By : Neha Dhyani
Updated : Apr 21, 2022, 10:08
Considered a delight for all nature lovers, the Nallamala Hills are spread across several districts of Andhra Pradesh, offering ample exploration opportunities. They form a part of the Eastern Ghats and have several religious and tourist places. At present, most of the hill range is covered in a dense cover of jungles.
In recent times, the Nallamala Hills has been in the news for uranium mining. Permission to explore the region for the mining came in 2019 from the Union Ministry of Environment. However, the decision has faced strong opposition as it is believed that the mining efforts will adversely affect the fauna in the region. Consequently, the Struggle Committee against Uranium Mining was formed to protect the habitat of the Chenchu community and the tiger reserves.
On the north, the Nallamala Hills is bordered by the flat Palnadu basin and in the south, the hills merge with the Tirupati hills. The fact that the hills belong to a very old system is evident due to the hills' extremely weathered and eroded state. The average elevation of the Nallamala Hills is 500 meters, while it is the highest at Bhairani Konda, reaching 1100 meters, and Gundla Brahmeswara at 1048 meters. It is believed that the rocks in the hills range belong to the Kadapa system.
Throughout the year, the region experiences a warm and hot climate with an average rainfall of about 90 cm during the southwest monsoon. There are no major agricultural plots in the hill range except for a few isolated patches near villages.
A state highway passes through the Nallamala Hills along with the Nallapadu Nandyal line of the Guntur railway division. Some prominent locations which are found in close vicinity of the hill range are as follows:
The most interesting aspect of the hill range is the presence of an indigenous tribe called the Chenchus. They dwell in the forest and have chosen to remain away from the modern world even today. It is believed that their prime occupations are gathering and hunting, although, in most other parts of the hills, agriculture and subsistence farming are practised.
Running from the north to south, the Nallamala Hills lie parallel to the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal. These hills are located in the middle of two rivers, Pennar and Krishna. The unique location of the hills offers a scenic sight of the entire landscape to travellers who come here to explore the various tourist attractions.
The Nallamala Hill range runs for a total length of 265 miles which is almost 430 kilometres.
The rocks in the Nallamala Hills range belong to the Kadapa system. The primary rocks here are Quarzite with irregular salt formations.
The terrain of the Nallamala Hill range is quite uneven, and water is scarce, due to which no large cities have grown near the hill range. The largest city in the region is Kurnool, followed by Nandyal.
In 2009, a chopper carrying the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh crashed at Dove’s Hill in the Nallamala Hill forest at 800 ft. All five people in the chopper died due to the crash.
People can trek through the Nallamala Hill, forest region to get up high near Ugra Stambham in Ahobilam.
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