Some Facts About Silent Valley:
Silent Valley is a trekking destination for anybody who loves nature and one among the very few rainforests. 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. The local name for the park is Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) which is also the last representative of tropical evergreen forests in India. The rare bird species found here are the Great Indian Hornbill and Ceylon Frogmouth. There are 16 bird species in this park that have been declared as restricted or threatened. The most frequently found bird is the Black Bulbul. Anybody who loves the butterflies will surely have a feast to their eyes, because there are around 100 species of butterflies here. There are minimum 34 species of mammals like the Niliguri Langur, Nilgiri Tahr, Hairy winged Bat, Lion-tailed Macaque etc. The other animals found here are the Tiger, Panther, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat, Common Palm Civet, Fishing Cat, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Gaur, Mouse Deer, Barking Deer, Spotted Deer, Sambar and Wild Boar.Many rare species which are in the endangered list can be found here. The only animals which are not found in Silent Valley are Peacocks,Spotted Deer and Lions. The Kunthi Puzha is a river that runs 50 Kilometers untouched by Human beings .The river Kunthi descends from the Niligiri hills above an altitude of 2000 m and traverses the entire length of the valley finally rushing down to the plains through a deep gorge. The water that flows through the river is crystal clear. The Silent valley is divided into 4 sections, the Sairandthri, Poochipara,Neelikal and Wallakad.
As part of our desire to explore the wilderness we decide to set out for the Silent Valley. We reached Palakkad Railway station around 8 am in the morning. Took a Taxi towards Mukkali.The Silent Valley office is located in Mukkali.We were led to the accommodation arranged inside the Guest House. The Guest House was in the middle of a Medicinal Garden. It was a room facing the Bhavani river. After breakfast I explored in and around the Medicinal Plants Garden .After lunch decided to go on a trek.Total kilometers to be trekked to and fro was around ten. Was accompanied by a guide towards the Karuvara waterfalls.On either side of the road were houses were the local tribes of that place stayed. They were involved in the coffee plantations along with the government. On the trek towards the waterfalls we saw a giant squirrel. Saw a Kasthuri manjal plant, several cashew trees, eucalyptus, clove etc. on the way. Saw the way the local tribal people made cuts on the trees to climb high up and collect honey from the top of the trees. Finally we reached the Karuvara waterfalls .It was a beautiful waterfall and there were no people around. So it was very calm and serene. Spend a lot of time there. Did not feel like coming back from there. After the trek back to our room. Could spot a bird inside the Medicinal Plants Garden. There was a small kadavu near the guest house. Spend some time there. The night was so calm and peaceful ,with no sound. Just the sound of the river which was nearby.Got up early morning.Roamed round the garden to see whether I could spot some birds. Could spot some but could not manage to take pictures because they were high up on the trees. Spend some time playing in the water in the nearby Bhavani river. After breakfast we set out towards Sairandthri in a Jeep. There were two zones. The Buffer Zone and the Core Zone. Could spot some giant squirrels on the way towards the interiors of the forest. Reached a watch tower. Had to climb around 200 steps to reach the top. On climbing to the top we can experience strong winds touching our face. What waited for us on the top was worth the climb, an excellent view of the Silent Valley, where we could see the thick vegetation spread around.
Silent Valley is a trekking destination for anybody who loves nature and one among the very few rainforests. 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. The local name for the park is Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) which is also the last representative of tropical evergreen forests in India. The rare bird species found here are the Great Indian Hornbill and Ceylon Frogmouth. There are 16 bird species in this park that have been declared as restricted or threatened. The most frequently found bird is the Black Bulbul. Anybody who loves the butterflies will surely have a feast to their eyes, because there are around 100 species of butterflies here. There are minimum 34 species of mammals like the Niliguri Langur, Nilgiri Tahr, Hairy winged Bat, Lion-tailed Macaque etc. The other animals found here are the Tiger, Panther, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat, Common Palm Civet, Fishing Cat, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Gaur, Mouse Deer, Barking Deer, Spotted Deer, Sambar and Wild Boar.Many rare species which are in the endangered list can be found here. The only animals which are not found in Silent Valley are Peacocks,Spotted Deer and Lions. The Kunthi Puzha is a river that runs 50 Kilometers untouched by Human beings .The river Kunthi descends from the Niligiri hills above an altitude of 2000 m and traverses the entire length of the valley finally rushing down to the plains through a deep gorge. The water that flows through the river is crystal clear. The Silent valley is divided into 4 sections, the Sairandthri, Poochipara,Neelikal and Wallakad.
As part of our desire to explore the wilderness we decide to set out for the Silent Valley. We reached Palakkad Railway station around 8 am in the morning. Took a Taxi towards Mukkali.The Silent Valley office is located in Mukkali.We were led to the accommodation arranged inside the Guest House. The Guest House was in the middle of a Medicinal Garden. It was a room facing the Bhavani river. After breakfast I explored in and around the Medicinal Plants Garden .After lunch decided to go on a trek.Total kilometers to be trekked to and fro was around ten. Was accompanied by a guide towards the Karuvara waterfalls.On either side of the road were houses were the local tribes of that place stayed. They were involved in the coffee plantations along with the government. On the trek towards the waterfalls we saw a giant squirrel. Saw a Kasthuri manjal plant, several cashew trees, eucalyptus, clove etc. on the way. Saw the way the local tribal people made cuts on the trees to climb high up and collect honey from the top of the trees. Finally we reached the Karuvara waterfalls .It was a beautiful waterfall and there were no people around. So it was very calm and serene. Spend a lot of time there. Did not feel like coming back from there. After the trek back to our room. Could spot a bird inside the Medicinal Plants Garden. There was a small kadavu near the guest house. Spend some time there. The night was so calm and peaceful ,with no sound. Just the sound of the river which was nearby.Got up early morning.Roamed round the garden to see whether I could spot some birds. Could spot some but could not manage to take pictures because they were high up on the trees. Spend some time playing in the water in the nearby Bhavani river. After breakfast we set out towards Sairandthri in a Jeep. There were two zones. The Buffer Zone and the Core Zone. Could spot some giant squirrels on the way towards the interiors of the forest. Reached a watch tower. Had to climb around 200 steps to reach the top. On climbing to the top we can experience strong winds touching our face. What waited for us on the top was worth the climb, an excellent view of the Silent Valley, where we could see the thick vegetation spread around.
From there we could see the origin of Kunthi river. This is the only river which flows through Kerala, which is untouched by Humans until it reaches the Silent Valley. We went towards the origin of the Kunthi river. It was around 2 kilometers from there. The water was crystal clear with no dirt. On the way we saw a Butterfly Group which belonged to the Category Blue Tiger. There was and a metal suspension bridge near the river marks the point till where tourists are allowed .Had a good time there. After that went towards a museum which portrays the wildlife and also the various wild life sanctuaries in an around Kerala.The Lion tailed Marcque is protected here along with the Hornbill.The museum shows a wide variety of orchids.Different footprints of different animals were also displayed there. After spending some time there we drove back on the Jeep Could spot many varieties of butterflies with different colours like yellow, orange,blue,Black and white dots etc.On the way back saw different types of monkeys.Crimson Rose,Stripped Tiger,Small Leopard and Common Crow are some of the varieties of butterflies I could find there.On the way back saw the giant squirrel.After reaching back spend time around the room where I stayed. I could spot a hornbill high up in the tree in that garden. Could spot a number of other bird’s also.Finally we left from our room in the evening. Final ending to a trip where we could experience nature closer than we have ever done before.
Conservator of Forest Palakkad.The distance from there to Poochippara is a 7 kilometer trek.Have a nice boot to avoid leeches on the way.The vegetation found in this park is
varied and has been categorized into four major types. These include tropical hill forests, temperate, grasslands and moist tropical evergreen. So explore this place which was
unexplored till the 19th century.
Best Time To Visit: September to March
Location : 40 km from Mannarkkad, Palakkad district, north Kerala.
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