry, and Strawberry.