In which one of the following highlands of India can you find temperate forests called 'Sholas'?

The correct answer is A, Nilgiris. Sholas are patches of stunted, evergreen montane forest found in the sheltered valleys and folds of the high hills of the southern Western Ghats, above about 1,500 metres. They are best known in the Nilgiris, and also occur in the Anaimalai and Palani hills. The shola patches are surrounded by rolling montane grasslands, and this shola-grassland mosaic acts like a sponge that stores rain and feeds rivers such as the Bhavani and the Kaveri's tributaries. Although they lie in the tropics, the height gives them a temperate climate, so they are classed as tropical montane or southern temperate forests. They are home to the Nilgiri tahr and many endemic birds and frogs. Option B is wrong because the Vindhyas are low, dry hills with tropical deciduous forests. Option C is wrong because the Satpuras carry moist and dry deciduous forests such as teak and sal. Option D is wrong because the Himalayan temperate forests of oak, deodar and pine are not called sholas. Exam tip: sholas = Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Palani hills, southern Western Ghats.