The Western Ghats

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Overview

Welcome to the lush Western Ghats, some of the most precious heat relief in India. Rising like an impassable bulwark of evergreen and deciduous tangle, from north of Mumbai to the tip of Tamil Nadu, the World Heritage–listed Ghats (with an average elevation of 915m) contain 27% of India’s flowering plant species and an incredible array of endemic wildlife. In Tamil Nadu they rise to over 2000m in the Palani Hills around Kodaikanal and the Nilgiris around Ooty. British influence lingers a little stronger up in these hills, where colonialists built 'hill stations' to escape the sweltering plains and covered slopes in neatly trimmed tea plantations. It’s not just the air and (relative) lack of pollution that’s refreshing – there’s a certain acceptance of quirkiness and eccentricity here. Expect organic farms, handlebar-moustached trekking guides and leopard-print earmuffs.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Anamalai Tiger Reserve

The Western Ghats

A pristine 958-sq-km reserve of tropical jungle, shola forest and grassland rising to 2400m in the Western Ghats and spilling over into Kerala between…

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

The Western Ghats

In the foothills of the Nilgiris, this newly enlarged 765-sq-km wildlife reserve is like a classical Indian landscape painting given life, with chital…

St Stephen’s Church

Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

Perched above Ooty's centre, immaculate pale-yellow St Stephen’s, built in 1829, is the Nilgiris' oldest church. It has lovely stained glass, huge wooden…

Botanical Gardens

Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

Established in 1848, these pretty 22-hectare gardens are a living gallery of the Nilgiris' natural flora. Keep an eye out for a typical Toda mund (village…

Tribal Research Centre Museum

Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

If you're interested in the Nilgiris' tribal communities you'll love this slightly scruffy, erratically open museum, with its fascinating exhibits on…

Nilgiri Library

Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

This quaint little haven in a crumbling, earthy-red 1867 building houses more than 30,000 books, including rare titles on the Nilgiris and hill tribes,…

Elephant Camp

The Western Ghats

In mornings and evenings you can see the reserve's working elephants being fed at the elephant camp just east of the Mudumalai reception centre, where you…

Sullivan Memorial

The Western Ghats

Just 2km north of Kotagiri centre, the house built in 1819 by Ooty founder John Sullivan has been refurbished in bright red and filled with fascinating…

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