Silent Valley National Park
Wildlife in Kerala
The Western Ghats on its east and the Malabar Coast on its west, adorned with the emerald backwaters and exotic spice plantations, Kerala is blessed with a riotous variety of flora and fauna. Topped up with indigenous traditional cultural practices and art forms, Kerala is increasingly gaining momentum as a popular tourist destination all over the world. Showered with an eternal sunshine, Kerala- God's own country is all nature lovers' paradise. The lush tropical evergreen rain forests still largely miraculously unspoiled in Kerala, support a rich array of land, marine and avian wildlife. The last stretch of unspoiled rain forest in India can be found at the Silent Valley National Park, a land mark in the history of environmental conservation movements in India. Interestingly it derived its name from the absence of the noisy cicadas otherwise vary common on these parts.
Location of Silent Valley
Silent Valley is located in the Kundali Hills on the Western Ghats in he Palakkad district of Kerala. Towards its north east is the Mukurthi National Park.
Background of Silent Valley
Locally known as Sairandhrivanam (meaning the forest in the valley) was initially declared a reserved area in 1888 under the Forest Act. Later the Government of Tamil Nadu declared it a reserved forest. Widely known for its biodiversity, Silent Valley hit the headlines in the 1970s when the Kerala State Electricity Board decided to launch a hydro power project and construct a dam over the Kunthi River for the purpose. This project threatened to affect the eco system of the region badly and invited severe protests from environmentalists from all over the country. As a result of which the Hydro power project had to be abandoned. The Silent Valley National Park now forms the core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
Wildlife and Vegetation at Silent Valley
This rather small 89 sq. km park is densely vegetated tropical evergreen rainforest. A wide variety of birds and butterflies throng the forest. The Ceylon Frogmouth , Great Indian Hornbill, and the Nilgiri Laughingthrush are some of the birds you will come across at Silent Valley. The rare Lion tailed Macaque can also be spotted by the lucky ones.
Climate at Silent Valley
The park gets ample rainfall during the north east and south west monsoon between June and November. The average rainfall varies from 4500 mm to 3200 mm depending upon the windward and rain shadow slopes of the Western Ghats. The temperature varies between 18 degrees centigrade during January February and 39 degrees during April May. The average humidity is quite high (around 95%).
How to Reach Silent Valley
Entering the park is subject to a prior permission from kerala State Forest Department. The town nearest to the park is Mannarkkad. The best time to visit is between September and March.
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