Palakkad Gap
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The Palakkad Gap is a 30-40 kilometer wide low mountain pass in the Western Ghats, near Palakkad town in the Indian State of Kerala.
The gap is the lowest pass through the Western Ghats. It is also the only break in that stretch of the Ghats that otherwise runs along the entire western edge of Kerala isolating the State from the neibouring State of Tamil Nadu. It acts as a corridor between the two States by linking Palakkad District of Kerala with Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu and has served as part of the important trade route between the east and west coasts of peninsular India since ancient times.
The gap is also important in the climate of southern India; it allows the moisture-laden Southwest monsoon winds into the Coimbatore region, which moderates Coimbatore's summer temperature and generates greater rainfall in the region relative to the rest of lowland Tamil Nadu.
