Ooty, India

Ooty is another hilltop town shrouded in mist. Colorful homes cover the hills in pinks, blues and yellows, laid-back locals fill the streets, and endless acres of tea plantaions give the hills a magical beauty. The might Mt. Doddabetta towers above Ooty at 2638 metes, and is India's highest peak south of the Himalayas. This morning I takced the 25km roundtrip hike up to Doddabetta's peak. The higher I climbed, the dnser the mist became and unfortunately at the peak the visibility was down to just a few meters. But of what I could see I enjoyed--thick Eucalyptus forests, rolling tea plantations, and sign after sign reminding visitors to be kind to nature. About half-way up I stopped at a tea factory and museum to learn about India's tea industry and see tea production in action. After touring the factory and sampling a few varieties of the tea, I purchased some to send home and went on my way. In total, the hike took me about 4 hours and already my legs are sore, but its good practice for theREAL mountains of Nepal!