The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central

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 Ca ...

( Idukki district,

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part ...

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

, Thrissur district) and span the border of western

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 ...

(

Coimbatore district Coimbatore district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, edu ...

and

Tiruppur district Tiruppur District is one of the 38 districts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, formed in 22 February 2009. Dharapuram was the largest taluk by area in the district. The district is well-developed and industrialized. The Tiruppur banian indu ...

) in Southern India. The name ''anamala'' is derived from the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

word ''aana and'' the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

word ''aanai'', meaning elephant, or from tribal languages. ''Mala'' or ''Malai'' means 'hill', and thus 'Elephant hill'. Anamudi Peak (8,842 feet (2,695 metres)) lies at the southern end of the range and is the highest peak in southern India. The Palakkad Gap is the mountain pass which divides it from 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 ...

. The northern slopes of the hills in

now have

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

and

tea plantation Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and norther ...

s(especially around

Valparai Valparai (originally known as Poonachimalai) is a Taluk and hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It consists of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWLS&NP) and ...

), as well as

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

plantations of high economic value. The rest are mostly forests, of mainly two ecoregions-the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests (mainly in

and Idukki district of Kerala, as well as Tamil Nadu) and the South Western Ghats montane rain forests(mainly in Idukki district,

). The Western Ghats and Anaimalai Sub-Cluster, including the Anaimalai Hills, are now a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

.UNESCO, World Heritage sites, Tentative lists, Western Ghats sub cluster, Niligiris. retrieved 4/20/200
World Heritage sites, Tentative lists
/ref>

Geography

The hills are located between 10° 13' and 10° 31' N. and 76° 52' and 77° 23' E with a central point of: . They are south of where the Western Ghats are broken by the Palakkad Gap, which in, turn is south of the

Nilgiri Hills 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 ...

. They border on

to the southwest and the Cardamom Hills to the southeast. To the west is the bamboo-rich Idamalayar-

Pooyamkutty Pooyamkutty is a small town in Ernakulam district, Kothamangalam Taluk, Kuttampuzha panchayat and in the Indian state of Kerala. Pooyamkutty is situated along Pooyamkutty river, a tributary of the Periyar. The nearest Municipality is Kothaman ...

valley. The

Palni Hills The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the ...

lies to the east, extending into

as the Pampadum Shola National Park. They are spread largely over

, Thrissur district,

and Idukki district of

(mainly Palakkad and Idukki),

and

. Their geological formation is metamorphic

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

, veined with

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) felds ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...

, and interspersed with reddish porphyrite. Twelve major forest types are found in the area. The landscape is fragmented by many coffee and tea plantations on the lower slopes and teak plantations higher up.

Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

rains are heavy. Annual rainfall varies from 2,000 mm to 5,000 mm in the area. Formed by fault-block movements in the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

Epoch (i.e., about the past 11,700 years), the Anaimalai Hills descend to form a series of terraces about 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) high.

Fauna

The Anamala/Anaimalai Hills are known for their abundant wildlife. Eravikulam National Park,

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is located 18 km north of Marayoor on State Highway 17 in the Marayoor and Kanthalloor panchayats of Devikulam taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala state in South India. It is one of 18 wildlife sanctuaries ...

, Idamalayar Reserve Forest, Mankulam Forest division Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, and

Anamalai Tiger Reserve Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and as Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area in the Anaimalai Hills of Pollachi and Valparai taluks of Coimbatore District and Udumalaipett ...

located among these hills are well known for

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

. The

Idamalayar Dam Idamalayar Dam is a multipurpose concrete gravity dam located at Ennakkal between Ayyampuzha and Bhoothathankettu in Ernakulam district of Kerala on the Idamalayar, a tributary of the Periyar River in Kerala, South India. The dam however ...

area is a major wildlife spot, along with

and

Aanakkulam Aanakkulam is a tourist place in Idukki district of Kerala state, India. Aanakkulam is in Mankulam Village, about 40 km away from Adimali. ''Aanakkulam'' means ''Pond of Elephants'' in local malayalam language. Elephants comes to this par ...

. This area includes various tribal villages and is protected. Numerous wildlife species can be seen including elephants,

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

es, tigers,

panther Panther may refer to: Large cats * Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. *** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in S ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation ...

pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', ''Phataginus'', and '' Smuts ...

black-headed oriole The black-headed oriole (''Oriolus larvatus'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Africa and has a very striking appearance with a bright yellow body, contrasting black head and flesh-coloured beak. Taxonomy and sy ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant me ...

s, green pigeons, civet cats, dhole, sambar,

black buck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...

, and 31 groups of endangered

lion-tailed macaque The lion-tailed macaque (''Macaca silenus''), also known as the wanderoo, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. Characteristics Lion-tailed macaques are covered in black fur, and have a striking gray or silver ...

s. Birds seen include the Pied hornbill, Red whiskered bulbul and Drongo. Recently, a new frog species, '' Beddomixalus bijui'', was found within the forest.Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India.
Zootaxa 3640 (2): 177–189.

Hydrology

There are several rivers in the area including the Chalakkudipuzha, Aliayar, Apambar, Chinnar , Kaddambarrai , Neerar, Mannambhally, Pambar River, and the Idamalayar. Most of these rivers originate in the

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 of Kerala's Ernakulam and Idukki districts, flowing mostly west towards the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

, with a few exceptions, such as the Amaravathi and Pambar, which flow into

, the Amaravathi being a tributary of the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

. There are several large reservoirs in the area, including the Aliayar Dam, Amaravathi Dam, Kaddambarrai Dam, Neerar Dam, Sholayar Dam (one of the largest of its kind in Asia), Mannambhally Dam, the

and the Parambikkulam Dam. There is a water dispute between

and

about the

due to the construction of the Neerar Dam by Tamil Nadu on the Neerar, a tributary of the Idamalayar, and thereby, visitors are now prohibited from entering the

area. Vadattupara is the last destination that one is allowed to reach on the

Bhoothathankettu Bhoothathankettu is a dam and tourist spot in Ernakulam district in Kerala, India. It is situated outside the village of Pindimana, about 10 km away from the town of Kothamangalam and 50 km away from the main city of Kochi. The ...

Road. The area is also ecologically very sensitive.

Tourism

The Anaimalai Hills are a popular trekking destination in the Western Ghats. Due to heavy rains during the wet season, the ideal time for tourism is between the months of November and May. SH-17 passes through the Anaimalai Hills, between Udumalapet and

Munnar Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...

, SH-21 passes from

Chalakudy Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Fall ...

Malakkappara Malakkappara or Malakhappara is a small hill station in in Thrissur district of the state of Kerala, India. This place is situated on the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Etymology The place gets its name from the Malayalam word ''Malak ...

. The nearest towns are Munnar,

, Mankulam, and

Kothamangalam Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency. The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...

. The nearest international airports are

Cochin International Airport Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is first of its kind which is develo ...

and

Coimbatore International Airport Coimbatore International Airport is the primary airport serving the industrial cities of Coimbatore and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighbourhood of Peelamedu, about from the center of Coimbatore. It is the 18th-bus ...

Aluva railway station Aluva railway station (Code: AWY) is a railway station in Aluva, in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala. It is an NSG 3 grade station under Thiruvananthapuram railway division. It lies in the Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section of Thiruva ...

and

Pollachi Junction railway station Pollachi Junction (station code: POY) is a historical railway junction serving the town of Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. This station is a part of the Palakkad railway division of Southern Railway Zone. After the division of Madurai division into 2, ...

are the nearest railway stations.

References

External links

{{Kerala topics Mountains of the Western Ghats Hills of Kerala Hills of Tamil Nadu Geography of Coimbatore Geography of Idukki district Tourist attractions in Idukki district