Coonoor or Kunnur, is a taluk and a municipal town of the Nilgiris District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. The town, located in the Nilgiri plateau, is at the head of the Coonoor Ghat, the principal pass connecting the Nilgiris to the plains. It is 363 miles (584 km) by rail from Chennai and 12 miles (19 km) from Ooty. The town is built within the picturesque Jackatalla valley (Jagathala), surrounded by wooded hills.