Silent Valley

The only remaining undisturbed tropical evergreen rainforest in peninsular India is in the Western Ghats, along the western corner of the Nilgiris, in Palakkad district of Kerala. It is called the Silent Valley, yet it throbs with the muted sounds of the forest. The soughing wind amidst thick, moss-laden tree trunks. The rustle of dead leaves as a rat snake hunts a toad. The slushy chomps of the giant Malabar squirrel as it shovels fruit into its jaws. The almost inaudible flapping of wings as a bunch of butterflies flutters out of the grass. The melody of a Malabar whistling thrush piercing through the roar of waterfalls, rain and the gurgling river.

The core of the Niligiri Biosphere Reserve, it probably is one of the magnificent gifts of nature to mankind. Silent Valley is a unique reserve of tropical rain forest in all its pristine glory with an almost unbroken ecological history. Above an altitude of 2000 meters with an area of 90 Sq. Km it has a fair representation of rare species of Flora and Fauna.

Why then is this kingdom of varying decibels called the Silent Valley? One popular explanation traces the origin of the name to the absence of cicadas—insects with large transparent wings held rooflike over the back, whose males make a loud, shrill, chirping sound at night, a sound characteristically associated with a tropical forest. But that explanation, if it was ever true, is no longer valid, for today the cold nights in the Silent Valley are frequently wrapped in a blanket of cicada sounds.
A more plausible explanation is that the term is a result of the Anglicisation of ‘Sairandhri’, the local name for the forest, also synonymous with Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. Another etymology leads to the lion-tailed macaque, a medium-sized monkey with a long face and cheek pouches, scientifically named Macaca silenus. In Greek mythology, Silenus is an aged woodland deity with horse-ears, similar to the satyr.

Whatever the origins of its name, the Silent Valley is an explorer’s delight and a trekker’s challenge. In recorded history, no human has ever made the Silent Valley his or her home. The topographic isolation of the plateau—cut off on all sides by steep ridges and escarpments—has prevented human habitation. The forests here remained undisturbed until the middle of the 19th century. That isolation has also allowed it to endure as an ecological island, preserving the fauna and flora over the 50 million years that is said to be its evolutionary age.

A roughly rectangular tableland extending over almost 90 sq km, the Silent Valley slopes towards the 25-km long river Kuntipuzha, the origin of which is at an elevation of 2,400 m in the outer northern ridges of the Nilgiris at the confluence of three tributaries. From that height it drops rapidly to 1,150 m on the northern edge of the plateau, and then flows in a north-south direction for about 15 km to the Mannarkkad plains.

All along the river is a catchment area with around 70 sq km of minimally modified ‘climax’ forest. Ecologists define climax as the ultimate stage in the evolution of plant communities in equilibrium with the climate and other environmental factors, developed in the absence of human interference. As a result, the Silent Valley boasts a wealth of biological and genetic heritage, a rare biodiversity. Most of the forests in the Silent Valley are classified as typical tropical wet evergreen and riparian forests. Other vegetation types include moist deciduous forests and subtropical temperate forests (sholas).
The World Conservation Union (IUCN), has labelled the Western Ghats as a biodiversity ‘hotspot’—a prime candidate for conservation, intensive studies and long-term monitoring. Both of the Silent Valley’s best-known primates—the Nilgiri langur and the lion-tailed macaque—are listed in IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Animals.
The Silent Valley’s virginity and biogeographic isolation, and the pristine uniqueness of its flora and fauna, unsullied by human activity, lay at the root of the movement to save it from a hydroelectric project of the Kerala State Electricity Board. After over a decade (1977-1988) of environmental campaigning, media advocacy and assessments by expert committees, the state government was forced to declare the area a National Park.

Getting There:
Silent Valley is situated in the northeastern part of Palakkad district, Kerala. The nearest town is Mannarkkad (66Km). Bus transport is available to Mukkali(23 Km). You can hire a private jeep from Mukkali to Sairandhiri or trek right up. Jeep takes 1 hour while a trek uphill takes between 4-5 hours. Visitors are few as the place is totally non-commercialised. Forest officials are helpful and dedicated.
Entry fee per visitor is Rs 20/-. Private jeeps from Mukkali to Silent valley and back cost Rs 450/-. You can also take your own vehicle with permission from forest officials (Vehicle entrance fee-Rs 100/-). On the way uphill you see the Karivara farm inhabited by the Mudukar tribes of the Attapadi forest reserve.
The forest guest house at Mukkali has dormitories and 3 rooms. The inspection Bungalow at Sairandhiri has 4 rooms with solar powered electricity. Room rent for a couple at both places is Rs 400/- and rooms are quite basic. There is no other private lodging facility available anywhere nearby. Hence it is best to book your accommodation in advance.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Nearest town: Mannarkkad-66 Km
Nearest Airport: Coimbatore (68 Km)
Nearest Railhead: Coimbatore (68 Km), Palakkad(106 Km)
Best time to visit: September to March
Contacts: Wildlife Warden, Silent Valley National Park, Mannarkkad, Palakkad, Kerala, Pin-628582 (Tel: 04924-222056) Email- wlwsvnpmkd@sancharnet.in
Assistant Wildlife Warden, Silent Valley National Park, Mukkali P.O, Palakkad, Kerala, Pin-678582 (Tel: 04924-253225). Email- awlwsvnpmkd@sancharnet.in