The Nilgiris district is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri () is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The Nilgiri Hills are part of a larger mountain chain known as the Western Ghats. Their highest point is the mountain of Doddabetta, height 2,637 m. The district is contained mainly within the Nilgiri Mountains range. The administrative headquarters is located at Ooty (Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam). The district is bounded by Malappuram district of Kerala to the west, Coimbatore and Palakkad to the south, Erode to the east, and Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka and Wayanad district of Kerala to the north. As it is located at the junction of three states namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, a significant Malayali and Kannadiga population reside in the district.