Mountains Of Heterocera
The mountain range of Heterocera are the highest mountains of the whole grid, the longest and by far they cover the largest surface from all mountain ranges. They have complex and interesting Geographic features. On the ap, they have the form of a horseshoe and they are the backbone of the Heterocera continent.
To get an idea about the size of Heterocera Mountains, they cover probably 60 sims (more then some small continents). The central mountain range crosses 26 sims and its length is 15 sims (3.84 km). Maximum Altitude can be found in here (364 to 389 meters, see below). They can be visited by multiple ways.
Geography
These mountains can be divided into 3 main regions:
Low Inner Mountains are not an official structure, but in practice they are an important feature. They form an almost vertical versance at their border with the inner plains. The VRC main railway travels exactly through this versance. This place has direct railway access, but there are also roads that follow the railway at some distance. To the exterior of the continent, they are continued with a plateau, also very good for constructions, but used mostly for parks, gardens and forests, sometimes with an incredible design.
Mountain Ridge is the bigest natural obstacle in all continents. These are the longest and the highest mountains in Second Life. No road passes from inner plains to outer plains, except along the coast. Only in East, the Mountain Railway climbs the high Pavonia Pass and allows access to Bembecia Hights. However, road 6 gives access to many mountain sims (walks at the bottom of the mountain ridge, without passing over it).
Low Outer Mountains are on the exterior side of the mountains. Unlike the inner mountains, they don't form a large plateau, but a lot of hills. In West, there are some sims without direct road or railway access, they are the most unpopulated sims in Heterocera. To East, they are full of railways and form a paradise for railroaders. The altitude slowly decrease to the coast plains.
By far, the most impressive of all are the structures found in the mittle, the central mountain range.
Central Mountain Range
This structure is highly visible between Nolidae sim in East and Athetis sim in West, as a high natural obstacle. It is continued in South even after these two sims, but it is not so impressive.
Its structure is one very complex. It can be divided in two large parts.
In East Range, altitude is unusually high. At Nolidae, it has 126 meters, but soon after that, after only two sims, it reaches 300 meters. It is not very sharp, it is easy to walk on its top, but it becomes really difficult to climb from South or North. Then, in Campion sim, there is the highest mountain. It is clearly visible as a very high place. On its top there is Castle Bella, a fortress. The mountain is also knowned as Castle Bella (even if the official name is Campion). To West, other peaks can be visible, where altitude rises above 300 meters: 357 in Campanula, 341 in Phasma and finally 302 in Plebeja. The mountains in Campanula and Phasma sims are visible on the map in North. Between them, there is a passage of 290 meters high.
Most notable is that all mountains found in East Range have a high declivity, so that it is really difficult to climb them by foot. Sometimes, it is impossible to climb in a straight line.
West Range is much lower. They are separated visible by the high mountain of Plebeja. Their altitude is usually below 200 meters. Near Plebeja, there is a maximum altitude in Astylus sim (191 meters), followed by a gap (163 meters). Other notable altitudes are 185 meters in Fucosa, 222 meters in Lota (maximum altitude in West Range) and 140 meters in Deltote. Then, altitude slowly decreases until it raches 120 meters.
In West Range, declivity is much smaller. It is more easy to climb the mountains by foot then in East. Mountain range is not as wide and it is not such an obstacle for air circulation. Even more, it ends in a forest.
Both ranges have something in common. The declivity is more pronounced on the inner side of the atoll and less pronounced on the outer side of the atoll.
Accesibility
There are multiple ways to visit the mountains. Access is possible by road, by railway or by foot. Protected Land parcels are present and allow an easy access way. Abandoned Land is also present and can be used as an alternative way to travel. Inhabited Land is usually passable, only in special cases Land With Restricted Access can be found.
Tourism
Mountains are so large that there are a few available touristic paths. A trip to these mountains can be done by train, by car, by motorbike, by horse or (more likely) by foot. It is recommended that you also have wings in some places, to get accross some parcels with restricted access. Keeping in mind that these mountains are very long, a trip might take up to an hour.
The following touristic routes are described in a similar way to that of a touristc guide.
- Touristic route 1 - mountain railway, mountain road and mountain tunnel
- Touristic route 2 - along the high peaks
- Touristic route 3 - from Burnott to Taeniatum accross the mountains
- Touristic route 4 - through Plebeja Mountain Retreat
- Touristic route 5 (border contact) - along the railway
- Touristic route 6 (border contact) - along road 3
- Touristic route 7 - ways to get to Casa Bella
- Touristic route 8 - a contact with West Range
- Touristic route 9 - a raiway trip in the South East
Tourist Route 1
This is basically the road 6 (mountain road), but with small extensions.
We will start the journey at Crenulate railway station. This is because from Crenulate starts The Mountain Railway, Crenulate - Pavonia. If you don't have a train, don't worry. Every 3 minutes there is an automated train moving on this rail. The train will start climing from Crenulate to Pavonia. There are two smaller station, Bauerhoff (German-themed) and Parantherne. From Parantherne, small rails climb up to Bembecia and Hooktip, to a gigantic railway maze. But, if you want to get your train to whistle the cold air of the mountains, just before entering Pavonia station, go right at the last junction, to Pavonia Pass. A rusted railway passes over a wood mill and a lake, on a wooden bridge. It worth a visit, even without a train. Then, it continues East until it reaches Bembecia town This is described at touristic route 9.
Now, after we seen the bridge, it's time to return to Pavonia station. Railway ends here, at a big building. But, if we continue forward, there is a rusted tractor just behind the building. A small path can be visible at right, it will take you to a village, mountain rural villages of Pavonia and Saturnia. There are many things to visit there. But we go forward and a bit to left. Soon, a country road starts to take shape. First, there are no car tracks, all is covered with grass. Then, a very damaged country road becomes visible. This is road 6, Mountain Road, that will take us closer to the mountains.
Road 6 is not a place for fast cars. It is in fact a good place to go by foot, by motorbike, by mountain bycicle, by foot or with a land rover. There are vehicle rezz zones. The road is almost entirely a country road, unpaved and unasphalted.
After we started our jurney in Nolidae, the mountains are highly visible. Declivity is so high that land becomes almost vertical. Road is fixed with wood logs and only on rare occasions with concrete. Then, at the border to Perizoma sim, road passes over a long wood bridge. Altitude here reaches 150 meters. Another long wood bridge is visible soon. We enter Campion sim. Here, a sign announces us that we are passing mount Champion, the highest mainland mountain. It is also the highest mountain of the whole grid, not only mainland. If your feet are strong enough, you can try climbing to the top (see touristic route 7, variation 1). But, more easy is to visit this mountain by touristic route 2.
Now, we continue our jurney along route 6. Between Champion and Campanula, it circles around a depression, offering a large visibility to the nearby mountains.
We pass over other bridges, where the road could not be built another way. Sometimes there are places where any traveler can stop and relax. More even, the landscapes deserve a look. From the road, anybody can see the lower inner mountains, to the railway. If we have a car, it is recommended to go slow, because the road is full with holes. Plenty of time to watch the landscape. And not only. There is a tunnel, the only road tunnel on Heterocera.
Then, in Plebeja, something changes. There is visible a path to left. It is built of concret, but without stairs. If time allows, we can walk along this path. It will take us from 140 meters to 302 meters high, but not just once. There are are multiple stops along the path. Up, on mountain top, there is Simple's Mountain Retreat. The path continues to North (see path 4).
But we continue our jurney along road 6. After leaving Plebeja sim, we enter in the Western part of the mountain range. This is visible because declivity is no longer so high. Road is here much easy built. Anykind of pavement ends here. The road is covered with grass. This is a pleasant surprise if you ride a horse, a much softer ground. Trees are all around near the road. From place to place, we can find a log to sit on and relax our feet. We will walk a long distance on this smooth pavement, until things will change. On left, columns of marble are visible, while on right the mountains are much smaller. Here, you can climb them to the top of the mountain range at any moment to take a picture. Then, for a small sector, road is paved, but not as large as required for a trunk to drive.
Nature lovers will have another surprise: Sometimes, the road is passed by some sort of bugs and even by rats that soon vanish inside the lush vegetation that has a tendince to block the road.
All changes in Athetis sim. Here starts a long wall. It has 11 sims length (2.8 km) and passes through 13 sims. It has no official name, but can be named Great Heterocera Wall after the much longer Great Chinese Wall. This long wall has a very long inner tunnel. The road enters directly in the tunnel and for a long distance we are surrounded by massive blocks of stone. If you have wings, you can fly to the top of the wall, where is a road. On the top, it looks like on the Great Chinese Wall, only that this one is larger and more shorter. From the bottom, there are holes from place to place. These holes allow a traveler to enter in a hidden chamber and then to exit the wall at its base. We must walk with caution because at sim crossing it is possible to fall between the stones.
The wall ends in Horisme sim. There is an Egyptean temple, with statues and paints. If we walk through the tunnel, it ends into a block of stone. To right, there is a hole that allows access to the temple, 5 meters above ground. If we come by walking above the wall, there is a swiming pool above the temple. We stay a bit to admire the temple, then we walk forward, on the stairs. There are a few pigeons on the stairs that explode when touched.
If you wish to walk along touristic path 1 from West to East, here you have two ways: 1. Enter the temple, then fly through the hole in the right wall. 2. Fly on top of the temple to the swiming pool and take the road from there. If you search the temple, there is a way to enter to an underground chamber, but not to a road.
From the temple, we can continue our jurney on a road. Take the road to left. It will take us through a plateau and some hills to Neumogen railway station. This is a classic, paved, Heterocera road, called Robin Loop. Our jurney ends at Neumogen station. If we walked slowly, it took us more then a SL day.
Tourist Route 2
This is the central mountain range of Heterocera. Almost no roads exist here.
This route is recommended only for those who have strength enough to walk large distances. flying is also required for small distances, so better take some wings inside your package. Parts of this route are common with the first one. This is the best way to get a full contact with the high mountains this continent has.
So, we start our jurney again in Crenulate railway station and we follow the rail to Pavonia and then to Nolidae. This is common with route 1. Now, once we entered Nolidae sim, the mountain range starts to be visible. First, it is very small, but then it grows up to a large mountain. We start to climb by foot or by horse. No vehicle can take us forward here. The mountain range is very sharper in here, but it will get larger. First, it is very easy to get accross parcels of abandoned land. Then, an entity orb forces us to fly fast and in 15 seconds to get to an empty place. Altitude grows higher then 200 meters. Nolidae mountain rises to 214 meters. A path allows some access and there are a few sheeps around here. In sim Brocade, a path allows access to right, to road 3 (this path is marked by the presence a green alien). In that point altitude is 270 meters and there is an alien where the road ends on the mountain range. Altitudes start to raise above 300 meters.
Here, Campion/Castle Bella mountain is visible and also there is visible a larger structure on top of the mountain. The official name of the mountain is Campion, but the structure on top of the mountain is named Castle Bella. To enter it, we must walk on the left side, with caution not to fall from the mountain. It will be difficult to climb back. The mountain is 364 meters high, but the castle tower rises up to 389 meters. Access in the castle yard is opened for public, but the doors of the castle are locked. There is no problem for us; we take the wings and fly to the top of the tower. The mountain is so high, that nothing is visible down, around the mountain. No building, only ground texture is visible. There are 240 meters to down. The mountain range inside Campion sim is clearly visible. To right, there is visible something like a skybox, with Water, like a swiming pool. On one end, it is in contact with the mountain, but on the other end it is suspended in air. We stay a while to admire the landscape.
From Castle Bella, we continue our jurney along the mountain range. Altitude drops, but not below 300 meters. Soon, we enter Spinach sim. Here, highest altitude is 314 meters. Then, we continue to Campanula, walking along the top of the mountain. In Campanula, there is an important orientation point. A high peak has 357 meters. On its top, there is the highest tree in Second Life, some sort of Sequoia Giganteum. Its top is cut, but still has an altitude of 426 meters. This gives the tree a heigth of 69 meters. From here, we can go left, down, following touristic route 3, to the inner side of the atoll. But we continue following the mountain range.
Another mountain rises, but its altitude could not be measured thanks to some ban lines. It must have around 330 meters. Then, we meet a gap in the mountain range. This is the first placee where altitude drops below 300 meters (actually 290 meters). This is visible on the map inside Phasa sim. From here, if we go right, down, we enter touristic route 3, down to Burnett railway station. From here, we continue our jurney, climbing the high peak in Phasa. Here, altitude rises to 341 meters. There is an airport here, on top of the mountain. It makes no problem for a traveler, there is enough Unused Land on right side.
Landscape is beautifull here. So, it worths a break. After that, we start again our trip. Altitude drops below 200 meters and then rises to 302 meters. This is inside sim Plebeja. Simple's Mountain Retreat is the placee where we meet touristic route 4. This is a place where everybody is welcome. Roads allow access in left to road 6 (touristic route 1) and in right to down the mountain base. They are not actually roads, but paths built with concrete (without stairs). Along them, there are many place where a tired traveler can relax and rest. Also, this is the point where altitude drops, where East Range and West Range meet. To continue our travel, we must use the map and go West, the mountain range is not very visible.
Altitude drops to 191 meters in Astylus sim, the next sim. Differences are very visible. The West Range has lower altitudes. Declivity is smaller, so it is more easy to get down from the mountains and return here. There is a gap in Fucosa sim (163 meters), then altitude rises to 222 meters in Lota.
In Lota and the following sims, there are a few parcels with restricted access. If we try to walk on right side, it is a big misstake. Ban lines will force us to walk more and more to North, until we meet road 3. A better way is to go left, to road 6. About 200 to 300 meters are less accessible. There are also buildings on top of the mountains.
Soon after this, there are two sims: Deltote and Athetis. Altitude drops to 140 meters. road 6 is visible to left and is so close, that it becomes very easy to leave the mountain range and walk directly on the road. The mountain range becomes so small, that it becomes a low hill. The last hundred meter is covered by a forest.
In Athetis, we leave the mountain range and enter Great Heterocera Wall (see touristic route 1). If you want to follow the mountain range, it is not difficult, it still follows 200 meters the wall. From here, touristic route 1 will take us back to the railway, at Neumogen station.
Tourist Route 3
This way we can travel from Burnott railway station to Taeniatum station, accross the mountains. Part of it can be done by land rover (not speed cars), almost all can be done by horse or motorcycle, but the mountains can be climbed only by foot or with the help of a trained, healthy horse. This route includes no road, only some abandoned land parcels and some inhabited land, where the residents allow visitors to enter.
Our jorney starts in north, on the new Great North Railway. Take the train to Burnott station. From here, the best way is to walk by foot or bt horse. Basically, the way to go is South, but it is not required to fix a destination on the map. Just try to get to the highest point. The railway station is at 61 meters high. To South, altitude rises gradually. There is a large and long slice of abandoned land. There are many hills. Always, try only to get to the highest point you see. Soon, we enter the sim Muslin. Altitude rises gradually to 122 meters, on a plateau full with slopes. Then, in Muslin, the mountains start to become visible.
We continue our jurney from Muslin, to meet with road 3 (will be discussed about it as the touristic route 6). We leave the road behind us. The mountains are highly visible now. Soon, we start to climb.
It doesn't matter exactly at what point we start to climb. Almost all this mountain side is abandoned land. It is a difficult climb. Declivity is higher then 70%, so sometimes we need to turn left and right. Climbing in a straight line is really difficult. Don't stop or you will fall back.
After a killing climb, we will reach the top somewhere between Spinach and Phasma (depends). It is not so important where exactly. If you decide to go backwords, the gap in Phasma is the place to go down, then go straight ahead to get to Burnott or Yucca railway station. Here, on the top of the mountains, we meet touristic path 2.
To continue, we go left (East) along the mountains, until we reach the Campanula sim and its mountain. On its top, there is the highest tree in Second Life (described at route 2). From here, following route 2, you can get to Campion/Castle Bella, to the highest mountain. But we continue out jurney.
From the tree in Campanula, we go South (right), down from the mountain. This way, we avoid a few buildings. From place to place, there are terraces that prevent us from free falling. It is easy to go down. We will meet road 6 (touristic route 3) very soon, near the bottom of our fall. There is a place for resting our tired feet near the road.
Then, we leave the road behind and continue forward, through a plateau with some slopes. Somewhere in front of us railway-themed things are visible, including a train and a water tank. That is the sign that a railway is close. And exactly that is. The plateau ends and the railway is in front of us. The low inner mountains of Heterocera are visible, the railway is built just through them. Now, if we follow the railway, to left there is Taeniatum station (closer) and to right there is Sagitatta station.
If you decide to go backwords, the place to start is the halfway between Taeniatum and Sagitatta. Go straight forward to reach the mountains, then start climbing. The problem is that you won't get exactly to that tree.
Tourist Route 4
This route is through Simple's Mountain Retreat, Plebeja. It can be done by foot, not by horse of by vehicle. Almost entire way is through roads and paths.
Our jurney starts at the train station Lapara. This station is placed, like majority of main line stations, inside the Low Inner Mountains of Heterocera. Altitude is 91 meters and you can see to South the massive altitude change to the inner Heterocera plains. From the train station, there are stairs that allow visitors to enter into a beautiful garden. A path will take our steps to a Japanese shirne.
After this small break, we continue our jurney, climbing the mountains. It is recommended to not go forward, but forward-right, to avoid an obstacle. Soon, road 6 (see touristic path 1) is visible. Climbing becomes very hard. Access to the road requires a bit of flying. To left, there is a tunnel, to right, a long bridge. If you go stright forward from the train station, you get stocked at the tunnel, without meeting the road.
Now, we turn left (West), following the road through the tunnel. We have to walk along the road until we meet Plebeja sim. A beautiful waterfall can be seen to right, water is flowing then beneath the road. Then, we meet to right a path built of wood, without stairs, climbing on the mountain. This is our way. We can rest a bit at the intersection. We leave the road behind and start climbing from altitude 143 meters.
A waterfall is visible from the path. We keep following it. Then, at altitude 184 meters, the path ends at a large terrace. This is The Lowgarden. Huge trees stay on guard around us and mountain vegetation is everywhere. Here, we can stay a while and refresh our powers, drink fresh water or heat ourselves at a campfire, before starting climbing again. On the oposite end of the terrace, another wooden path allows us to climb.
Again, at 226 meters, we meet a terrace, this one is The Midgarden. Mountain vegetation is present here too. A waterfall is in front of us. To left, a fountain is welcomed for thirsty people. To right, there is a place to take a nap.
Keep climbing until we get to 262 meters, at The Topgarden. Again, here we have a place to take a seat and to relax. The garden extends to left.
From here, another path is visible to right, made of concrete and circleing around a central concrete pile. It goes both up and down. If you decide to go down, it will take your steps to 222 meters high, to a platform full with gifts. More then 300 free items await here. This place is simply called Welcome. If you go up, at 282 meters you will find a fountain near a waterfall, in a place called The Balcony. Then, we continue our climbing up to 302 meters high in TopFloor. Here is a nice place to relax, looking like a wooden restaurant. This is also a smoking friendly place with a gigantic statue of a pipe. On top of the restaurant, you can go free hanggliding. Now, we are really on top. From here, we can continue climbing the mountain, following tourist path 2, to Lapara airport and then to Campion/Castle Bella mountain.
Now, we return to the low garden. Here, once we finished entered the garden, we don't continue following the stairs down to road 6. We just go North, entering parcels of abandoned land. Here are the low outer mountains, they look more like hills. A few problems will be close to the road, where some ban lines force us to fly. We will reach road 3, close to the intersection with 3A (touristic path 6). Here, our jurney ends, at an altitude of 120 meters. It is difficult to continue our jurney to North and reach the terminal railway station Yucca by simple walking accross the hills.
Tourist Route 5
Along the railway, Heterocera Inner Small Mountains. For this route, it is a good option to have a train. If not, don't worry. Trains can be obtained for free in many places. This trip can be done also by walking, by car (yes, cars and motorbikes can use the railway, even tanks did) or by horse. But, the best is to use a train. A good place to get your own train is in Tuliptree, first station and Virtual Railway Consortium headquaters. Railway 1 (or the main railway) is the best way to get contact with the inner mountains. It starts in Tuliptree and ends in Bhaga or Busiris, but now we will talk only about the mountain sector of this rail.
We will start our jurney in Neumogen railway station, a station with a unique design. Across the rail, you can see a road climbing to a plateau. That road can take you to touristic routes 1, 2 and 6. Altitude is 65 meters. It is visible that here starts the mountains. If you look South, along the railway, everything gradually turns into a plain, but if you look North, the highlands are visible next to the rail.
Just after a few meters, we notice the presence of a high plateau in left. The rail starts climbing slowly. We enter Imperial sim, where a small branch detaches 100 meters to right. Then, we arrive to Achemon, a Japanese-themed station. Here, it is visible the altitude difference between left and right. We can see all buildings and gardens in right, but to see what is in left, we have to stop and climb a bit. At the end of Achemon sim there is a green building to right, House Of Freedom. Then, comes a double sim crossing. A good idea is to slow down, even to stop here, to avoid sim crashing. This is also the start point for touristic path 7. Just after the crash zone, there is a small station, Tiger Depot. If you crashed your train, here you can rezz another one.
Next station is Obscure, with altitude 81 meters. If you stop, close to the station there is Zoltar, who can predict your future. Next station is Rivata. The fact that the railway is build on the mountains (not quite on top of them) allows us to see far to the sea. Next station is Epirrhoe. At the enter in this sim, there is a small tunnel. The railway is double between Epirrhoe and Jodis.
After passing Jodis, some peaks are visible also on the right side of the rail. One of the most interesting one is inside Ribeata. A short rail detaches to right and enters inside a mountain, where it separates in two. This is the result of a mining operation. This is a place that worths visiting, even if that means to leave the train and take the next one from Jubata. The entire mine can be visited by train. Then, between Jubata and Sinica, there is another sector with doubled railway, where another mountain peak is at the right side of the rail.
Following sim, Torva, offers another pleasant surprise for visitors: a long railway bridge. Here, from some distance to the mountain wall, we can see it more clear. After the bridge comes Spini station, a place where we can stop a second. After Spini, the inner plain is much thinner then before, so the sea is clearly visible and also the road that gives access to the plain. Some close buildings are also visible to left, on top of the mountain. And so, we get to Athetis, where wooden stairs invite us to leave the railway. But if we continue our jurney forward, we get soon in Parva, where the flat terrain used for rail constuction becomes more narrow and the train moves slowly between trees.
Next station is Euclidia, where altitude reaches 91 meters. Here, the station has two lines, so trains can wait one each other. Altitude being much higher, landscape is more interesting. Small Lunalis station marks the enter in a new sector with double line. We are closer to the top of the low mountains, so the buildings and gardens are more visible. Then, at Fucosa, the huge central mountain range becomes visible. Their best visibility is in Plebeja sim. From time to time, the high plateaus are visible from the train. And so, we find ourselves at Lapara station, the place where touristic route 4 starts, to Simple's Mountain Retreat. Altitude remains high even in the next sim, Arches. We make a small stop at Foxglove station, where a lot of platforms are visible in the air.
Next sim, Sagitatta, takes us deeper inside the plateau for a while. Here, between Sagitatta and Taeniatum stations, touristic route 3 ends, taking us over the mountains and far to Burnott railway station. Taeniatum station has a nice place to rest, where you can get something to dring and also you can get free cigarettes. At Taeniatum, we meet touristic paths 4 and 7 (variation 1). Forests and gardens are visible on left, while on right the inner plain is visible from above. Immidae is next sim, where to right the ground wall is almost vertical. Beware not to fall. Between Immidae and Sabre there is a double sim crossing that can cause trains to crash. Please, reduce speed or even stop. Most visible thing in Sabre is a crystal close to the railway. Altitude starts to drop. Clearwing is the next sim, with an interesting station placed at the border of 4 sims. Drive with caution here or your train will be in risk of crash caused by multiple sim crossing.
In Crenulate, things are starting to change. Land declivity is not like before. Land is more smooth here. And at the border between Crenulate and Burnet sim, there is Crenulate station. From here, a railway (Mountain Railway) is visible to left. It can take us up to Pavonia station, common way for routes 1 and 2.
Now, we continue our jurney South, along the mountains. At Burnett station, rail climbs to the plateau, at 99 meters high, maximum altitude for the main line. We will find ourselves close to a railway maze. And like a big surprise, to left, other mountains are visible. They are not part of the central mountain ridge. They will be better described at touristic route 9. They are more and more closer to us, while we stop for a second at Pini station, to take possible passengers. Next sim, Agirus, looks similar to the sims on the West side of the continent, that we visited first, with mountains to left and the plain to right. Now, we have to slow down, because between Agirus and Agila there is a double sim crossing. After the modern Agila station, platforms are again in air above the plain.
And so, we enter Celerio, where the line is double for a small sector. Here, the mountains make their last try to show their beauty. And so, we pass Velox and Tenera sims. A gigantic robot is in fact station Tenera. This is our final stop, at altitude 83 meters. If we continue, next station is Crumbi Junction, the connection to the railways in North. From here, the rail continues through plains all the way to Bhaga and Busiris.
Tourist Route 6
This is a more easy route and can entirelly be done by car. If you have a motorbike or a horse, still it's a good transportation way. Also, it is possible to travel by foot (even if it will take a wile). The route is only on roads, just in the last sector there is an opportunity to continue the route by train. It is not a mountain road, in fact it goes close to the mountains, allowing drivers to take a distant look.
The best way not to get lost, is that every time you find a crossroads, take the one to right.
We start our jurney at Neumogen railway station and follow the same way to Horisme, described at path 1 (a paved road known as Robin Loop). Then we continue to walk along the road. From 116 meters high, we will get to 90 meters in Hector sim. The mountains are visible to right. Then, we meet another road, Mock Heather Road. Then, at Notata sim, there is water visible to left. It is not the ocean, just an endorheic lake that streaches in 4 sims. Altitude continues to drop and in Sabra, we are at 82 meters high.
We are in the center of the outer low mountains. They are small, more lime hills, but still very complex, with many slopes. Vegetation is also present, there are many trees. soon, we enter in a rural community. Heterocera is the most populated continent and this part has a high population density. Houses and gardens are all along the road.
Then, in Tethea sim, there is a river. Close to the road bridge, to left, there is a dam. Altitude continues to drop and in Or sim we are only 76 meters high. A road is visible to left, we go right. In next sim, Eson, there are parcels of abandoned land. Here, we can look further away to left, far to the seaside. To right, the small Western mountain range is visible. Next, we find a new intersection and we go right. We enter road 2 and reach the lowest altitude until now: 56 meters, after passing over a river, in Siona sim. It then falls to 46 meters. We are in the middle of outer low mountains, with low altitudes, not too high declivities and a lot of beautifull landscapes. Even forests are here, from place to place.
Then, in Albulata, the road leaves the mountains and gets more to West, closer to the seaside. Here, we can see the ocean to left and to right the low outer mountains are visible. We are just near them. In Emmelia, altitude drops to 31 meters and a road is visible to left. Palm trees can be seen and other tropical vegetation forms. We can only see the low mountains from nearby, even if the road takes us over two rivers with sharp valleys.
All this changes when we reach Congrua sim. Here, a road is visible to right. This is road 3, a modern, asphalted road, illuminated and in some contrast with the rustic paved road 3 we were on. This way, we climb fast to 95 meters high. Here, we are on top of the low mountains. Just like at the inner low mountains, there is a large plateau here. Road 3 offers a high diversity of landscapes. The outer mountains are smooth and usually the road follows the plateaus, but this place is amazing thanks to the high density of buildings and vegetation. From place to place, abandoned land can be found. Then, in Riggings, we find an intersection (we follow the road to right, the road to left will take us closer to the seaside). Again, in Carmine, there is a junction to a road (3A) to right. This is the only time we don't go right. If we go right here, we will pass through many sims and stop at a postal office. Might sound strange, but our trip will end in Jeogeot, see the full trip in Mountains Of Jeogeot. This road takes us closer to the mountains, but it ends at some point. From here, altitude rises to 120 meters. We can find touristic route 4 here, that will take us to Simple's Mountain Retreat and then South to the railway. From here, the high mountains in the West Range are visible. Another intersection is in Cisseps (again we turn right). From place to place, we stop to see the beauty of the high mountains. Buildings are more often found on left side. Then, in Muslin, we find a place where abandoned land is often find. This is the place where we meet touristic route 3. Another intersection exists in Muslin, with a road that goes to the seaside.
In Brocade sim, we are as close as possible to Campion/Castle Bella. That is at the border to Dagger sim, where a dark-blue building hosts a round mirror. Go right and forward (see touristic route 7, variation 3). Altitude remains constatn, 118 meters. The central mountain range is highly visible to right, while in left visibility is limited to the high numbers of buildings.
Modern road ends in Epirrita sim. From here, our jurney will be continued on a paved road like majority of roads are in Heterocera. Here, trees are found more often along the road side and mountains come closer to us. But these are the low mountains, not the central mountain range. The next sim is called Serpentata and then we enter Pavonia. From here, we can turn right (by foot, not by car) and go through tne buildings to Pavonia railway station. Near the enter to Saturnia sim, the railway is visible to right. It takes us through Pavonia Pass. Also, with a horse, motorbike or a land rover, we can follow the railway further to Pavonia station. There, at the railway station, we can meet touristic routes 1 and 2.
From Saturnia, the road continues along a railway through Bembecia and finally reaches Tussok train station. There are multiple roads to left and right and many urban buildings, Bembecia is after all a town. There is no way to continue our jurney by car forward, but with the help of a train we can continue from Tussok.
If you decide to continue the travel by train, you will soon see that to left there is a low plain. You are in fact on the Outer Low Mountains. Here, it becomes clearly visible. To right, small mountains are still visible. At Pawpaw, there is an intersection to another railway that goes right (see touristic path 9 for this). If you continue the trip, soon you will reach Tenera and Crumbi stations, the end point for touristic route 5. All route between Bembecia and Pawpaw, altitude remains at 118 meters, to left there is a visible altitude change to the outer plain and to right there are small mountains visible. Then, in Anilis sim, the railway goes down from the mountains, using a long bridge. For 200 meters, a small rail still follows the mountains to Cortago wood mill. Altitude reaches 100 meters in Anilis station, where we meet the North coast Railway. We see the new town of Gluphisia and finally we go down along the hills of Webworm, to reach the railway stations, at an altitude of 83 meters.
Tourist Route 7
These are shorter ways to get to Campion/Castle Bella, the highest mountain of the entire grid. This mountain must be the bigest challenge for every virtual alpinist. You need to have strong feet and climbing equipment. It is almost impossible to climb this with the use of a vehicle, even a horse will find it too difficult. Here are described a few ways to climb this huge mountain.
1. Climbing from South. The closest railway station is Taeniatum. There are stairs that invite us up, deeper into the low mountains. They will take us in fact into a desert place with palm trees, from where, to get furward, we will need to use our wings a bit. Another way is to try another way, more to right. Both ways will take us to the mountain road (road 6, described at touristic path 1). It is a bit difficult to get up to the road, but not impossible. Now, once we reached the road, we should be in Campion sim. If not, we walk a bit to left along the road until we enter Campion sim. Here, we look for a big poster, saying: You are travelling around Mount Campion, highest point on mainland SL. To get to the mountain top, we go stright up. Climbing is difficult. Some places cannot be climbed by just walking forward, we need to continue switch left-right while climbing. From place to place, there are small places with smoother terrain, where we can rest for a second, see the landscape arount and then take a picture. We cannot stop elsewhere because declivity is too high and we will start falling. This way, we will slowly get to the castle on top of the mountain.
2. From North. This is possible from Herald sim, route 3 (touristic route 6) but the only way to do it is by flying. There are buildings all over the place and also ban lines. Not recommended. If you choose to go this way, you will not see many interesting landscapes and for sure you won't feel the pleasure of a great trip.
3. A nice way down, to North. From Castle Bella, we go East, along the main mountain range. This will take us down to Brocade sim, at 272 meters altitude. If we continue forward, we will get to Pavonia, as described on touristic path 2. But we stop when we see an alien in the middle of the mountain. The nice green alien is just where a road ends. We follow this concrete road to left, going North. There are places to stop and rest along the road and at some point there is even a shop. There, pink paths can take you to left. But, at some point, the road will end. We continue forward until we get to road 3 (see touristic path 6). If you wish to start the jurney from route 3, just at the border between Dagger and Brocade. There is a dark-blue building with a round mirror inside.
Tourist Route 8
This will take us deep inside the South-West low mountains. It is made for walking. Vehicles are not recommended. To continue the last part, it is recommended that you have a boat. It will take us from the shores of the outer lake over the mountains.
We can start the jurney in Modest sim, at the shore. Altitude is low (20 meters) and we are in the inner plain. We just leave the ocean behind and go straight forward, to reach the mountains that are highly visible in front of us. The plain is highly populated, so it will be a bit difficult for us to find a way through the buildings, but it is not impossible. A bit of flying should be required. Then, we will reach road 1. This road is close to the separation line between the inner plain and the low inner mountains and runs almost paralell to the railway. Altitude is 35 meters here and from this point we have to climb. Here, we will see a lot of green buildings and a green railway. This is the Second Life Geography Institute, surrounced by Achemon Railway, built in remember of the old WARR line. From here, get to the main railway, at an altitude of 74 meters. To left, there is Achemon railway station, to right there is the tiny station Tiger Depot (more information about the railway is at touristic path 5). Now, we get to the green building (house of freedom, home of homeless avatars). We have multiple optins here. Just forward, if we cross the railway, there are the fabulos Zen Gerdens Of Achemon, at an average altitude of 105 meters. They are on the plateau that is found on the top of the low inner mountains. A bit to right, there are other gardens, in Vine sim. This includes a snowland, a place permanently covered with snow. We will get to a maximum altitude of 113 meters.
Then, no matter what path we choose, we will get to Robin Loop, a road described at touristic routes 1, 2 and 6. If we continue forward, we will enter Royal, the only sim in Heterocera that is owned by a rental corporation. All this sim is flat and unpopulated on ground, looking like many places from less populated continents. In fact, the residents are not on ground, but in skyboxes. Then, we see a lot of buildings in front of us, a sign that a road is nearby. And exactly that is what we see. We found our way between buildings to reach another road called Robin Loop. We are now in Juanita sim, at an altitude of 81 meters.
Forward, border of the outer low mountains is visible and they are followed by water. That is not the ocean, but a lake connected to the ocean through a channel. The old West Atoll Railroad once went through here, but now there is nothing left but abandoned land. Even so, we can see the beauty of this landscapes, the mountains ending at the water shore. Access is possible on parcels where the owners allow visitors to come. Finally, we reach the water surface of Lake Grote.
A big surprise is that this lake is elevated. Water level is at 50 meters, not 20 like the oceanic water. And if you like diving, on the bottom of the lake there are many surprises, including ruins and submarines. There are wrecked ships to explore! Now, if you like, we can continue our jurney along Grote River that forms in this lake. Somewhere in South there is a huge waterfall, then the river flows in the ocean.
Tourist Route 9
This is a railway trip to the South-East mountains. The main advantage of this sector is that access is very easy by train. This way we will visit the mountains that are visible from the main railway (see touristic route 5) after we left the East Mountain Range behind.
Our jurney starts at railway station Pavonia, common point for touristic routes 1 and 2. Here, we can rezz a train anytime. From Pavonia station (129 meters) we go down the railway a bit, until we enter Parantherne station (119 meters). There, we put our train on reverse and start climbing, up to 130 meters, to Pavonia Pass. A long wooden bridge holds the rusted railway. Specia precautions should be taken, like don't use overheavy trains and reduce speed to minimum. Below us, there is a lake and a lot of mountain small railways are used to transport wood. We are in the middle of the mountains and vegetation is anywhere.
Soon, we arrive at Saturnia, where we meet touristic route 6 (a road left to us). Then, we continue our jurney on railway. Altitude is 121 meters. Then, we enter Bembecia. Bere, there is a railway to right and we go right, to enter Bembecia - Hooktip railway maze. Land here has a maximum altitude of about 130 meters. Here, on top of the mountains, there is a wide plateau full with railways and even a bridge that will take us to 144 meters high, the highest point on our jurney. If we walk over the bridge, we will finally get to Hooktip station, at 136 meters high. From here, we can see to right, down, the Mountain Railway that connects Pavonia with Crenulate. A small brench connects this line with Hooktip maze.
It is complicated to get out of Hooktip by train to Leafroller and not entering the mountain railway, but not impossible. Once we do this, we discover that land declivity is high around us. We go South. Left to us, there are hills and plateaus with altitudes of 136 meters, right to us there are other plateaus with altitude of 110 meters (and the main railway further to right). In Lappett, there is under construction a branch that will connect this rail with the main railway (don't expect to be finished soon, it is underconstruction for an year) <note I wrote this in December 2013>. Altitude will remain 119 meters until we arrive to Pawpaw station. This is the point where the low mountains in left vanish. Here, we meet touristic path 6. We can continue our jurney along the railway down to Tenera and Crumbi stations, to join with touristic path 1.
Note
There are many ways to visit Heterocera and its mountains. These touristic routes are just suggestions that will take you a lot closer to the beauty of the continent. They were tested and as December 2013 they proved to be good ways yo explore.
Also note that, over time new constructions will appear and the old ones will vanished. So, it is possible that at some point buildings will exist where now is abandoned land and also inhabited land cound become abandoned.
To South-West, the coast is very high and looks like mountains. There are many interesting features, all listed in Heterocera Outer Waters.