Silent Valley National Park is situated in the
Nilgiri Hills, Palakkad District in Kerala, South India. The National Park is
probably one of the most magnificent gifts of nature to mankind, a unique
preserve of tropical rain forests in all its pristine glory with an almost
unbroken ecological history. Silent Valley is s on all sides with high and
continuous ridges and steep escarpments, as a result the valley is shielded
from the extremes of climate as well as anthropogenic interventions and so it
remained an ecological island with a special micro climate.
The river Kuntipuzha descends from the Nilgiri Hills
above an altitude of 2000 m and traverses the entire length of the valley
finally rushing down to the plains through a deep gorge.
The flora of the valley includes thousand species of flowering plants, 107 species of orchids, 100 species of fern and fern allies, 200 species of liverworts, 75 species of lichens and about 200 species of algae. Ipsea malabarica, Bulbophyllum silentvalliensis, Eria tiagii are some of the rare orchids seen in the Valley.
Fauna
Silent Valley National Park is a reservoir of wildlife and birds. It is a paradise for animal lovers. The fauna that can be seen at Silent Valley Park are:
Birds
At Silent Valley park 138 species of birds can be sighted. The birds mostly seen are Ceylon Frogmouth and Great Indian Hornbill. The 2006 winter bird survey discovered Long-legged Buzzard, a new species of raptor at Sispara, the park's highest peak. The area is home to 15 endemic species including the Black-and-orange Flycatcher. The most abundant bird was the Black bulbul.
Mammals
34 species of mammals can be seen at Silent Valley including Lion-tailed Macaque, Niligiri Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Nilgiri Tahr, Peshwa’s Bat (Myotis peshwa) and Hairy-winged Bat. There are nine species of bats, rats and mice. The tiger, leopard, leopard cat, jungle cat, fishing cat, Common Palm Civet, Small Indian Civet, Brown Palm Civet, Ruddy Mongoose, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Dhole, clawless otter, sloth bear, small travancore flying squirrel, Indian pangolin, porcupine, wild boar, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer and gaur can also be seen here.
Insects
Atlease 730 species of insects can be seen here. Major species belong to Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. 33 species of grass hoppers and crickets has been recorded. 39 species of true bugs and two species of Homoptera have been recorded. 128 species of beetles including 10 new species have been recorded.
Accomodation
There are many hotels and resorts at Palakkad, Kerala few are listed below:
·
Silent Valley Treetop Resort costing around
12,500 Indian Rupees.
·
Kairali Ayurvedic Health Resort located at
Palakkad is also an ideal destination to stay. It costs around $265 or 17,000
Indian Rupees.
·
Vision Nature Resorts is also a nice weekend
gateway located at Attapadi Hills, Palakkad it costs around $115 or 7,000
Indian rupees.
Apart from this there are many hotels and resorts
which can be explored. The rates are not fixed in these hotels it changes from
season to season and on also varies as per amenities provided. Best time to Visit Silent Valley
Silent valley park can be visited anytime between the months of December to April.
How to Reach Silent Valley
Air: Nearest airports are Cochin (135km), Coimbatore (55km) and Calicut (80km)
Rail: The Nearest railhead is Palakkad Junction, which is nearly 60kms from the base camp of the national park, Mukkali. Coimbatore Junction is also 45km away from Mukkali, the base camp
Road: Buses are available from Palakkad (60km) and Coimbatore (45km)
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