Silent Valley National Park
Best time to visit :
September to March
Nearest Airport : Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (155km)
Nearest Railway Station : Palakkad (75km)
Nearest Town : Mukkali
The Silent Valley National Park in
Palakkad District is perhaps the last undisturbed tropical rain forest
in India. It is also one of the very few continuous forest strips,
still left in the Western Ghats.
The diversity of its fauna is comparable to that of the rain forests
of Panama. Surprisingly, the Silent Valley was declared a National
Park only as late as in 1980. This was a direct consequence of perhaps
the most fierce conservation battle in the environmental history of
India.
The organisation, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, succeeded in
stopping the Kerala Electricity Board from going ahead with a
hydroelectric project in the valley, and saved 500ha of rich tropical
rain forests from being inundated.
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The Flaura and Fauna
Besides an array of plant life, the Silent Valley has over 110 plant
species of medicinal value, and seven new plant species have been
discovered here. Approximately 30 mammal species including the tiger,
leopard, elephant, the Nilgiri langur, the Malabar giant squirrel, the
lion-tailed macaque, wild dogs and the gaur can be seen at the park.
120 species of birds, 100 species of butterflies, 400 species of
moths, 19 species of amphibians, with 9 lizard species and 11 snake
species have also been recorded.
The Silent Valley has not been known to support any other human
population besides the Mudakar tribals who live in the nearby valley
of Attappady Reserve. The entry point to the Silent Valley is through
the town of Mukkali. The park receives very few visitors, and provides
no infrastructure for an overnight stay.
¤ The Wildlife Attractions
This continuous branch of forestland is fundamental to the existence
of animals like the endangered Malabar giant squirrel and the Nilgiri
langur, even though the Silent Valley only supports a small population
of these animals.
They need an unbroken forest canopy to move about on, and almost
never travel long distances on ground. The metre-long and fluffy
Malabar giant squirrel lives on the treetops of the tallest of trees,
30 to 40 metres above the ground. The female gives birth to one pup at
a time, and its ‘little giant’ stays under the protection of
its mother for a full year. During this period the mother and its pup
prance about the tree delightfully and play together.
Perhaps there are only about 5,000 Nilgiri langurs on the planet, all
of which are endemic to the Western Ghats. Some organs of the body of
the Nilgiri Langur are supposed give a man’s potency a boost.
This seems to be a reason for hunting the Nilgiri langur down
mercilessly. It’s glossy skin is also in great demand in the
international fashion market. But fragmentation of forests poses the
most serious threat to these handsome beings.
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