Anaimalai Hills, Location, Highest Peak, Biodiversity Conservation

Anaimalai Hills are also known as the Elephant Hills. They are one of the most important mountain ranges of the southern Western Ghats. These hills are located along the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border and are known for their rich biodiversity, dense forests, high peaks, river catchments and elephant corridors. The region also supports major protected areas, plantation landscapes and important water resources. As part of the Western Ghats and Anaimalai Sub Cluster, the hills are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their outstanding ecological importance.

Anaimalai Hills 

The names of Anaimalai Hills- “Anaimalai” or “Anamala” means “Elephant Hills.” It is derived from the Tamil word “aanai” and the Malayalam word “aana”, both meaning elephant, while “malai” or “mala” means hill or mountain, reflecting the region’s long association with wild elephants. Its landscape includes high peaks, deep valleys, shola forests, grasslands and plantation areas. The hills also serve as a major watershed supporting both east flowing and west flowing rivers across southern India.

Anaimalai Hills Features

The Anaimalai Hills form a major highland system of the southern Western Ghats with diverse landscapes, rivers, peaks, forests, plantations and important geological characteristics.

• Location: The Anaimalai Hills extend across the two states- western Tamil Nadu and central Kerala, covering Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts in Tamil Nadu and Idukki, Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts in Kerala. They lie south of the Palakkad Gap at the meeting zone of the Western and Eastern Ghats.
• Geographical Position: The hills are bordered by the Nilgiri Hills across the Palakkad Gap, the Cardamom Hills in the southeast and the Palni Hills towards the east.
• Highest Peak: Anamudi, situated at the southern end of the range in Kerala, rises to 2,695 metres (8,842 feet). It is the Highest Peak in Southern India as well as the Highest Mountain in Peninsular India.
• Relief and Geology: The hills were formed by fault block movements during the Holocene Epoch and are mainly composed of metamorphic gneiss with feldspar, quartz and reddish porphyrite.
• Landscape: The region includes steep mountain slopes, deep valleys, tropical evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, montane shola forests and high altitude grasslands.
• Climate and Rainfall: Heavy southwest monsoon rainfall supports dense vegetation across the hills. 
• Soils: The hills contain mottled red and brown soils rich in aluminium and iron oxides. Besides supporting plantations and forests, these soils are also used as construction material when mixed with mortar and in road building.
• River Systems: The Anaimalai Hills form an important watershed for both east flowing and west flowing rivers. Major rivers and tributaries associated with the range include Aliyar, Nirar, Sholayar, Parambikulam, Chalakudy, Pambar, Amaravathi, Chinnar, Idamalayar, Mannambhally and Kadambarai.
• Major Water Projects: The Parambikulam-Aliyar Project is a major inter basin water management system linked to these hills. It regulates and transfers water for irrigation, hydropower generation and drinking water supply across parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• Reservoirs and Dams: Important reservoirs and dams in the region include Aliyar Dam, Amaravathi Dam, Sholayar Dam, Neerar Dam, Kadambarai Dam, Mannambhally Dam, Idamalayar Dam and Parambikulam Dam.
• Economy: Large areas of the lower slopes have been converted into tea, coffee, cardamom, teak, eucalyptus and wattle plantations. Rubber plantations are also found where forests have been cleared, contributing significantly to the regional economy.
• Indigenous Communities: The sparsely populated hills are traditionally inhabited by the Kadar, Maravar and Pooliyar communities. Their livelihoods have historically depended on hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation adapted to the forest environment.
• Local Industries: Household based industries remain important in parts of the region, including basket weaving, coir and coir mat production, metal articles and bidi manufacturing alongside plantation based employment.
• UNESCO Recognition: The Anaimalai Hills form part of the Western Ghats and Anaimalai Sub Cluster, which has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its exceptional biodiversity and ecological importance.

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Anaimalai Hills Biodiversity

The Anaimalai Hills support one of the richest biodiversity landscapes in India, with extensive forests, endemic wildlife, protected areas and ecologically important elephant corridors.

• Forest Diversity: Twelve major forest types occur across the hills, including tropical evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests, shola forests and high altitude grasslands. Valuable tree species include rosewood, sandalwood, teak and sago palms.
• Protected Areas: The region includes Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Eravikulam National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Idamalayar Reserve Forest, Vazhachal Forest Division and adjoining shola grassland landscapes around Munnar and Valparai.
• Large Mammals: The hills support healthy populations of Asian elephants, tigers, leopards, gaur, sloth bears, dhole, sambar, pangolins, water buffaloes, black buck, civet cats and crocodiles across protected forests and connected landscapes.
• Endemic Species: Important endemic and threatened animals include the Nilgiri tahr, lion tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Malabar giant squirrel and several unique amphibians and reptiles found only in the Western Ghats.
• Bird Diversity: The Anaimalai landscape supports numerous bird species, including the great hornbill, pied hornbill, black headed oriole, green pigeon, red whiskered bulbul and drongo.
• New Species Discovery: The discovery of the frog species Beddomixalus bijui highlights the continuing scientific importance of the Anaimalai forests and their role in conserving unique endemic biodiversity.
• Elephant Corridors: The hills form one of the most important elephant movement landscapes connecting forest blocks of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Valparai and surrounding plantation areas experience frequent human-elephant interactions because traditional corridors pass through fragmented forests and tea estates.

Anaimalai Hills Conservation Challenges

Expansion of tea, coffee, cardamom, eucalyptus and wattle plantations, along with hydropower projects, reservoirs, tourism, invasive plants, river flow alterations, landslide prone plantation slopes and fragmentation of native shola forests continue to threaten ecological connectivity and wildlife movement across the landscape. 

Additional concerns include invasive plant species, tourism pressure, altered river flows, landslide risk on steep plantation slopes and loss of native shola grassland habitats.