Ghat Section Begins

How many have you crossed?

Ghat:
The mountain range that runs parallel to the west and east coast of the subcontinent. The term originates from Tamil kattu - ridge, Kannada/ Marathi/Sanskrit (ghatta), referring to a ridge, mountain pass, or a series of steps.

The Western Ghats or the Sahyadri, that runs parallel to the Arabian Sea, is not as tall as the mighty Himalayas. However, for us in the Deccan, they are no less mighty than that range up north. And they work in tandem. The Sahayadri’s relationship with the monsoon, Himalayas, and the Tibetan highlands is probably what keeps us all alive.

Step by Step, Ticking of all the Ghat Crossings.

If you are from Mumbai, Goa or any of our coastal cities, or even cities like Pune, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Madikeri or Hassan, the crossing is one of the exciting part of our lives, especially in our childhood. Counting the hairpin bends, touching the clouds from the State transport bus windows, the stop at Dudhsagar or Castlerock. For some, it’s a terror because of the motion sickness.

The new ‘Missing Link’ between Mumbai and Pune will rob us of the pleasure of driving up the ghats now but then we have the trains.

All of us who live here have crossed the Western Ghats on our way to the plateau or in the opposite direction. If there is one thing I look forward to while travelling, it is finding a new ghat section to make the crossing. One thing on my bucket list is to cross as many ghat sections as possible by train and road. Compared to many of my friends, I haven’t ticked them all yet.

The first one I crossed, within months of being born, was the Palghat or Palakkad Gap in the Sahyadri. The rest of the ones I have crossed, from north to south, mostly by state transport buses or trains are:

Maharashtra:

• Thal/Tull Ghat (Kasara)

• Bhor Ghat (Khandala)

• Tamhini Ghat (Kolad)

• Amboli Ghat (Sawantwadi and Ajara/Nipani)

A road sign from Tamhini Ghat - uphill from Kolad,

Goa:

• Chorla / Mollem (Goa/Belgaum)

Karnataka:

• Arabail Ghat (Hubli-Karwar)

• Mavinagundi Ghat (Sagar-Honnavar)

• Agumbe Ghat

• Shiradi Ghat (Mangalore-Hassan)

Thall Ghat during the monsoon - on the old ghat section - Near Igatpuri.

Ancient Pastoral Route. The annual migration from the plateau to the Konkan coast along the Bhor Ghat near Khandala.

Kerala/TN:

• Thamarassery Chooram/Ghat - Wayanad (Kozhikode-Mysore)

• Nadukani Ghat (Mysore - Gudalur - Nilambur)

• Munnar Ghat (from Kochi to Madurai)

• Kodaikanal Ghat (Not a crossing)

• Senkottah Ghat (Madurai-Punalur-Kollam)

  

  The southern most hills of the Western Ghat range seen from the Himsagar Express - Nagercoil - TN.

  

  The Western Ghats tail end - from the Vivekananda Rock at Kaniyakumari.

  
  

Then there are the ones I want to take one day:

• Palghar-Jawhar Ambai Ghat (I have only gone halfway)

• Satpura Ghat (Nashik-Surat)

• Kudremukh

• Coorg to Kannur

• Nagercoil-Valliyur Road (a very small pass between the southernmost hill of the Western Ghats and the rest of the range)

Kudremukh National Park(Horse head/face)- Karnataka. Seen from the air. Looking from east to west.

Today’s images are from the bottom most steps of the ghats, on a road that is off the road Senkottah Ghat between Madurai and Southern Kerala

Set among hills with rubber plantations, it’s a place I happened to visit on May 1st. It has a bus stop with occasional buses and lots of shared jeeps to the nearest town. From here there is just a forest all the way across to TN. The forests that feed two rivers - Achenkovil and Kallada on the western side and Thamirabarani and Vaipar on the easter side of the mountain range.

GHAT SECTION ENDS.

‘Town Hotel’

Petti Kada/Box shaped Paan Shop

FRESH LIME SODA

BETEL JUICE

Rubber Plantations. On cleared forest land in the middle of the last century.

That’s all, folks.