'''Aruvankadu''', is a small town located in The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located between Coonoor and Ooty, at distances 5 km and 12 km respectively. It houses the '''Cordite Factory''', one of the 40 Indian Ordnance Factories. It is one of the oldest Defence Factories coming under the reign of the Ministry of Defence and the Indian Ordnance Factories. The Cordite Factory was established in 1903 by the then British Government on a huge campus and it still caters the Defence Services by manufacturing Cordite (Gun powder as generally known) which is used in manufacturing arms and ammunitions and also as a propellant in various armed tanks. Aruvankadu - the name means the forest full of snakes in literary Tamil. It is also the place where Robert Hanbury Brown, a British astronomer and physicist was born.

Aruvankadu enjoys a very pleasant climate round the year much in comparision with Ooty, the queen of the Hills. It is surrounded by lush greenery, tea gardens, eucalyptus plantations. It is well connected by Road and Rail. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway runs through Aruvankadu. The Railway station is located in a picturesque location at the border of the Cordite Factory near Hubbathalai village. The main highway of the Nilgiris NH-67 runs through Aruvankadu on the way to Ooty from Coimbatore and Coonoor. Aruvankadu also houses some best schools in Nilgiris like the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Cordite Factory HSS, St. Anns Girls HSS etc.