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Silent Valley National Park : Situated in the Palakkad district of Kerala. Silent Valley in Kerala is considered India’s last area of tropical evergreen rain forest and is a precious biodiversity resource, which you can visit on tours with Kerala Backwater. Threatened by the construction of a dam across the Kunti River, which flows out of Silent Valley National Park, during the 1970′s, Silent Valley was rescued as a result of an agitation by environmentalists and conservationists in Kerala.

Lion-Tailed Macaque

Silent Valley is home to the largest population of Lion-tailed Macaque. Public controversy over their habitat led to establishment of Silent Valley National Park.

Situated in the Kundali Hills, 40 Km from Mannarkkad, in the Western Ghats in Kerala, Silent Valley National Park is one of the few remaining pristine forest areas in the Western Ghats. It was declared a National Park in 1980 and is the core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Called Silent Valley because the loud calls of Cicadas heard elsewhere in this region are not heard here, Silent Valley has an amazing range of wildlife.

Tigers, deer, and mammals native to the South Indian Peninsula, such as the Nilgiri Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Lion-Tailed Macaque, Flying squirrel and Civet Cat are found in Silent Valley National Park. You can enjoy observing these rare animals and many more in Silent Valley National Park on a tour with Kerala backwater.

FLORA : The flora of the valley include about a 1000 species of flowering plants, 108 species of orchids, 100 ferns and fern allies, 200 liverworts, 75 lichens and about 200 algae. A majority Of these plants are endemic to the Western Ghats.

In addition to facilitating recharge of the aquifer, water retention of the catchment basin and preventing soil erosion, every plant in the park from the smallest one celled algae to the largest tree in the forest has unknown potential for beneficial innovations in biotechnology.

More than 100 butterflies species and 400 moth species have also been observed in Silent Valley National Park. Birds such as the Malabar Hornbill, Great Indian Hornbill, hoopoes, tree pie, barbets, crow pheasant, woodpeckers, rollers, drongoes, kingfishers and parakeets can be seen in abundance in Silent Valley National park. Many varieties of snakes, amphibians and lizards can also be seen in Silent Valley.

There are more than 110 species of plants in Silent Valley National Park, including many plants that are known for their medicinal properties. The best time to visit Silent Valley is from September to March, during the pleasant winter.

Flowering Plants : Angiosperm flora currently identified here include 966 species belonging to 134 families and 599 genera. There are 701 Dicotyledons distributed among 113 families and 420 genera. There are 265 Monocotyledons here distributed among 21 families and 139 genera. Families best represented are the Orchids with 108 species including the rare, endemic and highly endangered orchids Ipsea malabarica, Bulbophyllum silentvalliensis and Eria tiagii, Grasses (56), Legumes (55), Rubiaceae (49) and Asters (45). There are many rare, endemic and economically valuable species, such as cardamom Ellettaria cardamomum, black pepper Piper nigrum, yams Dioscorea spp., beans Phaseolus sp., a pest-resistant strain of rice Oryza Pittambi, and 110 plant species of importance in Ayurvedic medicine.[34] Seven new plant species have been recorded from Silent Valley, including in 1996, Impatiens sivarajanii, a new species of Balsaminaceae.

Trees : Occurrence of lion-tailed macaque is dependent on the flowering of Cullenia exarillata in the forest. Six distinct tree associations have been described in the valley. Three are restricted to the southern sector: (Cullenia exarillata & Palaquium ellipticum), (Palaquium ellipticum & Mesua ferrea(Indian rose chestnut) and (Mesua ferrea & Calophyllum elatum). The remainder are confined to the central and northern parts of the Park: (Palaquium ellipticum & Poeciloneuron indicum), (Calophyllum elatum & Ochlandra sp.) and (Poeciloneuron indicum & Ochlandra sp.).

A study of natural regeneration of 12 important tree species of Silent Valley tropical rain forests showed good natural regeneration of all 12 species. The species studied were Palaquium ellipticum, Cullenia exarillata, Poeciloneuron indicum, Myristica dactyloides, Elaeocarpus glandulosus, Litsea floribunda, Mesua nagassarium, Cinnamomum malabatrum, Agrostistachys meeboldii, Calophyllum polyanthum, Garcinia morella and Actinodaphne campanulata.

Recent selective felling of three trees per acre, has led to the cutting of 48,000 m³ of timber from about 20 km². There is a huge hollow Kattualying tree here which can fit 12 people inside.

Silent Valley National Park Birds

Birds : Birdlife International lists 16 bird species in Silent Valley as threatened or restricted: Nilgiri Wood-pigeon, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Grey Hornbill, White-bellied Treepie, Grey-headed Bulbul, Broad-tailed Grassbird, Rufous Babbler, Wynaad Laughing Thrush, Nilgiri Laughing Thrush, White-bellied Shortwing, Black-and-rufous Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher, White-bellied Blue-flycatcher, Crimson-backed Sunbird and Nilgiri pipit.

Rare bird species found here include Ceylon Frogmouth and Great Indian Hornbill. The 2006 winter bird survey discovered Long-legged Buzzard, a new species of raptor at Sispara, the park’s highest peak.

The survey found 10 endangered species recorded in the IUCN Red List including the Red winged crested cuckoo, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Pale harrier. The area is home to 15 endemic species including the Black-and-orange Flycatcher. It recorded 138 species of birds including 17 species that were newly observed in the Silent Valley area. The most abundant bird was the Black bulbul.

GAUR | Silent Valley National Park Birds

Mammals : Gaur, largest of all wild cattle.There are at least 34 species of mammals at Silent Valley including the threatened Lion-tailed Macaque, Niligiri Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Nilgiri Tahr, Peshwa’s Bat (Myotis peshwa) and Hairy-winged Bat. There are nine species of bats, rats and mice.

Distribution and demography of all diurnal primates were studied in Silent Valley National Park and adjacent areas for a period of three years from 1993 to 1996. Fourteen troops of lion-tailed macaque, eighty-five troops of Nilgiri langur, fifteen troops of bonnet macaque and seven troops of Hanuman langur were observed. Of these, the Nilgiri langur was randomly distributed, whereas the lion-tailed macaque troops were confined to the southern sector of the Park. Bonnet macaques and Hanuman langurs were occasional visitors. The Silent Valley forest remains one of the most undisturbed viable habitats left for the endemic and endangered primates lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri langur.

The tiger, leopard (panther), leopard cat, jungle cat, fishing cat, Common Palm Civet, Small Indian Civet, Brown Palm Civet, Ruddy Mongoose, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Dhole, clawless otter, sloth bear, small travancore flying squirrel, Indian pangolin (scaly anteater), porcupine, wild boar, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer and gaur also live here.

Insects : There are at least 730 identified species of insects in the park. The maximum number of species belong to the orders Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Many unclassified species have been collected and there is a need for further studies. 33 species of crickets and grasshoppers have been recorded of which one was new. 39 species of true bugs (six new) and two species of Homoptera (both new) have been recorded. 128 species of beetles including 10 new species have been recorded.

Silent Valley National Park Birds

Over 128 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths live here. A 1993 study found butterflies belonging to 9 families. The families Nymphalide and Papilionidae contained the maximum number of species. 13 species were endemic to South India, including 5 species having protected status. 7 species of Butterflies were observed migrating in a mixed swarm of thousands of butterflies towards the Silent Valley National Park.

In one instance an observer noted several birds attempting to catch these butterflies. The bird species included the Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata, Nilgiri Pipit Anthus nilghiriensis, Tickell’s Warbler Phylloscopus affinis, Greenish Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides and the Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosa.At least 500 species of earthworms and leeches have also been identified in the park.

Climate : Silent Valley gets copious amounts of rainfall during the monsoons, but the actual amount varies within the region due the varied topography. The mean annual rainfall ranges from over 5000 mm in the Neelikal area in the west to around 3200 mm on the eastern side of the park. The park being completely enclosed within a ring of hills, has its own micro-climate and probably receives some convectional rainfall, in addition to rain from two monsoons. In general the rainfall is higher at higher altitude and decreases from the west to east due to the rain shadow effect.

Eighty per cent of the rainfall occurs during the south-west monsoon between June and September. It also receives significant amount of rainfall during the north-east monsoon between October and November. The mean annual temperature is 20.2 °C. The hottest months are April and May when the mean temperature is 23 °C and the coolest months are January and February when the mean temperature is 18o C. Because of the high rainfall, the relative humidity is consistently high (above 95%) between June and December.

The nearest airport to Silent Valley National Park is Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, which is 55 Km away. By road Silent Valley is 40 Km from Mannarkkad and there are regular bus services. Enjoy a trip to the biodiversity rich Silent Valley National Park with Kerala Backwater.