Nallamala Hills

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The Nallamala Hills in the distance during the dry season

The Nallamala Hills (also Nallamalai Mountains, Eng. Nallamala Hills or Nallamala Range, Telugu నల్లమల్ల కొండలు, Black Mountain ' ) are a nearly nationwide forested mountainous region in the eastern part of the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. You are south of the Krishna in the Eastern Ghats. The valleys and ridges of the area extending mainly in the direction north-south, the mountain range extends over about 430 km parallel to the eastern Coromandel coast, in the south it is bounded by the Tirupati Basin. The width of the area is about 30 km, the area of ​​about 7640 km ².

The vegetation usually corresponds to tropical deciduous forests, both dry forests and moist forests are found mixed with bushes. The climate is generally hot and dry, the maximum temperatures are between 43 ° C and 45 ° C in May, the temperatures of 8 ° C in December. The rainfall averages between 900 and 1000 millimeters.

The biodiversity of the Nallamala Hills is considered to be large. This is also true for the local fauna, in a study in 2002, 74 species of mammals and 302 bird species have been counted. Almost half of the area of ​​the Nallamala Hills is part of the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve ( 3568 km ²), the only area in Andhra Pradesh, found in the tiger. Another protected area is in this area that Gundla Brahmeshwararn Wildlife Sanctuary covers an area of 1198 km ².