Mukurthi Peak is one of the highest peaks in the Western Ghats, situated on the border of

Udagamandalam 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 sou ...

taluk, Nilgiris,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, Nilambur taluk,

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

, and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

in India. It reaches an altitude of 2,554 m (8,379ft), and is the fifth-highest peak in South India.

Geography

The western slope of the hill sits astride the Kerala/Tamil Nadu border. It has many cliffs ranging from 500 m to 2,500 m. Part of Mukurthi is situated within Malappuram district, which is the third-highest point in Kerala, after Anaimudi (2,696 m) and Meeshapulimala (2,651 m). The peak can only be accessed through

Nilgiri 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 Ke ...

. The Mukurthi peak is said to resemble a "pointed nose." Mukurthi peak is part of

Mukurthi National Park Mukurthi National Park (MNP) is a protected area located in the western corner of the Nilgiris Plateau west of Ootacamund hill station in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu state in the Western Ghats mountain range of South India. The park was ...

(Nilgiri Tahr National Park), in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Mukurthi is covered with shola (patches of stunted tropical montane forest (found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India), including pine, grasslands and shrublands. Its habitat is favorable for Asian elephants, tigers, and

Nilgiri Tahr The Nilgiri tahr (''Nilgiritragus hylocrius'') is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the state animal of Tami ...

. Mukurthi National Park is situated between the Mudumalai National Park and the Silent Valley National Park.

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 so ...

is the nearest town (30 km away). Pichalbetta (2,544 m) and Nilgiri hill are the most prominent peaks adjacent to this area, and Mukurthi Dam is also nearby.

Surroundings

Many streams drain into

Bhavani River Bhavani is an Indian river which flows through Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It originates from the Western Ghats of Kerala and is one among the 3 rivers of Kerala which flows in eastward direction. Hydrography Bhavani river or ...

. Among the peaks inside the National Park, the highest are Kolaribetta (2,630m), together with Mukurthi Peak (2,556m) and Nilgiri Peak (2,477m. Southwest of Mukurthi lies Silent Valley National Park, and to its west the land falls steeply to 2,000 m in the Amarabalam Forest. The area under monoculture forestry in Mukurthi is comparatively less than Nilgiris district, and consists mainly of '' Acacia mearnsii'', ''Eucalyptus'' ''globulus'' and '' Pinus patula''. The vegetation is either Southern Montane Wet Temperate Forest (shola), grassland and plantation. Pristine shola patches can be seen throughout the park, generally at the heads of streams in the folds of converging slopes. These forests support a variety of flora and fauna. This IBA site is among the richest regions of plant biodiversity, with many endemic orchids and other plant groups. Grasslands in Mukurthi are common and form a mosaic with shola. They are a mixture of ''Chrysopogon'', ''Ischaemum'', ''Dicanthium'', ''Andropogon'', Eragrostis and ''Panicum'' species. The ecological status of these grasslands is debated.

Wildlife

Mukurthi hosts many species of wildlife: * Nilgiris tahr *

Sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...

* Barking deer * Nilgiris marten *

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

* Jungle Cat * Jackal * Laughing thrushes * Whistling thrushes *

Woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

* Wood pigeon *

Black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South ...

* Blue Admiral * Indian Red Admiral * Indian Cabbage white

References

Mountains of the Western Ghats Two-thousanders of Asia {{TamilNadu-geo-stub