Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.5.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Sky Islands A Platform for and from the Western Ghats ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://skyislands.earth/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [What the Forest-Dweller Knows](https://skyislands.earth/read/what-the-forest-dweller-knows/) - Attending a Biodiversity Management Committee meeting in the foothills of the Nilgiris, a young Pazhaiyar woman explains what environmental awareness means for indigenous people - [Together We Ride](https://skyislands.earth/read/together-we-ride/) - At the Ootacamund Club (formerly the Ooty Hunt Club), the old ways have been sublimated into a love for the landscape—and community - [Chasing A Colour Bomb](https://skyislands.earth/read/chasing-a-colour-bomb/) - What can the gorgeous Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher tell us about endangered freshwater habitats in the Western Ghats? - [Reading Between the Lines](https://skyislands.earth/read/reading-between-the-lines/) - How can education evolve to meet the needs of the Palani Hills’ Pazhaiyars? An indigenous writer reflects. - [Listen: Who’s Afraid of Climate Change?](https://skyislands.earth/read/listen-whos-afraid-of-climate-change/) - As change comes, so does opportunity, argues one long-term farmer in the Palani Hills. - [Roots Across the Sea: Shared Ecologies in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka](https://skyislands.earth/read/roots-across-the-sea-shared-ecologies-in-the-western-ghats-and-sri-lanka/) - A botanist’s journey through Sri Lanka’s landscape considers its flora, parallel to that of the Western Ghats: all of it part of the same vital biodiversity hotspot - [From the Western Ghats to Jharkhand: A Journey of Adivasi Culture and Connection](https://skyislands.earth/read/from-the-western-ghats-to-jharkhand-a-journey-of-adivasi-culture-and-connection/) - On her first train journey ever, a young indigenous writer from the Pazhaiyar adivasi community is invited to join women’s self-help groups in eastern India on Women’s Day - [Queer By Nature](https://skyislands.earth/read/queer-by-nature/) - The connection between queerness and fungi has often been made—what can it teach us about queer kinship, community and care today? A researcher takes stock in the rain-soaked Western Ghats - [Becoming Ourselves Again](https://skyislands.earth/read/becoming-ourselves-again/) - A Pazhaiyar adivasi takes stock of climate change in the Palani Hills, traveling to Valparai and back in this moving personal meditation - [The Green Queen of Spices: Cardamom’s Future in the Western Ghats](https://skyislands.earth/read/the-green-queen-of-spices-cardamoms-future-in-the-western-ghats/) - ‘I wouldn’t say the sky islands of the southern Western Ghats are shrinking or being destroyed. Rather, they are being transformed and changed,’ - [Laboratory of Evolution](https://skyislands.earth/read/laboratory-of-evolution/) - ‘I wouldn’t say the sky islands of the southern Western Ghats are shrinking or being destroyed. Rather, they are being transformed and changed,’ - [The Ghost of Good Work in Wayanad: How the Gadgil Commission Tried to Save the Western Ghats](https://skyislands.earth/read/the-ghost-of-good-work-in-wayanad-how-the-gadgil-commission-tried-to-save-the-western-ghats/) - The tragic rejection of science-based policy in the Western Ghats betrays the legacy of some of our greatest conservationists. As we watch tragedy unfold in landslide-ravaged Wayanad, what lessons can we learn for the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve? An environmental sociologist and son of the soil speaks. - [Escape Route: Tales from the Legendary Kodai-Munnar Road](https://skyislands.earth/read/escape-route-tales-from-the-legendary-kodai-munnar-road/) - "We were driving on a road—little more than a dirt track with large pot holes—the car’s headlights eerily reflecting off the swaying silver oaks among the tea bushes and occasionally elephant or gaur dung making us wary of running into one of these great animals. - [How to Talk to Tree Frogs and Other Lessons from the Wayanad Jungle Orchestra](https://skyislands.earth/read/how-to-talk-to-tree-frogs-and-other-lessons-from-the-wayanad-jungle-orchestra/) - Becoming intimate with other species in the Western Ghats involves music, mimicry and the fine art of listening, says one of its guardians - [The Pazhaiyar Life: Then and Now](https://skyislands.earth/read/the-pazhaiyar-life-then-and-now/) - How did the original inhabitants of the Palani Hills live, and how have they adapted to modern life? One of their descendants writes, in this series, supported by a grant from Shared Ecologies - [Stories of the Sholas](https://skyislands.earth/read/stories-of-the-sholas/) - In south India, the mountain plateaus of the Western Ghats form an almost continuous wall from north to south. - [The Many Songs of the Sholakili](https://skyislands.earth/read/the-many-songs-of-the-sholakili/) - Endemic to the Shola forests of the Western Ghats, this bird has astonished scientists with its impressive repertoire of songs, possibly the most complex in the avian world - [Re-growing a Forest: The Remarkable Life of Suprabha Seshan and Her Rewilder Friends](https://skyislands.earth/read/re-growing-a-forest-the-remarkable-life-of-suprabha-seshan-and-her-rewilder-friends/) - One of the Western Ghats’ best-known restoration ecologists and conservationists speaks to us from the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary - [Think Like Moss: Lessons in Ecology from the Forest Elders ](https://skyislands.earth/read/think-like-moss-lessons-in-ecology-from-the-forest-elders/) - Ever heard the saying ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss’? - [When Romance Meets Reality: What It’s Really Like to Live in the Hills ](https://skyislands.earth/read/when-romance-meets-reality-what-its-really-like-to-live-in-the-hills/) - As someone who spent their childhood in crowded cities, I have found the mountains hold a sort of mysterious appeal. My earliest memory of the mountains is from a family trip to Chail in Himachal Pradesh, when I was 11 years old. - [Brewing Biodiversity: The Secret of Truly Special Artisanal Coffee](https://skyislands.earth/read/brewing-biodiversity-how-some-western-ghats-coffee-growers-are-adapting-to-climate-change/) - India's coffee scene has never been more buzzing—or more unpredictable. We speak to historians, coffee-growers, and artisanal brands on the past, present, and future of this dark, bitter wonderbean. - [Eating into the Wild](https://skyislands.earth/read/eating-into-the-wild/) - Wild foods are increasingly popular, as can be witnessed in the spate of festivals and events around them. A permaculture farmer pauses to consider how we forage and consume, today. - [For the Love of Butterfruit: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Avocados from Seed](https://skyislands.earth/read/for-the-love-of-butterfruit/) - A detailed growing guide to nurturing avocados, from a veteran farmer in the Palani Hills of Kodaikanal - [Mapping the Shola Sky Islands](https://skyislands.earth/read/mapping-the-shola-sky-islands/) - ‘I wouldn’t say the sky islands of the southern Western Ghats are shrinking or being destroyed. Rather, they are being transformed and changed,’ - [Cleaning Up the Nilgiris](https://skyislands.earth/read/cleaning-up-the-nilgiris/) - Meeting Dr Raees Muhammed on a cold winter morning at a friend’s office in Coonoor, I am struck by his open, smiling face as he ushers in Tamil Chelvan, a young lad of 20, his teammate at Clean Nilgiris. - [A Slow Walk Through the Nilgiri Hills ](https://skyislands.earth/read/a-slow-walk-through-the-nilgiri-hills/) - How to tune into the quiet of the ‘blue mountains’, despite the crowds and over-development of Ooty—a frequent visitor ‘ambles with Anne’, a local tour guide. - [Rewilding in God’s Own Country: The Little Flower Farm Story](https://skyislands.earth/read/rewilding-in-gods-own-country-the-little-flower-farm-story/) - To enter the 7-acre expanse of Little Flower Farms is to experience life in the lush forests of the Western Ghats - [Voyages through Vatta](https://skyislands.earth/read/voyages-through-vatta/) - In 2010, as our semester drew to an end, my college gang was eager to vacation off the grid, and we got the perfect recommendation. ## Pages - [Home](https://skyislands.earth/) - Sky Islands is an independent digital platform which aims to connect communities across the Western Ghats towards engagement, action and storytelling. We are administered by The Kodai Chronicle Trust. - [About Us](https://skyislands.earth/about/) - About Our Platform Sky Islands is an independent digital platform which aims to connect communities across the Western Ghats towards engagement, action and storytelling. We are administered by The Kodai Chronicle Trust.The Western Ghats is one of the greatest and most threatened biodiversity hotspots on Earth, and the fate of its inhabitants – humans, flora - [Engage](https://skyislands.earth/engage/) - Engage Join our campaign Kodaikanal can be a model for sustainability Kodaikanal can be more than a tourist spot — it can be a leader in co-existence and sustainable tourism. We have a clear pathway to make this possible, if we act together now! Sign our petition Jhatkaa.org partners up with Sky Islands Sky Islands - [Support Us](https://skyislands.earth/support-us/) - Support Us Support Sky Islands Sky Islands is a pioneering platform which will present stories told by the indigenous people of the Western Ghats’ rich, biodiverse lands, farmers, researchers and subject experts, showcasing all stakeholders in multiple mediums; text, audio and video. It will showcase and partner with ecologically-engaged good practices, policies and initiatives – - [Newsletter](https://skyislands.earth/newsletter/) - [Read: Travel](https://skyislands.earth/read-travel/) - Read Culture Environment Food and Farming Travel Escape Route: Tales from the Legendary Kodai-Munnar Road Sunayana Choudhry “We were driving on a road—little more than a dirt track with large pot holes—the car’s headlights eerily reflecting off the swaying silver oaks among the tea bushes and occasionally elephant or gaur dung making us wary of - [Read: Food and Farming](https://skyislands.earth/read-food-and-farming/) - Read Culture Environment Food and Farming Travel Eating into the Wild Simrit Malhi Wild foods are increasingly popular, as can be witnessed in the spate of festivals and events around them. A permaculture farmer pauses to consider how we forage and consume, today. Latest Stories The Green Queen of Spices: Cardamom’s Future in the Western - [Read-Environment](https://skyislands.earth/read-environment/) - Read Culture Environment Food and Farming Travel What the Forest-Dweller Knows Murugeshwari Balan Attending a Biodiversity Management Committee meeting in the foothills of the Nilgiris, a young Pazhaiyar woman explains what environmental awareness means for indigenous people Latest Stories What the Forest-Dweller Knows Murugeshwari Balan Chasing A Colour Bomb Preeti Swaminathan Roots Across the Sea: - [Read-Culture](https://skyislands.earth/read-culture/) - Read Culture Environment Food and Farming Travel Together We Ride Ayesha Arya At the Ootacamund Club (formerly the Ooty Hunt Club), the old ways have been sublimated into a love for the landscape—and community Latest Stories From the Western Ghats to Jharkhand: A Journey of Adivasi Culture and Connection Murugeshwari Balan Queer By Nature Nitha - [Sign Up](https://skyislands.earth/sign-up/) - A platform for andfrom the Western Ghats Home Read Engage About Support Us Home Read Engage About Support Us Home Read Engage About Support Us Log in Remember Me Log In Lost your password? Register Are you new here? Join our network! Your Name Email Your Name Register Events Sign Up To Join A Debate - [Login Customizer](https://skyislands.earth/login-customizer/) - This page is used for Login Customizer plugin. It will not be visible to your readers. Do not delete it. - [Sample Page](https://skyislands.earth/sample-page/) - This is an example page. It's different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this: Hi there! I'm a bike messenger ## Floating Elements - [Support Us Floating Bar](https://skyislands.earth/e-floating-buttons/support-us-floating-bar/) - We need your help to make this platform sustainable. Support Us ## My Templates - [SkyIslands Footer](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-footer-557) - Content area - [Elementor Search Results #19364](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-search-results-19364) - Template: Elementor Search Results #19364 What the Forest-Dweller Knows Murugeshwari Balan January 8, 2026 Attending a Biodiversity Management Committee meeting in the foothills of the Nilgiris, a young Pazhaiyar woman explains what environmental awareness means for indigenous people Together We Ride Ayesha Arya January 8, 2026 At the Ootacamund Club (formerly the Ooty Hunt Club), - [Default Kit](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=default-kit) - [Elementor Single Post #18929](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-single-post-18929) - Elementor Single Post #18929 Anaikatti is a picturesque, hilly village which lies around 30 kilometres from the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Rich with streams and diverse wildlife, it is located in the foothills of the Western Ghats. Photo: Prasanth Kumar Dasari. According to government guidelines, BMCs are to be formed in all panchayats - [Support Us Box](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=support-us-box) - Support Us - [SkyIslands Header](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-header-34) - Content area - [Post title for widgets demo](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=post-title-for-widgets-demo) - Post title for widgets demo - [Latest Widgets Demo Page](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=latest-widgets-demo-page) - Latest Widgets Demo Page - [Test Template for Widget Demos by Amjad](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=test-template-for-widget-demos-by-amjad) - Test Template for Widget Demos by Amjad - [Elementor Loop Item #18375](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-loop-item-4) - Elementor Loop Item #18375 amjito@gmail.com June 3, 2025 - [Author Archive Pages](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-archive-18275) - What the Forest-Dweller Knows January 8, 2026 Attending a Biodiversity Management Committee meeting in the foothills of the Nilgiris, a young Pazhaiyar woman explains what environmental awareness means for indigenous people Read More » Together We Ride January 8, 2026 At the Ootacamund Club (formerly the Ooty Hunt Club), the old ways have been sublimated - [Sky Islands Support Page](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=sky-islands-support-page) - Sky Islands is a platform for the Western Ghats, based in one of the greatest and most threatened biodiversity hotspots on Earth. Published by The Kodai Chronicle Trust, we launch with a fundraiser concert in April 2025. Buy a donor pass now! Support Sky Islands The Kodai Chronicle Trust presents ‘Music From the Mountains to - [Sky Islands Concert](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=sky-islands-concert) - Buy Donor Passes Support Sky Islands at Our Concert For A Cause *Update: We are happy to announce that, due to the generous contribution of a few Friends of Sky Islands we now able to offer the last few donor passes at subsidized rates. You may be aware of the changes that threaten the Western Ghats, - [Recent Writings Loop](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-loop-item-3) - Recent Writings Loop amjito@gmail.com - [Elementor Loop Item #17286](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-loop-item-2) - Elementor Loop Item #17286 amjito@gmail.com - [Elementor Loop Item #17268](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=elementor-loop-item) - [Story Final Template](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=story-final-template) - Story Final Template amjito@gmail.com March 19, 2025 In south India, the mountain plateaus of the Western Ghats form an almost continuous wall from north to south. On their higher reaches is a unique habitat found nowhere else in the world – the sholas. Derived from the Tamil word சோலை (cōlai), which means grove, this ecosystem - [Story Template](https://skyislands.earth/?elementor_library=story-template) - A platform for andfrom the Western Ghats Home Read Engage About Support Us Home Read Engage About Support Us Home Read Engage About Support Us Story Template amjito@gmail.com March 19, 2025 In south India, the mountain plateaus of the Western Ghats form an almost continuous wall from north to south. On their higher reaches is ## Categories - [Read](https://skyislands.earth/category/read/) - [Culture](https://skyislands.earth/category/read/culture/) - [Environment](https://skyislands.earth/category/read/environment/) - [Food and Farming](https://skyislands.earth/category/read/food-and-farming/) - [Travel](https://skyislands.earth/category/read/travel/) ## Tags - [Issue 7](https://skyislands.earth/tag/issue-7/) - [skyislandsexport](https://skyislands.earth/tag/skyislandsexport/) - [environmentalist](https://skyislands.earth/tag/environmentalist/) - [mountain](https://skyislands.earth/tag/mountain/) - [Photography](https://skyislands.earth/tag/photography/) - [sholas](https://skyislands.earth/tag/sholas/) - [sky islands](https://skyislands.earth/tag/sky-islands/) - [Issue 9](https://skyislands.earth/tag/issue-9/) - [History](https://skyislands.earth/tag/history/) - [road](https://skyislands.earth/tag/road/) - [Travel](https://skyislands.earth/tag/travel/) - [Issue 10](https://skyislands.earth/tag/issue-10/) - [local](https://skyislands.earth/tag/local/) - [Nilgiris](https://skyislands.earth/tag/nilgiris/) - [Ooty](https://skyislands.earth/tag/ooty/) - [tour](https://skyislands.earth/tag/tour/) - [tourist](https://skyislands.earth/tag/tourist/) - [walking](https://skyislands.earth/tag/walking/) - [farm](https://skyislands.earth/tag/farm/) - [plantation](https://skyislands.earth/tag/plantation/) - [rewilding](https://skyislands.earth/tag/rewilding/) - [tea](https://skyislands.earth/tag/tea/) - [Vagamon](https://skyislands.earth/tag/vagamon/) - [Bengaluru](https://skyislands.earth/tag/bengaluru/) - [bohemia](https://skyislands.earth/tag/bohemia/) - [hamlet](https://skyislands.earth/tag/hamlet/) - [mountains](https://skyislands.earth/tag/mountains/) - [vacation](https://skyislands.earth/tag/vacation/) - [Vattakanal](https://skyislands.earth/tag/vattakanal/) - [tkc-import](https://skyislands.earth/tag/tkc-import/) - [climate change](https://skyislands.earth/tag/climate-change/) - [tribal](https://skyislands.earth/tag/tribal/) - [lichen](https://skyislands.earth/tag/lichen/) - [agriculture](https://skyislands.earth/tag/agriculture/) - [mushroom](https://skyislands.earth/tag/mushroom/) - [Western Ghats](https://skyislands.earth/tag/western-ghats/) - [queer](https://skyislands.earth/tag/queer/) - [mycology](https://skyislands.earth/tag/mycology/) - [fungi](https://skyislands.earth/tag/fungi/) - [community](https://skyislands.earth/tag/community/) - [train](https://skyislands.earth/tag/train/) - [journey](https://skyislands.earth/tag/journey/) - [adivasi](https://skyislands.earth/tag/adivasi/) - [women](https://skyislands.earth/tag/women/) - [biodiversity hotspot](https://skyislands.earth/tag/biodiversity-hotspot/) - [Sri Lanka](https://skyislands.earth/tag/sri-lanka/) - [ecology](https://skyislands.earth/tag/ecology/) - [flora](https://skyislands.earth/tag/flora/) - [Gondwanaland](https://skyislands.earth/tag/gondwanaland/) - [literacy](https://skyislands.earth/tag/literacy/) - [school](https://skyislands.earth/tag/school/) - [Pazhaiyars](https://skyislands.earth/tag/pazhaiyars/) - [indigenous](https://skyislands.earth/tag/indigenous/) - [education](https://skyislands.earth/tag/education/) - [kingfisher](https://skyislands.earth/tag/kingfisher/) - [Maharashtra](https://skyislands.earth/tag/maharashtra/) - [Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher](https://skyislands.earth/tag/oriental-dwarf-kingfisher/) - [bird](https://skyislands.earth/tag/bird/) - [hunting](https://skyislands.earth/tag/hunting/) - [horses](https://skyislands.earth/tag/horses/) - [colonial](https://skyislands.earth/tag/colonial/) - [environmental awareness](https://skyislands.earth/tag/environmental-awareness/) - [Pazhaiyar](https://skyislands.earth/tag/pazhaiyar/) - [biodiversity](https://skyislands.earth/tag/biodiversity/)