The mountains forming the Western Ghats, frequently in former days called the Sukhein1 mountains, range from three thousand to five thousand feet above sea-level on the Coorg and Wynad slopes, with one or two peaks, to be noticed presently, ranging over six thousand and up to nearly eight thousand feet. But on the Nilgiri-Kunda face the average height springs up to over six thousand feet. It falls again to about four thousand feet and lower on the southern Nilgiri slopes, and again rises to a high altitude in the Vadamalas (northern hills), fringing the northern edge of the Palghat gap.

NOTEs: 1. Probably a corruption of Sahyan or Sahyachalam - the mighty hills – the Western Ghats. END OF NOTEs

On the south edge of the gap the Tenmalas (southern hills), outliers of the lofty Anamala mountains, commence with an elevation of four thousand to five thousand feet above sea-level. Dwarfed into insignificance compared with the ghat mountains in the background there also occur dotted about on the plain country several hills of considerable elevation.

The following are among the most noteworthy peaks of the Western Ghats : —

Veidal Mala.—N. Lat. 12° 10', E. Long. 75° 36'. A long, level, grassy mountain, standing almost at right angles to the ghats and ending precipitously on its western face, supposed to be haunted by demon who displays a wonderful ruby stone at nighttime to lure men to their destruction.

The people have a tradition that a mighty robber, Veidal Kumar, used at one time to frequent this hill, and there is certainly near the western end the foundation of what must have been a large house. His neighbours in the low country finally combined against him, and, having won by treachery one of the passes to the hill, took his house and put its inmates to the sword, except one woman whose descendants can still be pointed out.

At certain seasons of the year - April, May and October—thunderstorms of terrific violence rage on the western summit of this mountain. Height above sea-level about 1,500 feet.

Brahmagiri Peak.—N. Lat. 11° 56', 12. Long. 70° 4’. On the edge of an elevated miniature plateau of beautiful grass and shola land, the greater portion of which lies in Coorg. Height 5,276 feet.

Banasur or Balasur Peak.—N. Lat. 11° 42', E. Long. 75° 58'. An isolated cone-shaped forest-clad hill towering high above the line of ghats. Height 6,762 feet.

Naduvarum Peak. -N. Lat. 11° 44', E. Long. 750 51’. An important Great Trigonometrical Survey station. Height 4,557 feet.

Tanolemala.—N. Lat, 11° 32', E. Long. 70° 2'. Overhanging the Tamarasseri pass into Wynad. Height 5,095 feet.

Elambileri Peak.—N. Lat. 1l° 31', E. Long. 76° 9'. A precipitous needle-shaped hill in the very heart of the best coffee-producing district in Wynad. Height 6,806 feet.

Vellera Mala.—N. Lat. 11° 27', E. Long. 76° 12'. A massive hill in the same famous coffee-producing district. Height 7,364 feet.

Vavulamala (Camel Hill) or Camel’s hump. N. Lat. 11° 26', E. Long. 76° 11'. The highest peak in the Wynad, and a most conspicuous landmark from all points on the coast and from far out at sea, covered to the very top with virgin forest. Height 7,677 feet.

Nilgiri Peak. - N. Lat, 11° 23' E. Long. 70° 32', and

Mukurti Peak.—N. Lat. 11° 22' E. Long. 70° 36'. Height 8,380 feet. Both on the Nilgiri-Malabar boundary.

Anginda Peak.—N. Lat. 11° 1 1', lib Long. 76" 31'. Also on the edge (southern) of the Nilgiri plateau. Height 7,828 feet.

Karimala.—N. Lat. 10° 56', E. Long. 70° 43'. The height point on the mountains to the north of the Palghat gap. Height 6,556 feet.

South-west of it, and forming the extreme point of that range is —

Kalladikod Peak.—N. Lat. 10° 54', E. Long. 76° 39'. Perhaps the stormiest peak in all Malabar, so much so that the native proverb is, “If Kalladikodan grows angry (or black) will not the Karuga river be swollen.” Its height has not been accurately ascertained, but it is close upon or over 4,000 feet.

The following hills lie dotted here and there over the plain country : —

Elimala or Mount Deli.—N. Lat. 12° 2', E. Long. 75° 16'. A conspicuous isolated hill on the sea-shore, well known as a landmark for mariners since the earliest times. Vasco da Gama’s pilots foretold that the first land to be sighted would be ‘a great mountain1 which is on the coast of India in the kingdom of Cannanore, which the people of the country in their language call the Mountain Delielly, and they call it of the rat, and they call it Mount Dely, because in this mountain them were so many rats that they never could make a village there.”

Eli certainly means a rat, but the name of the hill is written with the cerebro-palatal1. The legend which Correa obtained was like that which conferred on it likewise the sounding title of sapta-shaila or seven hills, because elu means in Malayalam seven, and elu mala means the seven hills, of which sapta-shaila is the Sanskrit equivalent.

Now, as a matter of fact, there are not seven peaks to this hill, just as probably the rats were no worse there than they were anywhere else on the coast. But eli2 in clearly identical with Marco Pole's “Kingdom3 of Eli” and Ibn Batuta’s Hili, and as the Eli Koviligam, the second oldest of the palaces of the ancient line of Kolattiri Princes, lies at a very short distance from the northern slopes of the hill it is clear that the name of the hill was given to the palace, or that of the palace to the hill. Height 855 feet.

NOTEs:

1: Stanley’s “Three voyages of Vasco da Gama and his Viceroyalty from the Lendas da Índia of Gaspar Correia, &c.”—Hakluzt Soc., London, 1869, p. 145

2: The conversion of eli into Deli was simple enough, for the early Portuguese would call it the Monte D’eli.”

3: Yule’s “Marco Polo,” Chap. XXIV of Book HI, Vol. II, pp. 374 to 377 Lodonn, 1874

Chekunnu.— N. Lat. 11° 15', E. Long. 76° 9'. On the outskirts of the Camel Hump range. Height 1,975 feet.

Urolmala. N. Lot, 11° 5', K. Long. 70° 4'. Overlooking the European military outpost of Malapuram. There is on its summit a small Hindu temple with an inscription of no great antiquity. Height 1 ,573 feet.

Pandalur. — N. Lat. 11° 3', E. Long. 76° 14'. Also overlooking the Malappuram outpost. It is covered for the most part with dense scrub jungle, but one or two coffee gardens have been opened with success on its northern slopes. At some distance from the summit and on the east face of the hill is a perennial spring of excellent water flowing from beneath an immense boulder of rode. The spring is supposed to be haunted, and, as a matter of fact, a solitary Mussulman Fakir used to inhabit a tiger’s cave close to the spring.

A magnificent panoramic view of mountain scenery is obtained from various points of this hill, but particularly from the highest point of it a piled up cone of rocks reaching to a giddy level with the tops of the forest trees. Height about 2,000 feet.

Pranakod—N. Lat. 10° 59', E. Long. 76° 21'. The summit of a small densely wooded range of hills which, with the range last mentioned, seems to form at this point the advanced guard of the Nilgiri Mountains. Height 1,792 feet.

Anangamala.—N. Lat. 10° 49', E. Long. 76° 27'. A long precipitous isolated rocky Hill, a conspicuous landmark. There are one or two small coffee gardens on its slopes. Height 1,298 feet.

To the above list of mountain peaks and lulls, most of which are stations of the Great Trigonometrical Survey, may be added the following list of other survey stations of less elevation; —

Cannanore: N. Lat. 11° 52', E. Long. 75° 25'. Height 51 feet,

Darmapattanam.—N. Lat. 11° 46', E. Long, 76° 31'. Height 112 feet.

Manantoddy.—N. Lat. 11° 48', E. Long. 70° 4'. Height 2,558 feet.

Purakad.—N. Lat. 11° 28', E. Long. 75° 43'. Height 260 feet.

Pukunnu—N. Lat. 11° 14', E. Long. 75° 53'. Height 279 feet.

Kurnad.—N. Lat. 10° 47', E. Long. 76° 9'. Height 354 feet.

Kurachimala.—N. Lat. 10° 47', E. Long. 75° 41'. Height 479

Palghat Fort.—N. Lat. 10° 46', E. Long. 76° 43’ Height 349 feet.

The latitudes and longitudes given are those of the ordinary Indian Atlas Sheets, Nos. 44, 44, 61 and 62, and not the revised values found recently by the Great Trigonometrical Survey : the heights, however, are correct.