Towered in by the Hulikal ravine in the southwest and the winding ridges leading to Kotagiri in the northeast, it is 18 km away from Ooty on the road to the Coimbatore plains. It lies at an average of 1800m to 1900m above M.S.L. The elevation naturally lends to the landscape a genial climate enviously more soothing than that of either Ooty or Kotagiri.

Headquarters of the taluk of the same name, it is a municipal town. The town is broadly divided into upper and lower stations. The hub of commerce and traffic is centered in the lower town; jutting up from lower Coonoor is a fast growing locality with the gentle sounding name Mount Pleasant. Upper Coonoor is well known for the posh residential houses and bungalows clustered among some pretty nooks and corners.

The oldest buildings in graceful style are situated in Upper Coonoor - UPASI complex (formerly Glenview Hotel dating from 1847) and the All saints Church (1851). The Sim's Park is an important landmark in Upper Coonoor and the road leading to the tourist-prone spots pass through Upper Coonoor at its Bedford Circle.