Palni Hills

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Palani Hills near Kodaikanal

The Palani Hills (English Palni Hills Palani Hills or, Tamil: பழனி மலை ) are a mountain range in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills eastern foothills of the Western Ghats. The name of the area derives from the temple town of Palani, which is located north of the mountain range.

Geography

The Palani Mountains lie to the west of Tamil Nadu and protrude from the main ridge of the Western Ghats to the east in the surrounding lowlands beginning. North of the mountains lies the Kongu Nadu region, a flat plateau in the southwest mountains break quite steeply to Kambam Valley. In the west the Anaimalai Mountains close to.

The Palani Hills extend over 70 km in east-west direction, from north to south is 23 kilometers. The area is over 2000 square kilometers. The highest peak is the Vandaravu with 2553 meters above sea level. Like other mountain ranges in the southern part of the Western Ghats pass the Palani Hills of Precambrian gneisses, charnockites and schists and are thus one of the oldest mountain ranges of India. The vegetation ranges from dry deciduous forests to humid - temperate zones.

The Palani Hills are for the most part of the territory of the district of Dindigul. The largest city in the mountains is Kodaikanal.

Ecology

The Palani Hills were for many years due to their relatively poor accessibility of an area with great biodiversity and the refuge of many species. That has changed in recent years. The vast grasslands of the high plains was replaced by monocultures and were introduced tree species growing fast. A big problem is the huge number of tourists and the waste caused thereby, in particular in the area of the main town Kodaikanal. To counteract these processes, the Palni Hills Conservation Council was established in 1985. Also, there is the proposal to expel a portion of the Palali Mountains as a national park or nature reserve.