State Highway 17 | ||||
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Northern outlet road | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by Kerala Public Works Department | ||||
Length | 59.1 km (36.7 mi) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | NH 85 in Munnar | |||
North end | MDR 509 at TN border in Chinnar | |||
Location | ||||
Country | India | |||
State | Kerala | |||
Districts | Idukki | |||
Highway system | ||||
State Highways in Kerala | ||||
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Kerala State Highway 17, also called the Northern outlet road and Munnar - Udumalpet road, is notable for passing between the Anaimalai Hills and the Palani Hills, through or near three important protected areas and providing opportunities for viewing wildlife in unspoiled forests.
The total road length is about 59.1 km (36.7 mi). [1]
SH 17 starts north from NH 49 (Aluva - Munnar Highway) at Munnar, running about 2 km alongside the Kannimala River, then to Rajamudi village - Anakkalpetty road and on to Eravikulam village. It passes near Eravikulam National Park and Anamudi, the tallest Indian peak south of the Himalayas and into Marayoor town, (km 42). It then passes through the centre of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, past Chinnar Watchtower and continues to Chinnar Check post, (km 59). It crosses the state boundary on a highway bridge over the Chinnar River at 10°21′09″N77°13′04″E / 10.35241°N 77.21775°E .
It enters Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park at Tamil Nadu check post and continues past Manjampatti Watchtower along the bottom of Manjampatti Valley. It passes through the park around Amaravathi Reservoir and Amaravathi Dam to exit the park at the Forest Department checkpost (km 71) near Amaravathinagar and the Sainik School, Amaravathinagar. It goes down onto the plains through Manupatti (km 75), Kurichkotti, through a large area of wind turbines, Pallapalyam, extensive agricultural fields, Bodipatti, across Southern Railway - Salem Division tracks in Kanakkampalayam, and on to NH 209 at Udumalpet (km 85) in Tamil Nadu, South India.
Amaravati is the legislative capital and the de facto seat of government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Munnar is a town and hill station located in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South India" and is a popular honeymoon destination.
Idukki is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala in the southwest of the country. It is the largest district in Kerala and lies amid the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. Idukki district contains two municipal towns – Kattappana and Thodupuzha, and five taluks.
The Amaravati River is the longest tributary of the Kaveri River in the fertile districts of Udumalpet, Dharapuram and Karur Tamil Nadu state, South India.
The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, which also supports pepper and coffee. The Western Ghats and Periyar Sub-Cluster including the Cardamom Hills are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Amaravathinagar is a small town in the foothills of Annamalai Hills in Tirupur district, Tamil Nadu, India; 17 km south on SH 17 from Udumalpet and around 80 km south of Downtown Coimbatore city. The three major employers in this village are the Amaravathi Reservoir and dam, Sainik School and the Glucose Factory.
The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala and span the border of western Tamil Nadu in Southern India. The name anamala is derived from the Malayalam word aana and the Tamil word yaanai, meaning elephant, or from tribal languages. Mala or Malai means 'mountain', and thus literally translatable as 'Elephant mountain'.
Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and as Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area in the Anaimalai Hills of Pollachi and Valparai taluks of Coimbatore District and Udumalaipettai taluk in Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu, India. The Tamil Nadu Environment and Forests Department by a notification dated 27 June 2007, declared an extent of 958.59 km2 that encompassed the erstwhile IGWLS&NP or Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, as Anaimalai Tiger Reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Reserve presently includes a core area of 958.59 km2 and buffer/peripheral area of 521.28 km2 forming a total area of 1479.87 km2.
Eravikulam National Park is a 97 km2 national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala in India. The park is situated between 10º05'N and 10º20' north, and 77º0' and 77º10' east and is the first national park in Kerala. It was established in 1978.
Udumalai, also known as Udumalaipettai and Udumalpet, is a town in Tiruppur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 535 km south west from the state capital, Chennai and 72 km from Coimbatore. It is the headquarters of Udumalaipettai taluk and had a population of 61,133 as per 2011 Census of India. The town comes under the Udumalaipettai Assembly constituency.
Manjampatti Valley is a 110.9 km2 (42.8 sq mi) protected area in the eastern end of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWS&NP) in Tirupur District, Tamil Nadu, South India. It is a pristine drainage basin of shola and montane rainforest with high biodiversity recently threatened by illegal land clearing and cultivation.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is located 18 km north of Marayoor on State Highway 17 in the Marayoor and Kanthalloor panchayats of Devikulam taluk in the Idukki district of India's Kerala state. It is one of 18 wildlife sanctuaries among the protected areas of Kerala.
Kurinjimala Sanctuary protects the approximately 32 hectare core habitat of the endangered Neelakurinji plant in the Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in Devikulam Taluk, in the Idukki district of Kerala, a state in southern India.
Anamudi Shola National Park is a protected area located along the Western Ghats of Idukki district in Kerala state, India. It is composed of Mannavan shola, Idivara shola and Pullardi shola, covering a total area of around 7.5 km². Draft notification of this new park was issued on 21 November 2003.
Pambar River originates near Anamudi in Idukki district of Kerala state in South India.
Pampadum Shola National Park is the smallest national park in Idukki district of Kerala in India. It is on the border with Kodaikanal, Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. The park is administered by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife, Munnar Wildlife Division, together with the nearby Mathikettan Shola National Park, Eravikulam National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kurinjimala Sanctuary. The park adjoins the Allinagaram Reserved Forest within the proposed Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park.It is a part of Palani hills stretched up to Vandaravu peak. The Westerns Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including these parks, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
The Amaravathi Dam is a dam constructed across the Amaravathi River. It is located at Amaravathinagar, 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Udumalpet on SH 17 in the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Tirupur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The associated Amaravathi Reservoir is 9.31 square kilometres (3.59 sq mi) in area and 33.53 metres (110.0 ft) deep. The dam was built primarily for irrigation and flood control and now also has four megawatts of electrical generating capacity installed. It is notable for the significant population of mugger crocodiles living in its reservoir and catchment basin.
The Chinnar River originates in the Annaimalai Hills below a grassy pass between the hills Kumarikkal Mala (8,275 ft) and Kaladekatti Malai In Idukki District, Kerala state South India. The 18 km long Chinnar river defines the East-West Tamil Nadu/Kerala state boundary along the northern edge of the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and the southern edge of the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary. Several adult crocodiles were reported in the Chinnar river in 1992.
Albino gaur or white bison are a type of gaur, occasionally seen in the Manjampatti Valley, a 110.9 km2 (42.8 sq mi) protected area at the eastern end of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, South India. They are occasionally called Manjampatti white bison. These gaur are notable for their distinctive ash-grey color as opposed to the almost black color of most gaur. Since 1929, there have been at least 19 documented sightings of these rare animals, including the 2004 photographs of N. A. Naseer.
Vattavada is a village in Idukki district in the state of Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu, India. The village is located along Palani Hills in Western Ghats. It is an agricultural village known for growing a wide range of vegetables and fruits in the terrace farmlands.