Mountain Ranges, Hills and Peaks
The ranges, hills and high peaks UPSC keeps asking about, from the Karakoram to the Cardamom Hills.
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Every place on this map
Asked in exams
Actual questions from UPSC and state PCS papers that this map answers. The key detail column carries the correct fact behind each question.
| Exam | Question | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| UPSC 1995 | J&K ranges on a map: Karakoram, Ladakh, Zanskar, Pir Panjal | — |
| UPSC 2006 | Markha valley: Jammu & Kashmir | — |
| UPSC 1994 | Oldest Himalayan range: Great Himalaya | not Dhaula Dhar |
| UPPCS | Kamet: Uttarakhand | — |
| UPSC 2003 | Nanda Devi: Kumaon Himalayas | — |
| UPSC 2022 | Nanda Devi - Kumaon Himalaya ✓ | Nanda Devi lies in the Kumaon Himalaya, Uttarakhand |
| UPPCS | Nanda Devi: Uttarakhand | — |
| UPPCS | Trishul: Uttarakhand; Gosain Than not in India | — |
| UPSC 1994 | Oldest range: Great Himalaya, not the Siwalik | — |
| UPPCS | East: west: Namcha Barwa: Kanchenjunga: Everest: Nanda Devi | — |
| UPSC 2022 | Namcha Barwa - Garhwal Himalaya ✗ | Namcha Barwa is in the eastern Himalaya, on the Arunachal-Tibet border |
| UPSC 2014 | Saramati Peak - Nagaland ✓ | Saramati is the highest peak of Nagaland |
| UPPCS | Saramati: Nagaland | — |
| UPSC 2006 | Dzukou valley: Nagaland | — |
| UPSC 2014 | Mikir Hills - North-East India ✓ | Mikir Hills are in Karbi Anglong, Assam |
| UPSC 2022 | Nokrek - Sikkim Himalaya ✗ | Nokrek is in the Garo Hills, Meghalaya |
| UPSC 2007 | Guru Shikhar: Rajasthan | — |
| UPSC 1989 | Guru Shikhar: Aravalli | — |
| UPPCS | Gurushikhar: Mt Abu, Aravalli | — |
| UPSC 1979 | Oldest mountains: Aravallis | — |
| UPSC 1997 | Aravalli: Pre-Cambrian | — |
| UPSC 1982 | River between Vindhya and Satpura: Narmada | — |
| UPSC 2014 | Kaimur Hills - Konkan coast ✗ | the Kaimur Hills are in MP-Bihar, part of the Vindhya system |
| UPSC 2005 | Tapi lies south of the Satpura ✓ | — |
| UPSC 1989 | Dhupgarh: Satpura | — |
| UPSC 2014 | Mahadeo Hills - Central India ✓ | the Mahadeo Hills are in Madhya Pradesh, central India |
| UPPCS | Dhupgarh: Madhya Pradesh | — |
| UPSC 2023 | Amarkantak = Vindhya + Sahyadri ✗ | Amarkantak is at the Vindhya-Satpura junction, in the Maikal Hills |
| UPSC 2007 | Narmada rises at Amarkantak | — |
| UPSC 1995 | Range in only one state: Ajanta | — |
| UPSC 2023 | Biligirirangan = easternmost Satpura ✗ | Biligirirangan Hills are in Karnataka-Tamil Nadu, near the Eastern Ghats |
| UPSC 2008 | Where Eastern and Western Ghats meet: Nilgiri Hills | — |
| UPSC 1989 | Doddabetta: Nilgiri | — |
| UPPCS | Doddabetta: Tamil Nadu | — |
| UPSC 1990 | Palghat gap: between the Nilgiris and the Anamalai hills | — |
| UPSC 2005 | Anai Mudi = highest peak in the Western Ghats ✓ | — |
| UPPCS | Anamudi = highest peak of peninsular India | asked 3 times |
| UPSC 2014 | Cardamom Hills - Coromandel coast ✗ | the Cardamom Hills are in the Western Ghats, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border |
| UPSC 2020 | Agasthyamala BR: Neyyar, Peppara, Shendurney, KMTR | — |
| UPSC 2015 | Srisailam - Nallamala Hills ✓ | — |
| UPSC 2005 | N: S: Nallamalai: Javadi: Nilgiri: Anaimalai | — |
| UPSC 2023 | Seshachalam = southernmost Western Ghats ✗ | the Seshachalam Hills are in the Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh |
| UPSC 2007 | Shevaroy Hills: Tamil Nadu | — |
| UPSC 1994 | Oldest Himalayan range: Great Himalayan Range | — |
| UPSC 2005 | Western Ghats higher in the north ✗ | the Western Ghats rise southward; Anai Mudi in the south is the highest peak |
| UPSC 2017 | Western Ghats in five states only ✗ | the Western Ghats span six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| UPSC 2008 | Eastern and Western Ghats meet: Nilgiri Hills | — |
| UPSC | Kanchenjunga: highest peak of India, in Sikkim | 8,586 m |
| UPSC | Pir Panjal: southernmost of the four main Kashmir ranges | Karakoram, Ladakh, Zanskar, Pir Panjal |
About this map
This map plots the ranges, hills and peaks the exam keeps returning to, from the Karakoram to Agasthyamalai. Tap any marker for its one-line identity: which system it belongs to, what it is known for, and the years UPSC asked it.
The standard trap is ordering: north-to-south sequences of Himalayan ranges, or west-to-east arrangements of peninsular hills. Use the zoom to fix relative positions in your head rather than memorizing lists.
Peaks are asked as highest-point-of-state questions and as pair-matching (peak to range). If a marker carries year chips, that place has appeared before and deserves a second look.
