Agasthyamalai Hills

The Agasthyamalai Hills also called the Ashambu Hills, lie at the extreme southern end of the Western Ghats mountain range along the western side of South India. There are at least 26 peaks over 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) among these hills. The hills are notable as the habitat for over 2,000 species of medicinal plants and as the abode of the Vedic sage Agasthya, founder of the Siddhar practitioners of Rasayana herbal medicine, who is often depicted holding a mortar and pestle.

These hills contain areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. The hills contain outstanding examples of ecosystems and communities of plants and animals representing significant ecological and biological processes. The area contains important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including forests containing threatened species of outstanding value to science and conservation.

The hills straddle both sides of the state border Kollam District and Thiruvananthapuram District in Kerala and Tirunelveli District and Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu. They are between the Cardamom Hills and Aryankavu Pass at NH-208 about 9° north latitude and the vicinity of the Mahendragiri peak near Kanyakumari at about 8° 20' north latitude. The border between the two States is defined by a jagged high ridge, that runs from north to south and then slightly eastwards, parallel to and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the Kerala shore of the Arabian Sea.

These hills are dominated by the 1,868 metres (6,129 ft) Agasthyamalai peak. The five-peaked mountain Ainthuthalai Pothigai (1,862 metres (6,109 ft)) immediately adjacent to Agasthyamalai, is only a little shorter. Other nearby peaks are Cherumunji Mottai and Naga Pothigai (8°35′38″N 77°17′10″E) (1,600 metres (5,200 ft)). There are at least 23 more peaks over 1,600 metres (5,200 ft).

The hills receive up to 5,000 millimetres (200 in) annual rainfall from both the southwest and northeast monsoons and has a very short dry season of January to March. The topography is rugged with many perennial hill streams originating in the tropical rainforests on the upper slopes. These streams merge to form several important rivers. The Kerala rivers Kallada, Achankoil, Vamanapuram, Karamana and Neyyar drain west from these hills. The Thamirabarani River and its tributaries the Ramanadhi River and the Manimuthar River in Tamil Nadu are significant perennial rivers flowing east from these hills.

Agastyamalai is home to the Kanikkaran people, one of the oldest surviving hunter-gatherer tribes in the world.

The Ashambu Hills include the Indian Ecoregions of South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests above 500 metres (1,600 ft), South Western Ghats montane rain forests above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and shola-grasslands complex on peaks above 1,600 metres (5,200 ft).

These hills are noted as the habitat for at least 2,000 species of medicinal plants, of which at least 50 are rare and endangered species. There are also wild relatives of jackfruit, mango, cardamom, turmeric and banana.

Endangered mammals here include the Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri tahr and the vulnerable gaur, sloth bear, Malabar spiny dormouse and Nilgiri marten. There are also Jerdon's palm civet, gray slender loris, great pied hornbills and king cobras. Ecotourism is popular in the area.

The eastern side of the hills in Tamil Nadu includes the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), a 895 square kilometres (346 sq mi) protected area. The Kerala side of the hills hosts the 128 square kilometres (49 sq mi) Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, the 53 square kilometres (20 sq mi) Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, the 171 square kilometres (66 sq mi) Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kulathupuzha and Palode Reserve forests near Courtallam. The Naraikadu forest or “grey jungle”, surrounded by the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, is privately owned by the Dhonavur Fellowship. This community has restored and protected the area so well that it is one of the best preserved forest tracts in the whole Ashambu Hills.

These protected areas in the Agasthyamala Hills comprise the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (ABR). This reserve includes 3,500.36 km2 (1,351.50 sq mi) out of which 1,828 square kilometres (706 sq mi) is in Kerala and 1,672.36 square kilometres (645.70 sq mi) is in Tamil Nadu.

The Western Ghats, Agasthyamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

There are several Hindu Temples and seasonal waterfalls which are important tourist attractions in these hills. At Suruli Falls there is a 2-stage Cascading water fall The Suruli River supplying the falls originates from the Meghamalai Hills. The falls drop from a height of 150 feet (46 m) collect into a pool, flow for a short distance and again plummet an additional 40 feet (12 m). Near the falls are 18 caves some of which represent Indian rock-cut architecture temples of the 18th Century. This popular destination for tourists and devout pilgrims is easily reached by road 56 km (35 mi) from Theni and 10 km (6.2 mi) from Cumbum in the Theni District.

Many pilgrims climb Agasthyamalai in the core of the hills to perform a puja ceremony at the Agasthya Murti on the top the Peak. Most pilgrims use the well-worn path through Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary on the Kerala side. The trekkers start from Bonaccord estate in Thiruvananthapuram district with a guide from the Forest Department. The first night is spent at a camp facility set up by the Department in the middle of the forests. Trekkers reach the peak the next day and return to the camp the same day. Only 100 pilgrims per day are allowed on this route during the January February season.

Visitors must obtain an entry pass from the Trivandrum Forest Headquarters against payment of Rs 500.From 2014 onwards booking can be done through Kerala Forest website. Apply to: Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Forest Headquarters, Trivandrum 695 014. Phone : 0471 322217. The Chief Conservator (Agasthyavanam) Phone: 325385 is responsible for on site management of the protected areas on the Kerala side of the Hills.

Palani hills

The Palni Hills (Tamil: பழனி மலை) (also Palani Hills) are a mountain range in Tamil Nadu state of South India. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the high Anamalai range on the west, and extend east into the plains of Tamil Nadu, covering an area of 2,068 square kilometres (798 sq mi). The highest part of the range is in the southwest, and reaches 1,800-2,500 metres (5,906-8,202 feet) elevation; the eastern extension of the range is made up of hills 1,000-1,500 m (3,281-4,921 ft) high.

It is also home to one of the shrines of Lord Karthikeyan or Murugan, who is worshipped as the primary god in Tamil Nadu.
The range lies between the Cumbum Valley on the south, which is drained by the Vaigai River and its upper tributaries, and the Kongunadu region to the north. The northern slopes are drained by the Shanmukha River, Nanganji River, and Kodavanar River, which are tributaries of the Kaveri River. The range lies mostly within Dindigul district, except in the western portion, where it forms the boundary between Dindigul district and Theni district to the south. The hill station of Kodaikanal lies in the southern central portion of the range.
The lower elevations of the Palani Hills, between 250 and 1,000 m (820-3,281 ft), are part of the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests ecoregion. Above 1,000 m (3,281 ft), the deciduous forests transition to the evergreen South Western Ghats montane rain forests. In the highest portions of the range, above 2,000 m (6,562 ft), the montane rainforests give way to shola-grassland mosaic, made up of frost-tolerant montane grasslands interspersed with pockets of stunted shola forests.

The Palani Hills are currently subject to increasing development pressure. The Palni Hills Conservation Council, a non-governmental organization headquartered in Kodaikanal, was founded in 1985. In the early 1990s the Tamil Nadu Forest Department proposed to the Tamil Nadu state government that much of the range be granted protected status as a wildlife sanctuary or Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park.

The Palani Hills derive their name from the ancient temple town of Palani (பழனி in Tamil) located at the northern base of the hills.

In 1906, the great undulating plateau on top of the Palanis comprising four forest ranges were consolidated under the Indian Forest Act of 1878 and designated by the British Government as a single reserve forest, from Kodaikanal town to the Kerala state border in the west and the Bodinayakkanur town limits to the south, and given the name of the Ampthill Downs. It was over 53 square miles (140 km2) in extent and about one quarter of it then consisted of sholas and three quarters was open, rolling, grassy downs.

The Ampthill Downs area is now named Upper Palani Shola Reserved Forest and totals 145.7 square kilometres (56.3 sq mi) (36,000 acres) of forest land. It is the largest reserve forest division in the Palani Hills. The core of the proposed Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary awaiting government notification is located in this division.

In 1988, the new 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) Kodaikanal-Berijam Wildlife Sanctuary was included in the protected area proposals considered to be of national priority status by the Wildlife Institute of India. In the early 1990s, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department submitted a proposal to the State government to protect much of the Palani Hills by declaring the area a wildlife sanctuary or a national park.

The proposed park area includes only reserve forest land. These forests are already among the protected areas of Tamil Nadu. Their upgrade to Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park will increase their IUCN status from level VI - Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources to IV - Habitat/Species Management Area or II - National Park and improve the habitat and wildlife conservation of the area.

The sanctuary has been under consideration of the Government of India in consultation with the Government of Tamil Nadu since 1999.[8] The actual park boundaries have not been finalized. In 2007, proposals for declaration of Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary were under consideration of the Government.

On August 13, 2012, in an apparent change away from plans for notification of parts of the Palani Hills as a separate wildlife sanctuary, the Tamil Nadu Gazette notification attached parts of Kodaikanal and Dindigul divisions of reserve forests to the buffer zone of Annamalai Tiger Reserve. About 5155.42 hectares of forest land belonging to Palani Hills Northern Slope, Andipatty reserve forest, 4,344.53 acres in Kudraiyar block forest and 5,548.49 hectares in Mannavanur Range in Kodaikanal will be included in the buffer zone. The villages and hamlets that now form part of the Palani Hills buffer zone are Poondi, Mannavanur, Kilavarai, Polur, Kavunchi, Kumbur, Kilanavayal, Kukkal, Pazhamputhur and Puthurpuram.

The increasingly important economic role of Eco-tourism, including: trekking, hiking, camping, mountaineering, rock climbing and bird watching may help the local populace to welcome this new Protected area. It remains to be seen whether the Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park will stimulate or stifle commercial development and tourism. The decision to finally establish the park must balance short term financial benefits of the status quo versus long term stability of the natural and human community.

Lashai hills

The Lushai (Pron: ˌlʊˈʃaɪ) Hills (or Mizo Hills) are a mountain range in Mizoram and Tripura, India. The range is part of the Patkai range system and its highest point is 2,157 m high Phawngpui, also known as 'Blue Mountain'

The hills are for the most part covered with dense bamboo jungle and rank undergrowth; but in the eastern portion, owing probably to a smaller rainfall, open grass-covered slopes are found, with groves of oak and pine interspersed with rhododendrons. The Blue Mountain is the highest peak in Lushai hills.

These hills are inhabited by the Lushais and other Mizo tribes, but the population is extremely scanty. From the earliest known times the original inhabitants were Kukis, and the Lushais were not heard of until 1840, when they invaded the district from the north. Their first attack upon British territory took place in November 1849, and after that date they proved one of the most troublesome tribes on the north-east frontier of India; but operations in 1890 resulted in the complete pacification of the northern Lushai villages, and in 1892 the eastern Lushais were reduced to order.

The management of the South Lushai hill country was transferred from Bengal to Assam in 1898. To obtain more efficient control over the country the district has been divided into eighteen circles, each in charge of an interpreter, through whom all orders are transmitted to the chiefs. The Welsh Presbyterian Mission began work at Aizawl in 1897, and the people have shown unexpected readiness to accept education.

The history of Mizoram basically encompasses the account of transition in the occupation of Mizoram which lies in the remotest part of northeast India. It is a conglomerate history of several ethnic groups of Chin people who migrated from Chin State of Burma. But information of their patterns of westward migration are based on oral history and archaeological inferences, hence nothing definite can be said. The recorded history started relatively recently around the mid-19th century when the adjoining regions were occupied by the British monarchy. The land is now inhabited by a mixture of people from Chin Hills and Bangladesh and its history is therefore largely reflected by those of Lusei, Hmar, Lai, Mara and Chakmas tribes. Following religious, political and cultural revolutions in the mid-20th century majority of the people agglomerated into a super tribe, Mizo. Hence the officially recognised settlement of the Mizos became Mizoram.

The earliest documented records of Mizoram were from the British military officers in the 1850s, when they encountered series of raids in their official jurisdiction in Chittagong Hill Tracts from the neighbouring natives. By then they referred the land to as Lushai Hills. As a consequence of relentless tribal encroachment and often resulting in human mortality, British rulers were compelled to subjugate the tribal chiefdoms. Punitive British military expeditions in 1871 and 1889 forced the annexation of the entire Lushai Hills. After the Indian independence from British Empire in 1947, the land became Lushai Hills district under the Government of Assam. In 1972 the district was declared a union territory and was given a more culturally inclusive name Mizoram. Ultimately Mizoram became a full-fledged federal state of Indian Union in 1986.

The earliest people to enter the present Mizoram were known as Kukis, the second batch of immigrants were called New Kukis. The Lushais were the last of the Mizo tribes migrate to the Lushai Hills. By the time they crossed the Tiau River bordering Myanmar, the descendants of Zahmuaka, who came to be known as the ruling Sailo clan, had proven their mettle as able and assertive chiefs. The traditional system of village administration, too, had been perfected. As the head of the village, the Chief or Lal allocated lands for cultivation, settled all disputes in the villages, fed and cared for the poor and offered shelter to anyone seeking refuge. The Mizo history in the 18th and 19th centuries is marked by many instances of tribal raids and retaliatory expeditions.

Mizo Hills were formally declared as part of British India by a proclamation in 1895. North and south hills were united into Lushai Hills district in 1898 with Aizawl as its headquarters. The process of the consolidation of the British administration in tribal dominated area in Assam started in 1919 when Lushai Hills, along with some of the other hill districts, was declared a "Backward Tract" under the 1919 Government of India Act. The tribal districts of Assam including Lushai Hills were declared "Excluded Area" in 1935. It was during the British regime that a political awakening among the Mizos in Lushai Hills started taking shape the first political party, the Mizo Common People's Union was formed on 9 April 1946. The Party was later renamed the Mizo Union. As the day of Independence drew nearer, the Constituent Assembly of India set up an advisory committee to deal with matters relating to the minorities and the tribal members. A sub-committee, under the chairmanship of Gopinath Bordoloi was formed to advise the Constituent Assembly on the tribal affairs in the North East. The Mizo Union submitted a resolution of this Sub-committee demanding inclusion of all Mizo inhabited areas adjacent to Lushai Hills. However, a new party called the United Mizo Freedom Organisation (UMFO) came up to demand that Lushai Hills join Burma after Independence.

Anamalai hills

Anaimalai is a panchayat town in Coimbatore district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Anaimalai is named after the Anaimudi hills around it. Place is famous pilgrimage spot for people going to Sabarimala, Kerala due to the presence of powerful woman goddess MASANI AMMAN.

The Anamala or Anaimalai Hills are a range of mountains, forming a southern portion of the Western Ghats, spanning the borders of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The name anamala derives from the Malayalam and Tamil words ana or anai, meaning elephant, and mala or malai, meaning hill — thus Elephant Hill.

The highest peak of the Anaimalai Hills is Anamudi (Anaimudi), at (2,695 meters (8,842 ft)). Located in the Idukki district of Kerala, it is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and South India. To the north, Palakkad Gap divides the Western Ghats. The lower slopes of the hills now have coffee and tea plantations as well as teak forests of great economic value.

The Western Ghats and Anamailai Sub-Cluster, including the Anaimalai Hills, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

The hills are located between 10° 13' and 10° 31' N. and 76° 52' and 77° 23' E., central point: 10°22′N 77°07.5′E. The Anaimalai Hills are south of where the Western Ghats are broken by the Palakkad Gap, which in turn is south of the Nilgiri Hills. They border Kerala on the Southwest and the Cardamom Hills to the southeast. To the east are the Palni Hills.

Their geological formation is metamorphic gneiss, veined with felspar and quartz, and interspersed with reddish porphyrite.Twelve Major forest types are found in the area which are now fragmented by many coffee and tea plantations on the lower slopes and teak plantations higher up. Monsoon rains are heavy. Annual rainfall varies from 2,000 mm to 5,000 mm in the area.
As of 2001 India census, Anaimalai had a population of 16,556. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Anaimalai has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 54% of the males and 46% of females literate. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Anamala / Anaimalai Hills are known for their abundant wildlife. Eravikulam National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Anaimalai Tiger Reserve and the adjacent Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in these hills are well known for elephants. Numerous wildlife species can be seen including elephants, gaur, water buffaloes, tigers, panthers, sloth bears, pangolins, black-headed orioles, crocodiles, green pigeons, civet cats, dhole, sambar and 31 groups of endangered lion-tailed macaques., Birds seen include pied hornbill, red whiskered bulbul and drongo.

A new frog species was found from the forest recently and named Beddomixalus bijui.
The Anaimalai Hills are a trekking destination in the Western Ghats. The best time to visit this place is during November to mid-May. SH-17 passes through the Anaimalai Hills, between Udumalapet and Munnar. The nearest town is Munnar. The nearest international airports are Cochin International Airport and Coimbatore International Airport.

Nilgiri hills

The Nilgiri (Tamil: நிலகிரி, blue mountains), are a range of mountains forming a part of the Western Ghats which is loacted in the western part of Tamil Nadu, state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India. At least 24 of the Nilgiri mountains's peak above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), the highest peak being Doddabetta, at 2,637 metres (8,652 ft).

The hills are separated from the Karnataka plateau to the north by the Moyar River and from the Anaimalai Hills and Palni Hills to the south by the Palghat Gap. The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu lies within these mountains. Its latitudinal and longitudinal dimensions are 130 km (Latitude: 11° 08' to 11° 37' N) by 185 km (Longitude: 76° 27' E to 77° 4' E). Central location is: 11°22′30″N 76°45′30″E. It has an area of 2,479 square kilometres (957 sq mi). It is connected via Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
The high steppes of the Nilgiri Hills have been inhabited since prehistoric times as the large number of artefacts unearthed by excavators demonstrates. A particularly important collection from the region can be seen in the British Museum, including those assembled by colonial officers James Wilkinson Breeks, Major M J Walhouse and Sir Walter Elliot. The first recorded use of the word Nila applied to this region can be traced to 1117 AD in the report of a general of Vishnuvardhana, King of Hoysalas, who in reference to his enemies, claimed to have "frightened the Todas, driven the Kongu people underground, slaughtered the Pallavas, put to death the Malayalas, terrified King Kala and then proceeded to offer the peak of Nila Mountain (presumably Doddabetta or Rangaswami peak of Peranganad in East Nilgiris) to Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth.

In 1814, Keys, a sub-assistant, and McMahon, an apprentice in the Survey Department, ascended the hills by the Danaynkeucottah Pass, penetrated into the remotest parts, made plans, and sent in reports of their discoveries. As a result of these accounts, Messrs. Whish and Kindersley, two young Madras civilians, ventured up in pursuit of some criminals taking refuge in the mountains, and proceeded to reconnoitre the interior. They soon saw and felt enough favorable climate and terrain to excite their own curiosity and that of others.

With a detachment of Europeans and Indian sepoys, he set out on his mission on 2 January 1819. The journey involved crossing rough and harsh terrain, steep precipices and danger from wild animals. After an expedition that lasted for six days and loss of the lives of some of the expedition members, Sullivan finally reached a plateau from where he proudly hoisted the British flag. In May, 1819, the same tourists from Coimbatore, accompanied by Monsieur Leschnault de la Tour, naturalist to the King of France, repeated their excursion. They asserted the temperature in the shade to be 74 °F (23 °C) at a time when the temperature of the plains was up to 100 °F (38 °C). Such a climate within the tropics was considered so great an anomaly that few at first believed its existence.

After the early 1820s, the hills were developed rapidly under the British Raj because most of the land was by then privately owned by British citizens. It was a popular summer and weekend getaway for the British during the colonial days. In 1827 Ooty became the official sanatorium and the summer capital of the Madras Presidency. Many winding hill roads were built. In 1899, The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was completed by influential and enterprising British citizens with venture capital from the Madras government. In the 19th century, when the British Straits Settlement shipped Chinese convicts to be jailed in India, the Chinese men then settled in the Nilgiri mountains near Naduvattam after their release and married Tamil Paraiyan women, having mixed Chinese-Tamil children with them. They were documented by Edgar Thurston. Paraiyan is also anglicized as "pariah".

Over 2700 species of flowering plants, 160 species of fern and fern allies, countless types of flowerless plants, mosses, fungi, algae, land lichens are found in the sholas of the Nilgiris. No other hill station has so many exotic species.

The Nilgiri tahr animal can be found in the hills.

Much of the Nilgiris' natural montane grasslands and shrublands interspersed with sholas has been much disturbed or destroyed by extensive tea plantations, easy motor-vehicle access, extensive commercial planting and harvesting of non-native eucalyptus and wattle (Acacia dealbata, Acacia mearnsii) plantations, and cattle grazing. The area also features one large and several smaller hydro-electric impoundments. Scotch broom has become an ecologically damaging invasive species.

Tiger hill,kargil

Tiger Hill or "Point 4660" is a mountain in the Drass-Kargil area of Jammu & Kashmir, India. It is one of the highest peaks in the area and was the subject of the infamous battle during the 1999 India-Pakistan Kargil War. Its recapture was one of the most important objective for Indian forces during the Kargil War.

Since Tiger Hill is the highest peak in the sector, the Pakistani forces who held the peak could easily see the military headquarters of the 56 Brigade, the main Indian force in charge of the area. The Tiger Hill overlooks the National Highway 1D (India), a strategic root way to Siachen Glacier and connects Srinagar to Leh in Ladakh which enabled the Pakistanis to watch the Srinagar-Leh Highway, the main supply route of the Kargil Sector, and relay information of troop and supply movements to their superiors. They can easily direct fire on a 25 km stretch of the national highway.

India could not allow this, since with this information, Pakistan could accurately and easily shell the Indian positions. Furthermore, the Pakistanis had infiltrated farther into the Kargil Sector, and India needed a good surveillance point to root out and destroy these posts.

Indian artillery started shelling Tiger Hill to force the enemy to keep their head down, while the 18 Grenadiers, 2 Naga, and 8 Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army got ready to attack Tiger Hill. The main tactic was the most difficult ever employed on an open battlefield. An Indian contingent of 12-18 soldiers were to climb a steep cliff with a height of 1000 feet and attack the Pakistani forces, which were then engaged in shelling with Indian artillery, and stage a surprise attack.

The assault team had 200 men, with some 2000 troops providing rear support. While the Alpha, Charlie, and Ghatak companies of the Grenadiers attacked from the rear, the Nagas were on the left flank, and the Sikhs on the right. The assault began at 5:15 pm on 3 July, with India shelling the Pakistani positions.

Infantry battalions advanced on unexpected, and therefore difficult, avenues of approach, supported by overwhelming artillery fire. Multi-directional attacks produced the element of surprise. Daring nighttime maneuver over steep terrain, in coordination with massive firepower, broke NLI defenses in all areas. 8 Sikh had attempted to scale the heights of Tiger Hill in late May, only to be repulsed by heavy artillery and small arms fire. Poorly coordinated assaults initiated without adequate artillery support failed under heavy fire from an entrenched enemy. Unable to press the attack, the soldiers dug in and surrounded the hill. 192 Mountain Brigade assumed command of the operations at Tiger Hill in late June, and received 18 Grenadiers, fresh from participating in the victory at Tololing. 18 Grenadiers picked up the assault, supported by the concentrated fire of twenty-two artillery batteries and 8 Sikh. In freezing rain on the night of 3 July, 18 Grenadiers launched an assault on the 16,700-foot (5,062 m) Tiger Top that began with a twelve-hour, vertical climb using fixed ropes. 18 Grenadiers achieved surprise and made initial gains, yet the assault stalled near the top under heavy resistance. Sensing the loss of initiative, Major Ravinder Singh of 8 Sikh launched a daring attack. He and a detachment of fifty-two soldiers climbed up the side of the adjoining Western Ridge, splitting the Pakistani defense on the night of 5 July. The group held off several counterattacks. Most of the Sikh soldiers attacked without cold weather gear, and many of the wounded died from exposure. After three more days of heavy fighting, the bold plan paid off, and 18 Grenadiers resumed the attack on an NLI force facing attack from two directions. 18 Grenadiers seized Tiger Hill Top on the morning of 8 July.
While this was happening, the mountaineer Grenadiers had moved into position, and attacked. 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed, and 2 escaped; 5 Indian soldiers were also killed. The main hero of the battle was Indian Soldier Yogendra Singh Yadav who was later awarded with the highest award of the Indian Army Param Vir Chakra.

Later on, Indian media reported that Point 5353, a strategically important peak in the Dras sector, was still under Pakistan's control. After this, the Indian Army said that the peak had never held by India, and was not on its side of the LoC. In an interview, General Ved Prakash Malik, Indian Army Chief during the Kargil War, when asked about to clarify the controversy about point 5353, which has reportedly been taken over by Pakistan he stated: "That is not true. The 1972 letter clearly shows, both on the map and in writing, that the LoC passes through 5353. Some of the Point's features are occupied by them and some by us. But the fact is that if you want to attack Point 5353, you would have to come via the Pakistani side. It is not with us. We had never occupied it. Point 5353 had been vacated by them for a while when the talks were going on. Then they reoccupied it, that's all. I don't know how this controversy started. But I saw the hand-sketched map in which somebody had put 5353 right next to Tiger Hill. That is wrong!"[6] Indian army however continued efforts for retaking it, till 2003 when a ceasefire agreement was signed between Pakistan and India. Pakistan consolidated its position on Point 5353 by constructing concrete bunkers and a road from Benazir Post, the base of the peak to Pakistan's rear headquarters at Gultari.

shivalik hills

The Sivalik Hills is a mountain range of the outer Himalayas also known as Manak Parbat[citation needed] in ancient times. Shivalik literally means 'tresses of Shiva’. This range is about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long enclosing an area that starts almost from the Indus and ends close to the Brahmaputra, with a gap of about 90 kilometres (56 mi) between the Teesta and Raidak rivers in Assam. The width of the Sivalik Hills varies from 10 to 50 km (6.2 to 31.1 mi), their average elevation is 1,500 to 2,000 m (4,900 to 6,600 ft).
Other spelling variations used include Shivalik and Siwalik, originating from the Hindi and Nepali word shiwālik parvat. Other names include Churia hills, Chure hills, and Margalla hills.

Geology

Geologically, the Sivalik Hills belong to the tertiary deposits of the outer Himalayas. They are chiefly composed of sandstone and conglomerate rock formations, which are the solidified detritus of the great mountain range to their north, but often poorly consolidated. The remnant magnetization of siltstones and sandstones suggests a depositional age of 16-5.2 million years with Karnali River exposing the oldest part of the Sivalik Hills in Nepal.

They are the southernmost and geologically youngest east-west mountain chain of the Himalayas. They have many sub-ranges and extend west from Arunachal Pradesh through Bhutan to West Bengal, and further westward through Nepal and Uttarakhand, continuing into Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. The hills are cut through at wide intervals by numerous large rivers flowing south from the Himalayas.

They are bounded on the south by a fault system called the Main Frontal Thrust, with steeper slopes on that side. Below this, the coarse alluvial Bhabar zone makes the transition to the nearly level plains. Rainfall, especially during the summer monsoon, percolates into the bhabar, then is forced to the surface by finer alluvial layers below it in a zone of springs and marshes along the northern edge of the Terai or plains.

North of the Sivalik Hills the 1,500-3,000 meter Lesser Himalayas also known as the Mahabharat Range rise steeply along fault lines. In many places the two ranges are adjacent but in other places structural valleys 10–20 km wide separate them.

Pre-history

Sivapithecus (a kind of ape, formerly known as Ramapithecus) is among many fossil finds in the Siwalik region.

The Siwalik Hills are also among the richest fossil sites for large animals anywhere in Asia. The Hills had revealed that all kinds of animals lived there. They were early ancestors to the sloth bear, Sivatherium, an ancient giraffe, Colossochelys atlas, a giant tortoise named the Siwaliks giant tortoise Megalochelys atlas amongst other creatures.

The remains of the Lower Paleolithic (ca. 500,000 to 125,000 BP) Soanian culture have been found in the Siwalik region. Contemporary to the Acheulean, the Soanian culture is named after the Soan Valley in the Siwalik Hills of Pakistan. The bearers of this culture were Homo erectus.

Demographics

Low population densities in the Siwalik and along the steep southern slopes of the Mahabharat Range, plus virulent malaria in the damp forests on their fringes create a cultural, linguistic and political buffer zone between dense populations in the plains to the south and the "hills" beyond the Mahabharat escarpment, isolating the two populations from each other and enabling different evolutionary paths with respect to language, race and culture.

People of the Lepcha tribe inhabit the Sikkim and Darjeeling areas.