TASMAC in the hills: Ooty, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Valparai
The hill stations lost more TASMAC shops in 2026 than almost anywhere else. When the government closed 717 shops in May and June, 26 of the 73 Nilgiris shops on TASMAC's list were among them, including most of central Ooty. Kodaikanal, Yercaud and the Kolli Hills lost none. This is every hill town's count, which shops are open now, the nearest one to each lake and bus stand, and what changes for a visitor.
Every hill town, open and closed
"Listed" is how many shop numbers TASMAC's list carries for the taluk. "With stock" is how many had bottles on the shelf at the 4 October count. "Closed in 2026" counts the shops on the government's list of 717 closures. Elite shops are TASMAC's wider-range format.
| Town (taluk) | Listed | With stock | Closed in 2026 | Elite listed / open | All shops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ooty (Udhagamandalam) | 20 | 11 | 8 (+1 empty) | 5 / 2 | Nilgiris shops |
| Kotagiri | 14 | 9 | 5 | 2 / 1 | Nilgiris shops |
| Coonoor | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 / 1 | Nilgiris shops |
| Pandalur | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 / 1 | Nilgiris shops |
| Gudalur | 11 | 7 | 4 | 3 / 1 | Nilgiris shops |
| Kundah | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Nilgiris shops |
| Kodaikanal | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 / 4 | Dindigul shops |
| Valparai | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 / 0 | Coimbatore shops |
| Yercaud | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 / 1 | Salem shops |
| Kolli Hills | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Namakkal shops |
Ooty: half the town centre is gone
Ooty had 20 TASMAC shop numbers. Eight are on the 2026 closure list, and they are the ones a visitor would have walked past: Commercial Road (#8254, #8276), Main Bazaar (#8259), Upper Bazaar (#8256), opposite the railway station (#8258), Hobart Cross Road (#8253), Alms House Road (#8269) and Onslow Road (#8278). A ninth, #8262 on Commissioner Road, has no stock either, though it is not on the closure list.
Eleven Ooty shops had stock on 4 October. The two nearest Charing Cross, about 200 metres away, are #8251 on Ettines Road, the best-stocked shop in Ooty that night with 11,176 bottles, and #8275 on Vandipet Cross Road. From the boat house, the nearest is #8270 in Upper Bazaar, about 1.3 km. Near the Botanical Garden, about 1 km away, are Ooty's two open Elite shops: #8220 on Ettines Road and #8201 on Church Hill Road. They hold the imported bottles (the dearest was a Hennessy VSOP at ₹14,570) but far fewer bottles overall, about 1,300 each.
Coonoor, Kotagiri and the rest of the Nilgiris
Every Nilgiris taluk lost shops: Kotagiri 5, Coonoor 4, Gudalur 4, Pandalur 4 and Kundah 1. Across the district, 46 shops had stock on 4 October.
Coonoor: the nearest open shop to Sim's Park is Elite shop #8202 on TDK Road, about 1.1 km away, with a ₹7,280 bottle at the top of its range. Eight Coonoor shops are open, from Aruvankadu to Kolacombai.
Kotagiri: Elite shop #8245 on Donington Road had the widest range in the Nilgiris, 174 different bottles, with one at ₹10,620. Kattabettu's #8437 had the most bottles in the taluk, 10,615.
Gudalur and Pandalur: the Kerala border side of the district has some of its best-stocked shops: Pandalur's #8411 and #8235 each had more than 13,000 bottles.
The district page has every Nilgiris shop with its address and live count: Nilgiris shops.
Kodaikanal: all eight shops open
None of Kodaikanal's eight shops was on the closure list, and four of them are Elite. The closest to the lake are Elite shops #3155 on Woodwill Road and #3151 at the old bus stand, about 600 metres away, with #3153 on Old Convent Road and #3149 in the municipal shopping complex by the vegetable market close behind. Out of town, there are shops at Poombarai (#3330), Mannavanur (#3327) and Pannaikadu (#3157). Mannavanur's dearest bottle, at ₹5,470, was the highest in the taluk that night.
All of Kodaikanal's shops are on the Dindigul district page.
Yercaud, Valparai and the Kolli Hills
Yercaud has three shops, all open. Elite shop #7273 at Mundagampadi, about 1.3 km from the lake, had 185 different bottles, the widest range in any hill town, topped by a Tomintoul single malt at ₹8,770. Semmanatham's #7215 and Sengadu's #7476 each had more than 12,000 bottles.
Valparai lost both of its town shops in 2026, Elite #1677 and #2039. The three still trading are out of town: Mudis (#1849), Paramedu (#2033) and Solaiyar Dam (#2037).
Kolli Hills has three shops and lost none, and between them they had 60,753 bottles on 4 October, nearly as many as all eleven open shops in Ooty (62,800). #6153 alone had 27,979.
What a visitor should know
Same price, same hours. MRP is fixed by the state and is identical in every TASMAC shop, so a bottle costs the same in Ooty as in Chennai. Shops trade 12 noon to 10 pm, and close on dry days. The price list has every product and size.
Keep the empty. The Nilgiris was where TASMAC's ₹10 bottle deposit began. In April 2022 the Madras High Court ordered TASMAC to collect ₹10 over MRP on every bottle sold in the district and refund it on the empty, to keep glass out of the forests, and named Kodaikanal, Yercaud and other hill stations as the next places for it. Since October 2026 the deposit applies across the state. Return the bottle at a TASMAC counter and the ₹10 comes back.
E-pass for the drive up. Since May 2024, under a Madras High Court order, tourist vehicles entering the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal need a free e-pass, applied for at epass.tnega.org. Rules and daily vehicle limits have changed between seasons, so check before you leave.
Fewer shops, so check first. With a third of the Nilgiris shops gone, the nearest open one may not be the one you remember. Each shop page shows what was on its shelf at the last count, and the Sarakku app finds the nearest shop with your bottle in stock.
Common questions
Is there a TASMAC shop in Ooty town?
Yes, but fewer than before. Ooty (Udhagamandalam taluk) has 20 shop numbers on TASMAC's list; 11 had stock on 4 October 2026. The nearest open shops to Charing Cross are #8251 on Ettines Road and #8275 on Vandipet Cross Road, both about 200 metres away. Most of the shops on Commercial Road, Main Bazaar and Upper Bazaar, and the one opposite the railway station, were closed in 2026.
Which TASMAC shops in Ooty were closed?
Eight Ooty shops are on the government's 2026 closure list: #8253 Hobart Cross Road, #8254 Commercial Road, #8256 Upper Bazaar, #8258 opposite the railway station, #8259 Main Bazaar, #8269 Alms House Road, #8276 Commercial Road and #8278 Onslow Road. One more, #8262 on Commissioner Road, has had no stock but is not on that list.
Is there a TASMAC in Kodaikanal?
Yes, eight, and none was closed in 2026. Four of them are Elite shops. The closest to the lake are Elite shops #3155 on Woodwill Road and #3151 at the old bus stand, about 600 metres away.
Is there a TASMAC in Yercaud?
Yes, three, all open. The nearest to Yercaud lake is Elite shop #7273 at Mundagampadi, about 1.3 km away in a straight line; it has the widest range in the hills.
What are TASMAC timings in Ooty and Kodaikanal?
The same as everywhere in Tamil Nadu: 12 noon to 10 pm, every day except declared dry days. There are no special hill-station hours.
Is liquor more expensive in hill stations?
No. MRP is fixed by the state and is the same in Ooty as in Chennai. The counter adds a ₹10 deposit per bottle, refunded when you return the empty. The Nilgiris has collected that deposit since 2022.
Do I need an e-pass to visit Ooty or Kodaikanal?
Tourist vehicles have needed a free e-pass to enter the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal since May 2024, under a Madras High Court order. Apply at epass.tnega.org and check the current rules before you travel.
Which hill-station TASMAC shops carry imported whisky?
The Elite shops. Kotagiri's #8245 (Donington Road), Ooty's #8220 (Ettines Road), Coonoor's #8202 (TDK Road) and Yercaud's #7273 all had bottles above ₹7,000 on 4 October 2026. Most ordinary hill shops top out between ₹500 and ₹1,400.
One price list from Kolli Hills to Gudalur. What changed in 2026 is which doors are still open.