Most places in the Western Ghats are named for a feature — a rock, a river, a shrine. Kottancheri is named for a shape. Kotta is the Malayalam word for a fort, and the state’s own account of the hills says that the four of them stand together in the form of one: a rampart of high ground closing off a piece of country above the village of Konnakad, in the far south-east corner of Kasaragod district.
The four
They are Kottancheri mala, Kumban mala, Pannyar mala and Kanthanppara. Kumban mala is the one that earns the climb: it carries the view, and on its top there is a stone wall running along the ridge. That wall is the boundary between Kerala and Karnataka. Stand on it and the Kodagu hills — Coorg — open out ahead of you while Kasaragod drops away behind, which is a rare thing to be able to do on foot in this state.
Pannyar mala is the one you will already have seen. It is the flat, grass-capped table that shows above the forest from almost anywhere on the valley floor, and it is the hill in most of the photographs that exist of this place. Kanthanppara and Kottancheri mala itself complete the ring.
Rainforest, not grassland
The distinction that matters most here is with the neighbouring hill. Ranipuram, five and a half kilometres away across the ridge, is grassland and shola — open meadow with dark islands of stunted evergreen in the folds. Kottancheri is rainforest: closed canopy, wet ground, streams, tree ferns and very little sky. Two hills on one range, and two completely different walks.
Where the Kaveri starts
East of the ring, eleven kilometres of forest lie between Kottancheri and Talakaveri, the spring in the Brahmagiri range from which the Kaveri is held to rise. That is a fact about the map rather than an invitation: Talakaveri is over the state line, inside Karnataka’s own protected forest, and reaching it on foot would need that state’s permission on top of Kerala’s.
- Kotta means fort; the four hills are said to stand in the shape of one.
- Kumban mala carries the view and the Kerala–Karnataka boundary wall.
- Pannyar mala is the flat green crest visible from the valley at Konnakad.
- The nearest village is Konnakad, four kilometres east of Malom in Balal panchayat.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called Kottancheri?
From kotta, the Malayalam word for a fort. Kerala Tourism’s account is that the four hills — Kottancheri mala, Kumban mala, Pannyar mala and Kanthanppara — stand together in the shape of a fort.
Which hill has the view?
Kumban mala. A stone wall runs along its top, and it marks the boundary between Kerala and Karnataka, with the Kodagu hills beyond.
Is Kottancheri part of Ranipuram?
They are on the same belt of reserved forest and are often described together, but they are separate hills with separate approaches — Ranipuram from Panathady and Kottancheri from Konnakad — and quite different country: open grassland and shola on one, closed rainforest on the other.