Geography The backdrop to the town is formed by an offshoot of the Western Ghats, the Palani Hills, whereon lies the hill-station of Kodaikanal. The view within the town is dominated by the two hills, Sivagiri and Sakthigiri, on the former of which lies the temple. At the foot of the hills lie several lakes which drain to the Shanmuganathi river, a tributary of the Amaravathi River (itself a tributary of the Kaveri River), which takes its source on the slopes of the Palani Hills.The nearest towns are Oddanchatram, Dharapuram, Udumalaipettai, Kodaikanal. Demographics According to 2011 census, Palani had a population of 70,467 with a sex-ratio of 1,023 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 6,467 were under the age of six, constituting 3,283 males and 3,184 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 16.57% and 0.23% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.95%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 19,015 households. There were a total of 27,150 workers, comprising 372 cultivators, 1,277 main agricultural labourers, 763 in house hold industries, 23,478 other workers, 1,260 marginal workers, 40 marginal cultivators, 68 marginal agricultural labourers, 107 marginal workers in household industries and 1,045 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Palani had 84.71% Hindus, 12.4% Muslims, 2.44% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists, 0.42% following other religions and 0.02% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference. Transportation Roadway National Highway NH 83 connects Coimbatore to Nagapattinam via Palani Tiruchirappalli Thanjavur. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Limited TNSTC buses connect the town to other parts of the state. KSRTC buses connecting places like Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Guruvayur, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, and kottarakara are available at particular interval of time from Palani bus stand. 24 hours buses are available on all three main roads (via Dharapuram, Oddanchatram and Udumalaipettai) Railway Station Code :PLNI, Palani is a part of the Coimbatore-Rameswaram BG line prior to the commencing of gauge conversion. On 20 November 2012, the Dindigul-Palani section of the line was completed, and the local railway station opened to railway traffic again. Currently there are passenger trains are crossing from Madurai, Thiruchendur to Coimbatore, Palakkad. And a daily express train available between Palani to Chennai. Recently Amritha express running from Madurai - Thiruvananthapuram via Dindigul, Palani, Pollachi, Palakkad,