WESTERN GHATS.pptx

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 M aharashtra starting from the mouth of river T apti in D hule district of M aharashtra and ending at Kanyakumari , the south-most tip of I ndia in T amil N adu.

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  Munna .

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 ,   Idukki ,  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 .