Going to the forests is going home - A glimpse of the breathtaking beauty of Silent Valley National Park, India
Nestled within the southern ranges of the Western Ghats is a hidden gem that is as beautiful as it is endangered.
This is Silent Valley National Park, located in the Nilgiri mountains in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. The Nilgiris are also referred to as the blue mountains (Neel (or Nil) in Hindi means blue, and giri means ranges/mountains/hills). The core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the Silent Valley National Park.
Silent Valley is one of the last undisturbed tracts of pristine rainforests in the Western Ghats. The region is rich in flora and fauna and is home to many endangered and indigenous species of birds, reptiles and insects. The region was declared a UNESCO Western Ghats World heritage site in 2007.
In the mid to late 1970s, the Kerala government had a plan of building a hydroelectric dam across the river Kunti, which is the lifeline of Silent Valley national park. The plan was opposed by environmentalists and an environmental socialist movement called “Save Silent Valley” was started. The proposed project would have submerged hundreds of acres of pristine forest land and displaced a large number of local tribes from the region. The endangered Lion Tailed macaque became the face of the campaign.
Eventually, due to overwhelming opposition to the project, the Kerala government cancelled the hydroelectric project and this led to the creation of Silent Valley National Park in 1980.
The region was declared a UNESCO Western Ghats World heritage site in 2007.
What’s in the name?
Quite a lot actually. Silent Valley is called Silent Valley because of a perceived absence of noisy cicadas. These are small insects that create a chorus of buzzing sounds that reverberates throughout the forest during the day. The absence of these insects gives an eerie silence to the forest.
Silent valley has been one of the most pristine forests I’ve ever visited in India. It is as beautiful a forest as I have ever seen. Divided into 3 zones, the core area is the Silent Valley national park range itself, the other two ranges being the Attapady range and the Bhagavati Range. To get to the core area, you have to go on a very bumpy forest road for nearly 22km from the entry point at the Bhagavati range. There are numerous forest guard outposts along the way. These act as an ever present deterrent to poachers.
Silent valley has charmed many souls with its beauty and solitude, and I’m sure it will do the same to you too.
Here are some pictures of this amazing natural beauty.
Welcome to Silent Valley National Park!
The buffer zone, or the core area of Silent Valley national park is deep within the sanctuary. It is 22km from the forest gates at the Bhagavathi Range.
The road through the forest that leads to the core area.
The pugmark of a Tiger reminds us that we are tresspassing...
The Kunti river that is the lifeline of Silent Valley National Park
An aerial view of Silent Valley National Park from the 100ft tower in the core area.
The colors of Silent Valley National Park...
Come, celebrate and help conserve the rainforest!
Travel Information
There are stay options at Silent Valley National Park, but these need to be confirmed in advance.
Contact +918589895652/04924222056 for information and details regarding staying at Silent Valley National Park.
Alternatively, you can email them at [email protected] . They reply promptly.
Check out the official website at www.silentvalley.gov.in
The nearest town is Palakkad. ALTERNATIVELY, you can stay at Mannarkad. Hotel Ritzy Malabar in Mannarkad is a great and very affordable place to stay. The food is great as well! From Mannarkad, Silent Valley is about 15km away. You can contact the hotel on +9104924225601.
Nearest railway station: Palakkad, about 69 km away
Nearest airport: Coimbatore International Airport (Tamil Nadu), about 91 km
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed lookig at Silent Valley through these images as much as I enjoyed visiting the place and experiencing the magic of the forest myself. This is a place you should definitely visit if you find yourself in Kerala.
You might like some of my earlier work. You can check them from the links below:
The Golden Peak of Kerala in stunning Images
Exploring Kerala on 2 wheels - A Video
Exploring Kerala on 2 Wheels - A Steemit Blog
I am currently uploading the video of the roadtrip on DTube, the blockchain powered video sharing network! Check back for the video in some time!
Thanks for reading. If you like my work, please upvote and leave a comment, resteem. If you are looking at travelling in India, do feel free to ask for any help and information you would need.
Follow me @thebatmanbiker
You can find my Instagram channel on the46batman
Excelsior! :)
Nice write-up! How on earth do you manage to find such places!!!! It seems so tranquil and beautiful 😊😊
Wanderlust and a lot of time on google maps ;)
Silent valley has been on my mind for a long time, never got around to going there until last December. I love forests and have a bucketlist of them :)
Wow, that's really a beautiful place. Thanks
Yes @hananan! It is! Thanks for reading! :)
The Dtube video is now up! I've some footage of Lion tailed Macaques, and a Black Panther that I managed to sight at Silent Valley National Park.
Check out this link: https://steemit.com/dtube/@thebatmanbiker/28ufu98t