Silent Wildlife Sanctuary
About Silent Wildlife Sanctuary
40 km from Mannarkad in the northeastern corner of Palakkad
district. The Silent Valley contains India’s last substantial
stretch of tropical evergreen rain forests and it is perhaps the
only vestige of a near virgin forest in the whole of the Western
Ghats. Elephants, tigers, wild dog, flying squirrel and lion-tailed
macaque are found here. The local name for the park is
Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) and had been a centre of
hot debats and protests in the decades of the 70's and 80's of the
20th century. The history of the park goes way back to 1888 when the
region was declared a reserved land under the Forest Act and later
notified as a Reserved Forest by the Government of Madras in 1914.
Though smaller in size in comparison to the other national parks in
India, what makes it unique is the sylvan environment the region has
along with its high altitude peaks and several rivers that run
through it.
Climate :
The Silent Valley National Park is a heavy rainfall region with the
places in the higher altitudes getting the highest rain. The average
rainfall in the region varies between 2800 and 3400 mm. The park
receives most of its rainfall during the southwest monsoon from June
to December. The relative humidity is considerably high during this
season with the maximum at times going to 95%. April and May are the
hottest months while January and February are the coolest months,
though not much difference in the temperature is experienced.
Fauna :
The fauna include a number of possible new species, a few very
primitive animal groups, notably Caecilians (limbless amphibians)
and some rare small mammals such as the peshwa's bat and
hairy-winged bat.
Avifuana :
About 170 species have been recorded of which 31 are migrants.
Insects :
More than 100 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths.
Quite a few of them are extremely rare and endemic
Best Time to Visit :
September to March
Getting There
From Palghat there are frequent buses from Mannarghat(40 km).
Mannarghat is connected to Mukkali (19 km) by bus. Silent Valley is
18km away from Mukkali which can be reached by Jeep or Truck.
