About Nallamala Forest Reserve

• Nallamala Forest is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and is part of the Eastern Ghats.
• Nallamala Forest derives its name from the Nallamalas (also called the Nallamalla Range) which form a section of the Eastern Ghats. 
• They run in a nearly north-south alignment, parallel to the Coromandel Coast between the rivers, Krishna and Pennar.
• A part of the forest reserve belongs to the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve which is the largest Tiger Reserve in India.
• Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve and Amrabad Tiger Reserve are located in Nallamala Hills.
• Amrabad Reserve was created after the separation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
• Nallamala hills are located south of the Krishna River and run parallel to the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal.
• The rocks of the Nallamala ranges are among the oldest in the world.

About Eastern Ghats

• The Eastern Ghats run parallel to the eastern coastal plains of India. Unlike the Western Ghats, they are discontinuous in nature and is dissected by the rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal.
• As discussed above, most of these rivers have their origin in the Western Ghats. It must be noted that the Eastern Ghats are lower in elevation than the western Ghats. The highest peak of Eastern Ghats is the Jindhagada Peak.
• The difference in the elevation levels of the highest peaks in both the ghats can also be compared.
• Anaimudi which is the highest peak of the western Ghats has a height of 2695 mts whereas Jindhagada Peak of eastern Ghats is of 1690 mts.
• This gives us a fair idea of the differences in elevation levels of the hills in both the Ghats.
• The main crop produced in the Eastern Ghats is the Rice, which is also the staple food of the people living in the region.
• The Eastern Ghats reappear as more or less a continuous hill range in Cuddapah and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh where they are called as Nallamalai Range [Naxalite hideout in AP] with general elevation of 600-850 m.
• The southern part of this range is called the Palkonda range.

Difference between Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats

• Direction: Western Ghats runs parallel to the western coast in a north-south direction from the Tapi River to Kanayakumari. But Eastern Ghats runs in a north-east to south-west direction parallel to the eastern coast from Orissa to the Nilgiri hills.
• Width: Western Ghat’s average width is 50 to 80 km. But Eastern Ghat’s width varying from 100 to 200 km.
• Source of rivers: Western Ghats is source of many large rivers which flow in the Peninsular India. But no big river originates from the Eastern Ghats.
• Rainfall: Western Ghats is almost perpendicular to the south-west monsoons coming from the Arabian Sea and causes heavy rainfall in the west coastal plain. But Eastern Ghats is almost parallel to the monsoons coming from the Bay of Bengal and does not cause much rainfall.
• Physical divisions: Western Ghats continuous and can be crossed through passes only. But Eastern Ghats has been divided into several parts by large rivers.
• Elevation: Western Ghats average elevation is 900 to 1,100 meters above sea-level. But the average elevation of Eastern Ghats is about 600 metres above sea level.