Pragnya IAS · Chapter 4 of 15 · National parks of India
National parks in India map: south & islands
Follow the Western Ghats chain south to the island parks, where Nilgiri tahr, rain-shadow valleys and coral seas replace the tiger heartland.
STUDY NOTE 1
The Nilgiri tri-junction
Bandipur, Nagarhole and Mudumalai meet around the Nilgiri massif where Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu join — one of the world’s richest tiger and elephant landscapes, and part of the Western Ghats UNESCO site.
STUDY NOTE 2
Kerala’s high hills
Eravikulam holds the largest surviving Nilgiri tahr population around Anamudi, south India’s highest peak. Silent Valley preserves a rare undisturbed tract of tropical evergreen rainforest; Periyar wraps a reservoir in cardamom hills.
STUDY NOTE 3
Tamil Nadu’s spread
Mukurthi protects high shola-grassland in the Nilgiris; Guindy is a tiny park inside Chennai city — a reminder that national parks need not be remote.
STUDY NOTE 4
The island parks
Mahatma Gandhi Marine (Wandoor) in the Andamans protects coral reefs and nesting turtles; Campbell Bay and Galathea sit on Great Nicobar. Galathea is the southernmost national park in India.
Map reading activity
Mark the Nilgiri tri-junction parks, Anamudi and the three island parks. Explain why the Western Ghats chain is read as one ecological unit.
What does this national parks: south & islands lesson explain?
Bandipur, Nagarhole and Mudumalai meet around the Nilgiri massif where Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu join — one of the world’s richest tiger and elephant landscapes, and part of the Western Ghats UNESCO site.
UPSC map practice & Geography Optional connection
For UPSC Prelims environment questions and GS III, pair each protected area or convention site with its state, ecosystem and flagship species. Use a labelled sketch to show distribution; lists and counts change, so note the update date rather than memorising a frozen tally. These are Pragnya-authored exercises, not official UPSC previous-year questions.
References & original artwork
This lesson covers chapter 4 of the supplied reference curriculum. Pragnya IAS notes, activities and questions are independently authored; source PDF pages, branding, personal watermarks and unverified PYQs are not republished. India state geometry: geoBoundaries (CC BY 2.5 IN), simplified. These are educational concept views, not legal boundaries or official protected-area maps.