South Indian tea has gained recognition far and wide. India is the fifth largest tea producing belt in the world after China. The Nilgiris are famous for it's tea estates. Commercial plantations came into existence in the Nilgiris around 1853, though tea plants were thriving in Tamil Nadu earlier to this. The major tea growing areas in the South are the Nilgiris and the Anamalais high ranges, Peerumedu-Vandiperiyar belt and Wayanad in Kerala and a few in Karnataka.

The annual tea and tourism festival is celebrated in the Nilgiris in the month of January/February. Cultural programmes, visits to tea estates and factories, fun and frolic, mark the celebrations.