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Kathalekan Sacred Grove (Myristica swamp)
Kathalekan hamlet, Siddapur taluk, Uttara Kannada district (Sharavati valley), Karnataka
India
Active (proposed sanctuary)
Single grove
- Location
- Kathalekan hamlet, Siddapur taluk, Uttara Kannada district (Sharavati valley), Karnataka
- Coordinates
- ~14.28°N 74.75°E
- Elevation
- Western Ghats valley
- Size
- Small valley swamp grove
- Age / Founded
- Ancient (relict Myristica swamp; long-sustained worship)
- Status
- Active (proposed sanctuary)
- Deity & Religion
- Local forest deity; Hindu (devara kaadu)
- Community & Guardians
- Local Uttara Kannada communities
- Vernacular name
- Devara kaadu (Kan Kannada)
- Record type
- Single grove
Cultural practices & uses
Sacred freshwater-swamp worship; in-situ conservation
Plant species
Myristica swamp: Myristica (wild nutmeg, stilt roots), Calophyllum apetalum, endangered Dipterocarpus indicus (gurjan), critically endangered Syzygium travancoricum, Semecarpus kathalekanensis
Biome & fauna
Myristica freshwater swamp (Western Ghats); 35 amphibian species (26 endemic); lion-tailed macaque habitat nearby
Threats & protection
To be protected as a sanctuary; one of best-known Myristica swamps
Source
Mahmood 2025, IJFMR 7(3); WGBIS/IISc & Mongabay-India (Myristica swamps)