The Western Ghats are a series of heavily wooded mountain ranges along the west coast of India. They are one of the 18 bio-diversity hot spots on earth. Besides being home to tigers, leopards, elephants, bison and different birds and insects, this region is also home to thousands of plants some of which grow nowhere else,
This giant Barleria flowers once in eight years.
Older than the Himalayas, the Western Ghats are the fountain of life for the Indian peninsula. They control the weather pattern, the rainfall in the subcontinent. Many of the life giving rivers of India begin their journey here. Recently, the Western Ghats were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was welcomed by naturalists, environmentalists and nature lovers, but vehemently opposed by the mining lobby and other vested interests. I hope these beautiful cloud forests will thrive.
