TREKKING IN SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Mannarkkad, Kerala.

TREKKING IN SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Mannarkkad, Kerala.

The Silent Valley National Park with an area of 237. 52 sq km is located in the Northeastern corner of Palakkad district. It rises abruptly to the Nilgiri Plateau in the North and overlooks the plains of Mannarkkad in the South. Extremely fragile, a unique preserve of tropical evergreen rain forests which is a veritable nursery of flora and fauna, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

The core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the Silent Valley National Park. Despite its name, the Silent Valley (the clamour of Cicadas is conspicuously absent here) is a rich storehouse of biodiversity. It is a true Garden of Eden for students of life sciences, professional scientists and field biologists.

The Silent Valley National Park (Sairandri) is one among very few places on earth that has absolutely no history of human inhabitation. Also, it is one of the last remaining rainforests and tropical moist evergreen forests in India. The British named it Silent Valley for a very simple reason — that it lacked the presence and loud chorus of cicadas. It is an undisturbed tract located in the south of the Western Ghats in Kerala. For the very reasons that it is unique, the Silent Valley National Park attracts much attention — from curious visitors as well as hard core trekkers. Its forests span nearly 240 square kilometers and are juxtaposed with several habitats. It is widely considered as one of the most diverse in terms of ecology and biodiversity. It is no surprise that the highest peak in Pallakkad district is also situated here.