10. Views from the top

Doddabetta Peak - the highest point in Southern India. .
 

 

 

Sinclairs Retreat Hotel

Nestled snugly 640ft below Doddabetta peak, this is our home for the next six days,  overlooking Ooty with views across the valley to the Blue Mountains, eucalyptus forests, tea plantations and terraced hillsides.  

 

 

The hotel's  gardens and multi-level lawns are great places for walking, relaxation and photo-ops in all directions.   This view from the upper lawn looking down onto the town of Ooty and its centre called 'Charing Cross'! 

View from the lower lawn where the flowers seem to go on forever blending into the buildings way below.

 

 

but there's always at least one 'poser'.......  

 

 

....or two posers, enjoying a day at 8,000ft in mid-winter.

 

 

Doddabetta Tea Factory

Surrounded by miles of tea plantations, producing massive amounts of tea for the domestic market and abroad we walked uphill (slowly!) to the  Doddabetta Tea Factory and Museum where an interesting tour showed us the intricacies of tea production - no teabags allowed!! 

 

 

Tempting alternatives......

Connected to the tea factory is a herbal oils producer and a chocolate factory.  

 

Did we buy tea : NO.   

Did we buy herbal oils : NO.  

Did we buy chocolate : YES

 

,,,,,,,,,,,we went downhill from here!

 

Superb Sunsets

At the end of the day we'd sit on the balcony watching the view change as the setting sun highlighted the distant mountain tops, cooling clouds settled into the gaps and the town below became a mass of twinkling lights.

 

 

 

 

 Time spent in Ooty : 7 days