View from the Doddabetta Peak - Ooty,Tamil Nadu

Doddabetta is the highest mountain in the

Nilgiri Mountains The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

at 2,637 metres (8,652 feet). There is a reserved forest area around the peak. It is 9 km from

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and ...

, on the Ooty-Kotagiri Road in the

Nilgiris District The Nilgiris district () is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri ( en, Blue Mountains) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Ker ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is a popular tourist attraction with road access to the summit. It is the fourth highest peak in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

next to

Anamudi Anamudi is a mountain located in Ernakulam district and Idukki district of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and in South India, at an elevation of and a topographic prominence of . The name Anamudi lite ...

, Mannamalai and

Meesapulimala Meesapulimala is an Indian peak, the next south of the second highest peak (Manna Malai ) of the Western Ghats on the border of Idukki district, Kerala state. Its peak is above sea level. The name derives from its appearance from the southwes ...

. The peaks Hecuba (2375 m), Kattadadu (2418 m) and Kulkudi (2439 m) are the three closely linked summits in the west of the Doddabetta range near to Udagamandalam.

Flora

The area surrounding Doddabetta is mostly forested.

Shola Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are foun ...

s cover the hollows of its slopes. Slightly stunted,

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

trees, in the midst of thick coarse grass, flowering sub-alpine shrubs and herbs are common, even very near the peak.

Telescope House

There is an observatory at the top of Doddabetta with two telescopes available for the public. It was opened on 18 June 1983 and is run by the

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation is a state-government Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of Tamil Nadu located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has been entrusted with the promotion of tourism and development of ...

(TTDC). The average number of viewers in 2001-2002 was 3500 per day in season and 700 per day in the off season.

References

External links

Doddabetta Peak

"Doda Betta, India" on Peakbagger
{{Tourism in The Nilgiris Mountains of the Western Ghats Mountains of Tamil Nadu Two-thousanders of Asia Highest points of Indian states and union territories Geography of Ooty Tourist attractions in Nilgiris district Tourist attractions in Ooty