The continuous range of hills running parallel to India's western coast, also called the Sahyadris, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a global biodiversity hotspot.
- Run roughly 1,600 km from the Tapi river in the north to near Kanyakumari, through Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
- Higher and more continuous than the Eastern Ghats; the Anai Mudi (Anamudi) in Kerala is the highest peak of peninsular India.
- Key passes (gaps) include the Thal Ghat, Bhor Ghat, and Pal Ghat (Palakkad gap); the Palakkad gap links Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Force the south-west monsoon to rise (orographic rainfall), giving heavy rain on the windward western coast and a rain shadow (drier interior) to the east.
- Source of major peninsular rivers (Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri), which flow eastwards to the Bay of Bengal; a recognised biodiversity hotspot.
The Sahyadri name, the orographic-rainfall and rain-shadow mechanism, Anamudi as the peninsula's highest peak, and the named ghats/passes are recurring geography facts.
Western Ghats (higher, continuous, windward heavy rain) versus Eastern Ghats (lower, broken); Anamudi (Western Ghats) is the highest peak of peninsular India, not in the Eastern Ghats.
Sahyadri range parallel to the west coast; orographic monsoon rain on the windward side, rain shadow to the east; Anamudi highest.