The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri mountains, are a mountain range that runs along the western coast of India. They are one of the world's eight hotspots of biological diversity and are home to a wide variety of plants and animals, many of which are endemic to the region. The Western Ghats play an important role in the Indian monsoon system. They intercept the rain-bearing clouds from the Arabian Sea, resulting in heavy rainfall on the western side of the mountains. This rainfall is essential for agriculture and drinking water supplies in the region.The Western Ghats are also a popular tourist destination. There are many beautiful hill stations, waterfalls, and wildlife sanctuaries in the region. Some of the most popular tourist destinations in the Western Ghats include: Munnar, Kerala: A hill station known for its tea plantations, rolling hills, and scenic beauty. Ooty, Tamil Nadu: A hill station known for its colonial architecture, toy train, and botanical gardens. Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu: A hill station known for its star-shaped lake, pine forests, and waterfalls. Wayanad, Kerala: A wildlife sanctuary known for its elephants, tigers, and other wild animals. Coorg, Karnataka: A coffee plantation region known for its beautiful scenery, waterfalls, and coffee plantations.

1. WESTERN GHATS

2. The Western Ghats hills ranges run to a length of
about 1600 kilometers , more or less parallel to the
west coast of Maharashtra starting from the mouth
of river Tapti in Dhule district of Maharashtra and
ending at Kanyakumari , the south-most tip of India
in Tamil Nadu.

3.  The Western Ghats are a mountain range that runs
almost parallel to the western coast of Indian peninsula.
 It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the
eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the
world.
 It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India.
 The range runs north to south along the western edge of
the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a
narrow coastal plain, called Konkani , along the Arabian
Sea.
 A total of thirty nine properties including national
parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests were
designated as world heritage sites - twenty in Kerala, ten
in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four
in Maharashtra

4. • The mountain range extends
over Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
and it consist of thirty nine properties including wildlife
sanctuaries, national parks and reserve forests, which
have been designated as World Heritage Sites. It also
consist several hill stations, cities, lakes that are popular
tourist destinations.
• The Western Ghats is divided in to several hill ranges,
such as the Sahyadris , Nilgiris , Anaimalai hills and
Cardomom hills. The Sahyadhri range consists of
numerous hill stations
like Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Amboli
ghat. The Nilgiri range is home to famous hill stations
like Ooty, Coonoor, Wayanad, Coorg, Idukki and Munn
a.

5. • The area of the Western Ghats is ecologically
sensitive to development and was declared as an
ecological hotspot in 1988. The mountain range is
home to over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139
mammal species, 508 bird species and 179
amphibian species which are not found elsewhere in
the world.
• To protect the endangered species and restrict
human activities, the government has established
many protected areas including two biosphere
reserves, 13 national parks and several wildlife
sanctuaries.

6. • Hill stations like Ooty, Mahabaleshwar, Lonavla-
Khandala, Munnar, Ponmudi, Wayanad are
tourist hotspots in Western Ghats.
• Mathikettan Shola National Park, Pampadam
Shola National Park, Begur Wildlife
Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife
Sanctuary, Thattekad, Phansad Bird Sanctuary
and Karnala Bird Sanctuary are some of the
wildlife reserves located in the Western Ghats.
• Kodaikanal,coonoor, Kumily, Thenmala, Sulthan
Bathery, Ranipuram,Mattupetty, Wayanad, Idukk
i, Vagamon, Nelliyampathy, Vythiri, Ponmudi and
Chikmagalurare some of the prominent towns
located in the mountain range

7. FLORA
Four thousand species of flowering plants are
known from the Western Ghats. The
gymnosperm flora is represented by Cycas
circinalis (Cycadales,Decussocarpus
wallichianus (Coniferales) and Gnetum
ula and G. contractum (Gnetales). Western
Ghats receives an average of 3000 mm rainfall
per annum and is a treasure house of exotic
varieties of plants, a God given blessing to
humanity. Exotic products of Western Ghats is
carried to outside India through the Silk Route
and Arabian Sea from ancient time onwards.

8. FAUNA
The Western Ghats are home to thousands
of animal species including at least 325
globally threatened species. Many are
endemic species, especially in the amphibian
and reptilian classes.

9. WHERE TO STAY
Western Ghats stretches over 1600 km and
is dotted with several towns. Some of the
towns in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka boast of budget, mid-range
and luxury hotels.

10. WHERE TO EAT
As tourist facilities are well developed, one
can experience Indian cuisine as well as
international food. One can get traditional
food of Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu and sea food.

11. BEST TIME TO VISIT
The Western Ghats has diverse climatic
regions. However, September to May is
considered ideal to visit the Ghats.