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Wildlife - Kerala
Silent
Valley National Park
Place:
Palghat district, Kerala
Best time to visit: September
to March
Nearest town:
Mannarkkad (40km)
Main Attraction:
Lion-tailed Macaque and Nilgiri
Langur
Set up in the year1984,
this park is located in the district of Palghat, spread over an area
of 89.52 sq.km along the Kunthi river valley. Located 40 km from
Mannarkkad, Silent valley is extremely fragile, a unique preserve of
tropical evergreen rain forests, totally undisturbed, lying above
the equator and the forest strip which causes the summer rains
during June- July in Kerala. The local name for the park is
Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) which is also the last
representative of tropical evergreen forests in India. The park
which is remote has difficult terrain and is surrounded 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. The park which has
never had human habitation is in the core area of the Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve.
The fauna here includes around 100 species of butterflies, 400
species of moths, Ceylon Frog Moth, Great Indian Hornbill, the
Nilgiri Laughing Thrush, the giant Malabar squirrel, Nilgiri langur,
the lion-tailed Macaque, elephant, tiger, leopard, wild bear, nilgai,
sambar, pit viper etc. The parks best known primates, the
Nilgiri Langur and Lion- tailed macaque are both listed in IUCN's
Red List of Threatened Animals. A valuable reserve of rare plants
and herbs including around 966 flowering and over 100 orchids plants
are found along with the wide range of animals and birds. This park
consist of 10 sq.kms of evergreen forests, 15 sq.kms of semi
evergreen forests and 40 sq.kms of leaf shedding forests with a
large variety of trees. There are very old trees in the park
including a huge hollow tree which can hide at least 12 people in
it.
Trekking:
Visitors are allowed only up to Sairandhiri, the dam site 23km from
Mukkali. There after trekkers need special permission from the
Conservator of Forests; Northern Region; Palakkad, to venture on to
one of the several trekking routes. The terrain is rough and one has
to be vary of the leeches. The 7km trek from Sairandhiri to
Poochappara 1376m above sea level takes around two hours.
Accommodation:
There
is a Forest Department Rest House at Mukkali, headquarters of the
forest Department nearly 23km from the park. (Ph:
0492-453225). There is a 40 bed dormitory (Rs.50 per bed), 3
bedrooms and a two room hut. There are private hotels in Amballoor.
How to reach there
Air :
The nearest airport is at Coimbatore
(in neighbouring Tamilnadu
State), about 55 km and at Kochi.
Rail : Thrissur
(24km) and Coimbatore
( 55km ) are the nearest railway stations for reaching the park.
Palghat or Palakkad (80km)is also a convenient rail head.
Road :
Regular buses are available from
Palakkad (80km) to Mukkali. Bus transport is only up to Mukkali,
nearly 23 km from the park. The rest of the way has to be covered
hiring a van or a jeep from Mukkali or on foot up to the source of
Kunthi river, which flows through the valley before merging with the
Bharathapuzha (Nila). Echippara is the headquarters of the
sanctuary.
Wildlife
Silent
Valley National Park || Peppara
Wildlife Sanctuary
Mudumalai
Wildlife Sanctuary || Parambikulam
Wildlife Sanctuary
Periyar
Wildlife Sanctuary || Kumarakom
Bird Sanctuary || Idukki
Wildlife Sanctuary
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