Highest Mountains in India

Geography

The Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and India and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m (23,000 ft). In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur. It lies in the border region between Koshi Province of Nepal and Sikkim state of India, with the peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal's Taplejung District, and three of the five peaks, namely Main, Central and South, directly on the border.

Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km (12 mi) south of the general alignment of the Great Himalayan range, about 125 km (78 mi) east-southeast of Mount Everest in a straight line.

Climbing history

Between April 1848 and February 1849, Joseph Dalton Hooker explored parts of northern Sikkim and eastern Nepal, mainly to collect plants and study the distribution of Himalayan flora. He was based in Darjeeling, and made repeated excursions in the river valleys and into the foothills of Kangchenjunga up to an elevation of 4,760 m (15,620 ft).

In spring 1855, the German explorer Hermann von Schlagintweit travelled to Darjeeling but was not allowed to proceed further north due to the Third Nepal–Tibet War. In May, he explored the Singalila Ridge up to the peak of Tonglo for a meteorological survey.

In 1879, Sarat Chandra Das and Lama Ugyen-gyatso crossed into Tibet west of "Kanchanjinga" via eastern Nepal and the Tashilhunpo Monastery en route to Lhasa.

Exploration and climbing history

The ascent of Nanda Devi necessitated fifty years of arduous exploration in search of a passage into the Sanctuary. The outlet is the Rishi Gorge, a deep, narrow canyon which is very difficult to traverse safely, and is the biggest hindrance to entering the Sanctuary; any other route involves difficult passes, the lowest of which is 5,180 m (16,990 ft). The first recorded attempt to explore the sanctuary was in 1883 by W. W. Graham, who could proceed only up to Rishi Ganga. Hugh Ruttledge attempted to reach the peak three times in the 1930s and failed each time.

Recent history and conservation

After the re-opening of the sanctuary in 1974 to foreign climbers, trekkers and locals, the fragile ecosystem was soon compromised by firewood cutting, littering and grazing. Serious environmental problems were noted as early as 1977, and the sanctuary was closed again in 1983. Currently, Nanda Devi forms the core of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (which includes Nanda Devi National Park), declared by the Indian government in 1982. In 1988, Nanda Devi National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, "of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humankind."

Geography

It has a height of 3,826 metres (12,552 ft) and a prominence of 2,885 metres (9,465 ft). Saramati is one of the ultra-prominent peaks of Southeast Asia. It forms a natural boundary between India and Myanmar.

The peak mainly consists of shale. Most of the upper reaches is covered with pine trees.

Geography

Anamudi has an elevation of 2,695 metres (8,842 ft). It is the highest peak and one of the three ultra prominent peaks in South India. It is the peak with the greatest topographic isolation within India and is the highest point south of the Himalayas. It is called the Everest of South India. Anamudi has a topographic prominence of 2,479 metres (8,133 ft), the associated key saddle being over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) away at 28°35′20″N 76°27′59″E in Haryana state just to the west of Delhi. The peak is not exceptionally steep and is a fault-block mountain. The north and south slopes are gentle, while the east and west slopes are steeper, with difficult rock faces.

Geology

Anamudi is located within a larger tectonic province, a Neoproterozoic mobile belt known as the Southern Granulite Terrane (SGT) or Pandyan Mobile Belt. This geologic province represents an area of Archean rocks that were deeply buried during the neoproterozoic Pan-African Orogeny, as part of the Mozambique Belt, in which developed Himalayan-scale mountains when West and East Gondwana collided due to the closure of the ancient Mozambique Ocean. Specifically, Anamudi is located within a geological sub-province of the SGT known as the Madurai Province. The mountain massif itself is composed of neoproterozoic A-type granite known as Munnar Granite, which was intruded deep into the thickened crust of the SGT during Orogenic collapse of the Pan-African highlands.

History

Salher Fort was under Shrimant Sardar Suryajirao Kakade in 1671. The Mughals attacked the fort in 1672. Almost one lakh soldiers fought in this war. Many soldiers died in this battle but finally Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj sent Suryajirao Kakade who won the Battle of Salher. Of all the face to face battles between the Mughals and Suryajirao Kakade's troops, the battle of Salher takes first place. After winning Salher, the Marathas also captured Mulher and established their reign over the Baglan region. In the 18th century, the Peshwas occupied this fort and later by the British.

The Marathas defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Salher in 1672 in an open battlefield on a plain. This was an extremely bloody battle as over 10,000 Mughal soldiers were slaughtered by the Maratha army.

History

Kodachadri seems to have attracted the attention of humankind since early prehistory. Several monolithic structures or menhirs were built here in prehistoric times. Rocks with dimensions greater than 12 feet were used in their construction. These large structure can be found just 20 Kilometers outside of Nagara-Nilsakal. A temple dedicated to the Ancient Mother Goddess Mookambika is located near the top of the peak. The temple is a popular destination for Hindu pilgrims and it is said to stand where thousands of years ago Mookambika fought and killed the demon Mookasura. In Historic times, people used to trek from Nagara state, a nearby place and Europeans trekked to the peak during the 19th century.

Location

Kodachadri forms a background to the temple of Mookambika in Kollur. It is located at a distance of 21 km from Kollur and 15 km from Nagodi village, in Hosanagara taluk. 78 km and 42 km from Sagara, Karnataka via Hasirumakki Ferry from District Headquarters Shimoga and there are different routes to reach the Peak of Kodachadri and the difficulty varies highly with respect to the route chosen. However, it is challenging to reach the peak in monsoon due to heavy rains that make the routes slippery. Kodachadri receives an annual rain fall of 500 cm to 750 cm and it rains for about eight months in a year.