Silent Valley National Park
Highlights: Parambikulam, Attappadi or Mountain Valley, Choolanur Peacock Sanctuary
How To Reach:
By Air: The nearest airport from Silent Valley National Park is Coimbatore (55 kilometers away from the town)
By Rail: The nearest railhead to visit Silent Valley is Palakkad (at a distance of 75 kilometers)
Road: There is a regular bus service to Silent Valley National Park.
Located at a distance of 40 kilometers from Mannarkkad in Kerala, was declared a reserved forest by the Government of Madras in 1914. The Park covers an area of about 77 square kilometers. Butterflies are the main highlight of the Park. The Park is locally known as Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley). As the name suggests, there does seem silence in this Park due to the wilderness. But the animals and the birds at the Park are always making sounds. It is difficult to locate animals in this sanctuary because of its thick forests.
The park forms the core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Park has rocky terrain and therefore is difficult to penetrate. The pristine beauty of this place is still maintained. The birds found in the sanctuary are bonellis' hawk eagle, house martin, shaheen falcon, Indian black-crested baza, short-eared owl, penisular scops owl, Ceylon frog mouth, great Indian hornbill, Niligiri laughing thrush, rufous bellied hawk eagle, rufous bellied shortwing and Malay bittern. There are over a 100 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths and other fauna like the Ceylon Frog Moth, the Nilgiri Laughing Thrush, Great Indian Hornbill and the Lion-tailed Macaque in the Park.
The Park has a cool atmosphere because of higher rate of transpiration. Crystal clear perennial River Kunthi flows through the Park and falls from an altitude of 2000 meter above sea level.
The best time to visit the Park is between the months of September and March.
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