Germalam Hills

Talavady is a hilly upland town in the northern part of Erode district near the Dhimbam Hills, sitting at about 823 metres above sea level close to the Karnataka border. It has a largely Kannada-speaking population and is surrounded by the forests of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. Its cool climate and plantations make it a quiet hill retreat and gateway to the Hasanur-Thalavadi forest belt.

The Dhimbam Hills form part of the Western Ghats in Sathyamangalam taluk, climbed by the famous Sathyamangalam ghat road with 27 hairpin bends between Bannari and the Karnataka border. The road cuts through the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and offers misty valley panoramas, with a popular viewpoint near hairpin bend 15. It is a well-known scenic drive and gateway to the reserve's hill hamlets.

Perumpallam Dam is an earthen dam near Sathyamangalam, built in the 1980s and measuring about 2 km long and 40 metres high. It is fed by rainwater from the Kadambur Hills and the Bhavani River, and its reservoir level swings dramatically between drought and heavy floods. It is a lesser-known reservoir on the fringe of the Sathyamangalam forests.

Kunderipallam Dam is an earthen dam built across a tributary feeding the Bhavani River at Kongarpalayam in Gobichettipalayam taluk, constructed between 1975 and 1980. It stands about 42 feet high and over 2,100 metres long, with a reservoir capacity of roughly 1.72 tmcft used for irrigation. Set at the foot of forested hills, it is a quiet local picnic and scenic spot.

A prominent temple to Goddess Mariamman at Bannari on the foothills of the Western Ghats near Sathyamangalam, famous for the Panguni Kundam (fire-walking) festival that draws large crowds of devotees.

Anthiyur has a large irrigation lake whose overflow forms a seasonal waterfall dependent on rainfall in the Bargur Hills catchment. It is a local family spot used for fishing and swimming, most impressive during the monsoon months. The lake sits at the edge of the Anthiyur reserve forest belt.

The Lower Bhavani Dam, an earthen dam across the Bhavani river completed in 1956, one of the largest earthen dams in the world, with a large reservoir and riverside gardens.

The Muthukumaraswamy Temple on Pavalamalai hill near Gobichettipalayam is the second of the town's two Murugan hill shrines, the other being Pachaimalai. It sits on a small hill on the road toward Pariyur and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is a popular local pilgrimage climb offering views over the surrounding countryside.

The Kondathu Kaliamman Temple at Pariyur is a widely revered shrine to the goddess Kaliamman, believed to be around 1,500 years old. It is known for its annual fire-walking ceremony held in January and a grand temple car festival that draws large crowds. Several shrines feature marble work, and the temple owns a golden chariot.

The Amarapaneeswarar Temple at Pariyur is a Shiva temple dating to about the 10th century CE, with its consort worshipped as Soundaranayaki Amman. Originally built during the Chola period, it received later additions from the Pandya, Hoysala and Mysore rulers, and today is rebuilt almost entirely in white marble. Maha Shivaratri and Pradosham are celebrated here with particular grandeur.

Located at Pudupalayam near Anthiyur, this temple enshrines Gurunathaswami, worshipped through three sacred stones representing Kamakshi, Vishnu, and Shiva combined with Murugan. Legend holds the stones were once worshipped near Chidambaram, hidden in a river, and rediscovered at Pudupalayam, where a temple was built with Pandya patronage about 600 years ago. Its annual festival falls in the Tamil month of Aadi.

This hill shrine near Gobichettipalayam is dedicated to Lord Murugan in his child form as Balamurugan and is one of the town's two major Murugan hill temples. It is crowned by a roughly 40-foot statue of Senthilandavar, among the tallest Murugan idols in Tamil Nadu and visible for miles across the plains. The temple has a five-tiered Dravidian gopuram and was extensively renovated in 1956.