The Silent valley National Park is situated in the north-eastern side of the Palakkaddistrict in Kerala, India. This particular national park spreads over an area of 90 sq. kilometers covering the beautiful Nilgiri plateau that overlooks the plains of the south. This particular national park is the core of the Nilgiri biosphere and is known to have a very fragile ecosystem.
The name “Silent Valley” has been probably given to this area that makes up the national park due to the absence of the clamoring cicadas which can be found creating a racket in the adjoining forests.
The park is also well known for the phenomenon called evapo-transpiration which is very high in this area. This phenomenon allows easy condensation of water vapor and it is this that causes the cool summer rains.
Flora and fauna
The national park of Silent Valley is famed for its unique tropical evergreen forests that comprise of several species of rare plants and trees. Some of the flora that grows in this region is indigenous to it and can’t be found anywhere else in the world. The biodiversity of plants here is simply amazing and probably the highest in all of the Western Ghats.
It has over a 1000 varieties of flowering plants and innumerous varieties of non-flowering plants. The exotic and rare orchids are also found here. It has recorded over 110 species of these beautiful flowering plants.
In terms of fauna the park is home to more than 34 species of mammals, 150 species of birds, 200 species of butterflies, 400 species of moths and 128 species of beetles. Recently the biologists here have discovered 10 new species of beetles.
The mammals that one can normally see here are the sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, elephants and some other herbivores. The elusive and hard to spot inhabitants of the park are jungle cats, leopards and tigers. The birds that one can find here are stork, woodpecker, kingfisher, raptor, dart, cormorant etc. In fact one can find all the 16 endemic species of the south Indian birds in this park.
Activities
As of such there are no activities to do here but bird watching and a walk through the national park are great activities to indulge in. The park is mostly used by students of life science, field biologist and professional scientists as research grounds for their studies.
Accommodations and Restaurants
The hotels that you can stay in while visiting the Silent Valley National Park are KTDC Tamarind (Kozhikode-Palakkad National highway stretch), Planters retreat (Kanhirapuzha, Palakkad) etc . To eat and dine you could visit are D.T. family restaurant and Bar (21.1 kms), Hotel restaurant Kinara (22.3 kms), Utsav Restaurant (25 kms) etc.
Best time to Visit
The best time to visit this national park would be the months of December to April when the temperatures are the coolest. Summer months are best avoided as it gets very hot.
Getting In
The nearest railway station is of Palkad which is located at a distance of 69 kilometers away. The nearest airport is the Coimbatore International Airport in Tamil Nadu which is located at a distance of about 91 kilometers. Once alighting from the plane or the train you can take a taxi or a bus to the national park.
