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INTRODUCTION
Located in the
Kundali Hills of the Western Ghats, the
Silent Valley National Park holds a valuable reserve of rare plants
and herbs. The park is rich in its wildlife, and elephants,
lion-tailed macaques and tigers are the most common denizens of this
park. A visit to this park should be considered a lifetime
experience, as this is the last representative virgin tract of
tropical evergreen forests in India.
Though smaller in size in comparison to the other
national parks in India, what makes it unique is the sylvan
environment the region has along with its high altitude peaks and
several rivers that run through it.
HISTORY
Silent Valley has a very eventful history in
comparison to the other wildlife parks in the country. The local
name for the park is Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) and
had been a centre of hot debates and protests in the decades of the
70's and 80's of the 20th century. The history of the park goes way
back to 1888 when the region was declared a reserved land under the
Forest Act and later notified as a Reserved Forest by the Government
of Madras in 1914.
In the later half of the 1970's, Kerala State
Electricity Board decided to construct a Hydel Power Project in this
region and when in 1980, this region was declared as National Park,
the area of Hydel Project was not included. This started fierce
discussions and protests and the Board had to drop its plan.
Subsequently, in 1984, the park was again renotified as a National
Park with the project area included. In 1986, the Silent Valley was
declared the core area in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
LOCATION
The Silent Valley National Park is situated in
the Palghat or Palakkad district of the southern Indian state of
Kerala. A part of the Western Ghat along the Arabian Sea, the park
extends from latitude 11°04' in the North to longitude 76°79' in the
East. The park is contiguous with Attappadi Reserve Forests in the
east, and vested forests of the Palghat and Nilambur divisions in
the west and south. In the North, the park is an extension of the
Nilgiri Forests.
CLIMATE
The Silent Valley National Park is a heavy
rainfall region with the places in the higher altitudes getting the
highest rain. The average rainfall in the region varies between 2800
and 3400 mm. The park receives most of its rainfall during the
southwest monsoon from June to December. The relative humidity is
considerably high during this season with the maximum at times going
to 95%. April and May are the hottest months while January and
February are the coolest months, though not much difference in the
temperature is experienced.
ATTRACTIONS
Flora
The vegetation of this park is tropical moist
evergreen forest with the special status of Rain Forests. The main
plants are teak, semal, amla, rosewood, and bamboo.
On the basis of altitude, one can divide the
vegetation types in four different categories. The tropical
evergreen forests comprise extensive dense forests along the hills
and valleys. The sub tropical hill forests take the areas of higher
altitude while the temperate forests are characterized by the
unrelated evergreen species with a dense closed canopy. The
grasslands are mainly limited to the higher slopes and hilltops in
the eastern sector.
Fauna
The park has a strong fauna population with many
of the endangered species residing here. Most commonly seen here are
elephant, tiger, lion-tailed macaque, gaur, wild pig, panther and
sambar. Some other species of wildlife have also been recorded here
including 15 species of invertebrates, two fishes, and two
amphibians.
The park has a total of 26 species of mammals and
120 species of avifauna, many of them considered endangered. Apart
from these, there are 11 species of snakes, 19 species of
amphibians, and nine species of lizards in the park.
PLACES NEARBY
In the vicinity of the Silent Valley National
Park are situated wildlife sanctuaries such as the Parambikulam,
Choolanur Peacock Sanctuary, Attappadi or Mountain Valley, and JP
Smriti Vanam. Also in the vicinity are hill stations like Coonoor
and commercial centers like Coimbatore.
REACHING THERE
By
Air
Airport - Peelamamedu Airport, Coimbatore (155 km
from the Silent Valley National Park)
Coimbatore is the nearest airport and there are
regular flights to Chennai, Kozhikode, Mumbai, and Madurai of the
Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.
By
Rail
Railway Station - Olavakkode Railway Station,
Palghat (75 km from the Silent Valley National Park)
The nearest railway station is Palghat connected
to all the metros and most of the other important cities of the
country by regular trains.
By
Road
Bus Stand - Mannarghat (32 km from the Silent
Valley National Park)
Mannarghat is the nearest important township from
where one can get buses to all the places in the region like Palghat,
Coimbatore and others. There are frequent buses from Palghat to the
Silent Valley National Park. Buses are also available from
Coimbatore to the park.
STAYING THERE
Rest houses are available in the park to stay in,
though not many facilities are available. One can also stay at
Palghat, which has a good number of accommodation options available.
It is difficult to get food inside the park except for the local
eateries so one should arrange in advance for food.
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