School series 41

The Eastern Ghats — the broken mountains of eastern India

The Eastern Ghats stretch roughly parallel to India's eastern coast, from Odisha in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south, with extensions and associated hill systems reaching into parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

But unlike the Western Ghats, they are not a continuous mountain chain.

The great rivers of peninsular India — the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri — have cut through them over geological time. What remains is a remarkable succession of isolated hills, plateaus, valleys and forested ranges.

That gives the Eastern Ghats their special character: the mountains appear, disappear and reappear in different forms.

Ancient mountains.

Geologically, the Eastern Ghats are extremely old. Much of their underlying rock belongs to some of the ancient geological formations of the Indian Peninsula.

They have been worn down by immense stretches of erosion. That is why they generally lack the imposing continuous mountain walls characteristic of younger ranges.

Yet their age has given them another treasure — extraordinary geological and biological diversity.

The Nallamalas

One of the most impressive sections is the Nallamala Hills, extending through Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

These are heavily forested hills with deep valleys and gorges. The forests here are associated with the Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam landscape, one of India's important tiger habitats.

The Nallamalas are also culturally significant. Srisailam, associated with Lord Mallikarjuna, lies within this mountain country.

So here, as so often in India, mountain, forest, river and sacred geography meet.

The Seshachalam Hills

Further south are the Seshachalam Hills, around Tirupati.

These hills are particularly interesting because of their distinctive red sanders (red sandalwood) forests. Pterocarpus santalinus, the red sanders tree, is native to this region.

And the hills carry enormous spiritual significance: the sacred Tirumala hills form part of this landscape.

The seven hills of Tirumala are therefore not merely a temple setting — they are part of an ancient mountain ecosystem.

Araku and the northern Eastern Ghats

In Andhra Pradesh, the Eastern Ghats become wonderfully dramatic around Araku Valley and the Ananthagiri hills.

Here you find:

deep valleys

coffee plantations

waterfalls

dense forests

mist-covered hills

tribal settlements

strikingly varied landscapes

This is one of the places where the Eastern Ghats can feel almost Himalayan in atmosphere, although the elevations are far lower.

Odisha — mountains, forests and tribal cultures

In Odisha, the Eastern Ghats become closely associated with extensive forests and numerous indigenous communities.

The Koraput–Rayagada–Kandhamal region contains some of the most beautiful hill landscapes of eastern India.

The mountains here are not simply scenic. They are living cultural landscapes, with communities whose lives have traditionally been connected to forests, streams, hill agriculture and local biodiversity.

The southern hills

As the range moves into Tamil Nadu, it breaks into several fascinating hill systems:

Kolli Hills, Shevaroy Hills, Javadi Hills, Kalrayan Hills and Yelagiri are among them.

Some are popular hill stations; others remain relatively quiet forested landscapes.

The Kolli Hills, for instance, are famous for their steep winding roads, forests, waterfalls and ancient traditions.

A mountain range of rivers

Perhaps the most beautiful way to understand the Eastern Ghats is through their relationship with India's great rivers.

The rivers don't merely flow alongside the mountains.

They cut through them.

The Godavari and Krishna, among others, have carved passages through the ancient highlands on their journey towards the Bay of Bengal.

Thus the Eastern Ghats are almost like a broken backbone of eastern peninsular India, repeatedly interrupted by great rivers.

And the wildlife

The forests shelter elephants, leopards, sloth bears, gaur, deer, wild dogs and, in some landscapes, tigers.

The region is also exceptionally rich in birds, reptiles, amphibians and plants.

Some of its forests contain species found nowhere else.

And this is one reason the Eastern Ghats matter even when their mountains don't appear spectacularly high:

A mountain's importance is not measured by its height alone.

Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats — two very different personalities

The Western Ghats are more continuous, wetter and generally more dramatic as a mountain wall.

The Eastern Ghats are older, more fragmented and more varied.

The Western Ghats often give us the feeling of a great mountain barrier.

The Eastern Ghats give us something different:

a succession of hidden worlds — forested hills, river valleys, tribal country, sacred mountains, waterfalls and isolated plateaus.

Don't just "visit the Eastern Ghats"; discover the individual mountain worlds hidden inside them.