Velliangiri Mountains

The Velliangiri Mountains, a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, are situated at the Western Ghats border of Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. Known as the "Thenkailayam - Kailash of the South", these mountains are held and revered on par with spiritually most powerful place on the planet - Mount Kailash, the legendary abode of Lord Shiva. On the top of the Velliangiri Mountains, Shiva is worshipped as Swayambhu, one who is self-created and in this form, he graces the devotees.People of various age they are happy to visit this temple, because they believe Sithars are still present in this mountain.Story of VelliangiriAs per the Kachyappar Perur Purana, Lord Shiva in the hill of Kaiyalai, was worshipped by Lord Vishnu-Komuni. Shiva appeared before him and asked, "What did you like?" "My body has not seen your dance. So please show your dance, 'said Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva said: "The two sages of Patanjali and Vyaghrapada have performed some of their virtues, and I showed them my dance in Chidambaram.So if you reach MelChidambaram and Vellinangiri Hills-South Kailash, I will show you dance there, and you go there. 'In the same way, Lord Vishnu obeyed the command of the Lord Shiva, wearing the Rudracham, the Lord Vishnu went to the southwest of Velliangiri hills and worshipped the Lord Shiva.GeographyThe Velliangiri hills form a major range in the Western Ghats in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The seven hills with altitudes ranging from 520 m – 1840 m are bordered by the plains of Coimbatore district to the east, the Palghat district of Kerala on the western boundary, the Nilgiri mountains to the north, and the Siruvani hills on the southern boundary. The annual rainfall is quite variable in the hills (500 mm – 7000 mm) with temperatures ranging from 0 °C during winter to 41 °C in the summer. Many seasonal rivers such as the Neelivaikal, Mayar or Andisunai traverse the hilly landscape. The Noyyal river originating from Velliangiri hills is one of the major tributaries of the Cauvery, which irrigates about 100,000 of hectares of agricultural land in the plains. The Velliangiri hills watershed feeds into the Siruvani dam, which is the main drinking water supply for 1,500,000 people in the urban centre of Coimbatore.