Anamudi is a mountain located in

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 ...

and Idukki district of the Indian state of

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 ...

. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and in South India, at an elevation of and a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of . The name Anamudi literally translates to "elephant's head" a reference to the resemblance of the mountain to an elephant's head. Anamudi is the highest mountain in peninsular India as well as the largest mountain in Kerala. Meanwhile, the highest independent mountain (free-standing mountain) in Kerala is the Cheriyam mountain in

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the total population of the state. The district was formed on 16 June 196 ...

. Cheriyam mountain is located at an elevation of 613 m (2,011 ft) above sea level. The first recorded ascent of Anamudi was by General

Douglas Hamilton General Douglas Hamilton (8 April 1818 – 20 January 1892) was a British Indian Army officer, gazetted to the 21st Regiment of the Madras Native Infantry from 1837 to 1871. He was a well known surveyor of the early British hill stations in So ...

of the Madras Army on 4 May 1862, but it is likely that there had been earlier ascents by local people. Anamudi peak is one of only three ultra prominent peaks in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

. It is also the peak with the greatest

topographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mounta ...

within India. It is the highest point in India south of

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. Thus it is known as "Everest of South India". The peak is not exceptionally dramatic in term of steepness or local relief and is a fault-block mountain. It is located in the southern region of Eravikulam National Park at the junction of the Cardamom Hills, the Anaimalai Hills and the

Palani 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 hi ...

. The nearest town is

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 ...

, at a distance of . The easiest route to the summit of Anamudi is a technically easy hike on grass slopes, starting from a rolling hill plateau with a base elevation of about . The north and south slopes are gentle, while the east and west slopes are steeper, with more difficult rock faces. Anamudi and the Eravikulam National Park surrounding it is home to the largest surviving population of the Nilgiri tahr ('' Nilgiritragus hylocrius'').

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in t ...

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 ...

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present i ...

s, and the Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii) are some of the species of animals found here . The Anamudi peak area is also habitat of a unique frog ''

Raorchestes resplendens ''Raorchestes resplendens'', the resplendent shrubfrog, is a critically endangered species of frog belonging to the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi. It has extremely short limbs ...

''. This newly discovered species is located in the Eravikulam National Park and is restricted to less than three km² on the summit of Anamudi. The summit of the Anamudi is vegetated with patches of stunted ''

Arundinaria ''Arundinaria'' is a genus of bamboo in the grass family the members of which are referred to generally as cane. ''Arundinaria'' is the only bamboo native to south and southeastern North America, with a native range from Maryland south to Florid ...

densifolia'' and '' Gaultheria fragrantissima'' (wintergreen), '' Anaphalis'' sp., ''

Impatiens ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus '' Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family Balsaminacea ...

'' and some species of ''Eriocaulon''.

Climatic zones and biomes

Anamudi is the highest peak in the Western Ghats in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, having an elevation of . Anamudi is also the highest point in South India. This gives Anamudi its relatively large topographic prominence of , the associated key saddle being over away at in

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

state just to the west of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. The peak is the highest point of the

Periyar River Periyar, , (meaning: ''big river'') is the longest river and the river with the largest discharge potential in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns ...

basin. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies it as

subtropical highland An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cwb''). Sholas are found in its valleys, like most meadows of the Western Ghats.

Gallery

File:Blue Mountains, Anaimudi.jpg, Anamudi as seen from an aircraft. The peak is in the center of the image with a small white cloud seen behind its rounded summit File:Anamudi-flight1.jpg, Anamudi, on the right, as seen on the descent towards Cochin International Airport from the Delhi-Kochi flight File:Anamudi from Munnar Gundumalai road.jpg, Anamudi, on the right, as seen from the Munnar-Udumalpettai highway

Citations

References

* . *

External links

Beautiful natural sound of flowing water on Anamudi slope near peak
{{Tourism in Kerala
Highest peaks in Southern India
Mountains of the Western Ghats Mountains of Kerala Geography of Idukki district Two-thousanders of Asia Highest points of Indian states and union territories Tourist attractions in Idukki district Tourist attractions in Kerala

Climatic zones and biomes

Gallery

See also

Citations

References

External links