| Servarayan Hills | |
|---|---|
 Servarayan Hills | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,620 m (5,310 ft) |
| Coordinates | 11°50′0″N78°16′0″E / 11.83333°N 78.26667°E /11.83333; 78.26667 |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Servarayan Hills (Tamil) |
| Geography | |
  Servarayan Hills | |
| Parent range | Eastern Ghats |
TheServarayan hills, with theanglicised nameShevaroy Hills, are a towering mountain range (1620 m) near the city ofSalem, inTamil Nadu state, southernIndia.
The localTamil name comes from a local deity,Servarayan.
The Servarayans form part of the southern ranges of theEastern Ghats System. Shevaroys cover an area of 400 square kilometres (99,000 acres),[1] withplateaus from 4,000–5,000 feet (1,200–1,500 m) above sea-level. The main town here isYercaud.[1] As earlier stated, it also represents the highest peak in southern part of theEastern Ghats, with the Solaikaradu peak towering to 1620 m above mean sea-level. It is nestled parallel to the lowerChitteri hills -Kalrayan hills, just north of theKolli Hills andPachaimalai Hills. Westwards, lie theMettur hills. This range forms an important link in the southern part ofEastern Ghats hill chain.[citation needed]
The Servarayan hills have several oldcoffee plantations, and asanatorium. The major areas of tourist interest are the Yercaud Orchidarium of theBotanical Survey of India, and the old coffee estates.[citation needed]
Some patches of the original forests still exist in the Shevaroy hills and those in higher slopes and peaks contain several endemic species of plants and fauna. The faunal and floral elements high up here have stark similarities to the Western Ghats. Such highlights includeStrobilanthes kunthiana (Neelakurinji) in the peaks here, which apart from upper reaches ofWestern Ghats, is not known from theEastern Ghats elsewhere. Natural forests apart, coffee and citrus fruits, most notably oranges, are grown in abundance, as well as bananas, pears and jackfruit.[citation needed]
Fauna such asgaur,sambar deer,spotted deer,Indian pangolin,jackals,hares,foxes,mangoose,civets,giant squirrels, and many reptiles including endemic ones suchHemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus,Calotes calotes,Monilesaurus rouxii,Mabuya beddomii andshield tail snake likeUropeltis ellioti andUropeltis shorttii (which is endemic to the hill range), the endangeredPython molurus,Rhabdophis plumbicolor,Calliophis beddomei andTrimeresurus gramineus;endemicamphibians such asHylarana,Raorchestes,Fejervarya and scores of birds like thewhistling thrush,racket-tailed drongo,peacock,shama,Oriental leafbird andIndian grey hornbill occur in Shevaroy Hills.[citation needed]
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