Tucked away on the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, some 50 kilometres from Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, lies Palakkad. It is known as ‘the gateway to Kerala' because it opens Kerala to the rest of the country through a 25 mile wide gap in the Western Ghats known as the Palakkad Gap. Incidentally, the latter happens to be the largest mountain pass in the world.
In the north-eastern corner of Palakkad lies the famed Silent Valley. The Silent Valley is spread over 237 square kilometres and happens to be among the oldest stretches of rainforests in the world. It is possibly the only region in the country with a relatively undisturbed evolutionary history of at least 50 million years.
The Mahabharata tells the story of the Pandavas losing a game of dice, and being sent into exile for 13 years. Legend has it that the Pandavas had spent the better part of these years in the Silent Valley.
No song for the cicada
The clamour of the cicadas is conspicuously absent here. It is this silence that made the British name ‘Silent Valley' in 1847.
A power project that was coming up on the Kuntipuzha River in the 1970's had triggered off one of the fiercest environmental campaigns the country has ever known. The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi stepped in and stopped the project from coming up.
In 1984, the Silent Valley was declared a national park.
Mannarkkad is the nearest town from the Silent Valley. About 22 kilometres from Mannarkkad is Mukkali — the starting point for a trip to the Silent Valley. Buses ply every hour between Mannarkkad and Mukkali. The Silent Valley is divided into four parts of which only Sairandhri is open to visitors. From Mukkali, you need to hire a jeep to get to Sairandhri. The breathtaking journey from Mukkali to Sairandhri takes about an hour. Entry to the Silent Valley National Park is permitted from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm only. Visitors need to leave by 5.00 pm.
The denizens of the Silent Valley National Park include the lion-tailed macaque (one of the most endangered primates of the country), the Nilgiri Tahr, barking deer, elephant, tiger and over a 100 species of birds.
The 100 feet watch tower at Sairandhri gives the visitor a bird's eye view of the Silent Valley.
Setting foot in the Silent Valley can be a stepping stone to a higher plane of understanding. The forest department of Kerala regularly conducts nature camps inside the Silent Valley National Park for school children.
Brass Tacks
The Silent Valley is located about 75 kilometres from Palakkad.
The best time to visit the Silent Valley is from October to March.
For more details on the Silent Valley, check out the Silent Valley National Park's website http://www.silentvalley.gov.in
The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) runs a hotel called Tamarind at Mannarkkad, about 45 kilometres from the Silent Valley. For more details, mail tamarindmannarkkad@ktdc.com
What's in a name?
In 1847, Robert Wright made the first investigations in the Silent Valley area. There are many legends as to how the valley got its name. One theory is that the British named it so, because of the absence of the Cicadas. Another theory says it is the Anglicisation of Siarandhri. Locally the area is known as Sairandhrivanam – which when translated means Sairandhri's Forest. Sairandhri is the name of Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. Yet another story claims it is so named because of the many lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus).
And the river flows
The Kuntipuzha flows through the entire 15 km length of the park from north to south, finally meeting the Bharathapuzha. The Kuntipuzha divides the park into a narrow eastern sector and a wide western sector. This is a perennial river and the waters run crystal clear.The main tributaries of the river are kunthancholapuzha, Karingathodu, Madrimaranthodu, Valiaparathodu and Kummaathanthodu and they originate on the upper slopes of the eastern side of the valley. The river is uniformly shallow, with no flood plains or meanders.
Rich biodiversity
Above 1,500 m, the evergreen forests begin to give way to stunted forests, called sholas, interspersed with open grassland. Both are very important to naturalists, biologists and other researchers because the rich biodiversity here has never been disturbed by human settlements. Several threatened species are endemic here. New plant and animal species are often discovered here.
