SILENTVALLEY

	Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
	Fast facts State Kerala Area 89 sq km Languages Malayalam and English Best Time to visit September to March About Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary The Silent Valley National Park is located in the Kundali Hills in Kerala, along the hill ranges known as the Western Ghats. The Silent Valley is considered to be the last pristine region of tropical evergreen forest in India and is an area rich in biodiversity. The lush tropical greenery, undulating slopes, hills and rivers make the Silent Valley National Park a beautiful wildlife tourism destination in Kerala, India. The park is also known for the rare and unique herbs and plants that grow here, as well as the wildlife found in the Silent Valley, which include elephants, tigers and lion-tailed macaques. Situated in the Palakkad district of Kerala, the Silent Valley National Park is adjacent to the Attappadi Reserve Forests to the East, the Palghat and Nilambur forest divisions in the West and South and the Nilgiri Forests in the North. This biodiversity hot spot is a unique treasure trove of rare flora and fauna. The Silent Valley National Park was threatened by the construction of a Hydel Power Project during the 1970's. Protests by environmentalists led to the renotification of Silent Valley as a National Park in 1984. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve with the Silent Valley National Park as its core area, was created in 1986. Wildlife in Silent Valley Sanctuary Silent Valley National Park is called Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley). There are four distinct types of vegetation in this biodiversity intensive area. The rain forest has moist tropical evergreen trees with teak, rosewood, amla, bamboo and semal. Apart from this there are tropical hill forests, temperate forests and grasslands. The wildlife in Silent Valley National Park includes elephants, tigers, leopards, wild boar, sambhar, gaur and the endangered lion-tailed macaque. There are also a number of snake, lizard and amphibian species in the Silent Valley National Park. Around Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary Not far from the Silent Valley National Park are the hill resort of Coonoor, the rapidly growing town of Coimbatore and a number of wildlife sanctuaries such as the Parambikulam sanctuary, the Attappadi or Mountain Valley, the Choolanur Peacock Sanctuary and the JP Smriti Vanam. Travel Tips There are rest houses where tourists can stay within Silent Valley national Park. Palakkad town nearby has many hotels, guesthouses and cyber cafes so you can stay in touch with the world, even in the quiet retreat of Silent Valley. Climate The climate at Silent Valley National Park is warm in summer and pleasant in winter. The temperature rises to a maximum of around 35°C in June and drops to a moderate 20 °C in December. The Southwest monsoon lasts from July to September and brings heavy rainfall to Silent Valley. The humidity can reach 95% and the rainfall during the year can reach over 1600 mm. How To Reach Silent Valley National Park can be accessed by air, rail and road. Peelamamedu Airport, at Coimbatore is the nearest airport, at a distance of 155 km from Silent Valley National Park. There are daily flights to Coimbatore from the cities of Chennai, Mumbai, Kozhikode, and Madurai. Olavakkode Railway Station at Palakkad, 75 km away, is the nearest railway station and is connected to Silent Valley National Park by road.