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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