The Eastern Ghats

Four of peninsular India’s biggest rivers have spent millions of years cutting straight through the Eastern Ghats. That’s why, unlike the Western Ghats, this range never quite forms one continuous wall.

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Indian Geography · IndGeo0025

Eastern Ghats vs Western Ghats

Eastern Ghats

Shape: Discontinuous, river-cut

Avg. elevation: ~520 m

Highest peak: Jindhagada, 1,690 m

Age: Older, more eroded

Western Ghats

Shape: Continuous, unbroken wall

Avg. elevation: 900-1,600 m

Highest peak: Anamudi, 2,695 m

Age: Younger, less eroded

Rivers that carved it apart

The Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri cut straight through the range — between the Godavari and Krishna, the hills nearly vanish into plateaus and Gondwana basins.

Coffee under forest canopy

Araku Valley and Koraput grow coffee at 900-1,370 m, farmed mostly by tribal cooperatives — lower rainfall and different soil give it a cleaner flavour profile than Western Ghats coffee.

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Must Know

• The Eastern Ghats run along India’s east coast, from West Bengal through Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu.
• Unlike the continuous Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats are discontinuous, broken up by erosion.
• Four major peninsular rivers cut through them: the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri.
• Between the Godavari and Krishna, the hills nearly disappear, giving way to plateaus and Gondwana basins.
• Their highest peak, Jindhagada, also called Sitamma Konda or Arma Konda, stands at 1,690 metres, in Andhra Pradesh‘s Araku Valley.

Good to Know

• The Eastern Ghats are older than the Western Ghats, and far more eroded.
• Their average elevation runs to about 520 metres. That’s well below the Western Ghats’ 900 to 1,600 metres.
• Other Araku Valley peaks include Arma Konda, Gali Konda, and Sinkram Gutta, all above 1,600 metres.
• The Eastern Ghats also receive less rainfall than the Western Ghats, and sit on different underlying geology.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. What key structural feature distinguishes the Eastern Ghats from the continuous Western Ghats?

The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous, broken up by erosion from major rivers

The Eastern Ghats are entirely underwater, unlike the Western Ghats

The Eastern Ghats are younger than the Western Ghats

The Eastern Ghats have no rivers cutting through them at all

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Great to Know

• Araku Valley, in Andhra Pradesh, and Koraput, in Odisha, are the Eastern Ghats’ two established coffee-growing regions.
• That coffee grows under forest canopy, at roughly 900 to 1,370 metres, farmed mostly by tribal cooperatives rather than private estates.
• Lower rainfall and different soil geology give Eastern Ghats coffee a distinct, often cleaner flavour profile than Western Ghats coffee.
• The contrast between the two ranges — one continuous and monsoon-blocking, the other broken and drier — shapes much of peninsular India’s climate and agriculture.