Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Facts and Figures

Area	:	89 sq km
Altitute	:	658-2383 meters above the sea-level
Rainful	:	1,624.3 mm
Minimum Temperature	:	20.4°C
Maximum Temperature	:	39.0°C
Languages	:	Malayalam and English
Best Time to Visit	:	September to March
STD Code	:	04924 (Mannarghat)

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Introduction

Located in the Kundali Hills of the Western Ghats, the Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary holds a valuable reserve of rare plants and herbs. The park is rich in its wildlife, and elephants, lion-tailed macaques and tigers are the most common denizens of this park. A visit to Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary should be considered a lifetime experience, as this is the last representative virgin tract of tropical evergreen forests in India.

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.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Climate

The climate of the Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is pleasant during winter (November-March) and hot during summer. The temperature is on the rise from the month of March until the monsoons break here in mid-June, and goes on till September. October offers relief from the humidity and heat.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Location

The Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary 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.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Biosphere

Flora
The vegetation of Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is tropical moist evergreen forest with the special status of Rain Forests. The main plants are teak, semal, amla, rosewood, and bamboo.

On the basis of altitude, one can divide the vegetation types in four different categories. The tropical evergreen forests comprise extensive dense forests along the hills and valleys. The sub tropical hill forests take the areas of higher altitude while the temperate forests are characterized by the unrelated evergreen species with a dense closed canopy. The grasslands are mainly limited to the higher slopes and hilltops in the eastern sector.

Fauna
Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary has a strong fauna population with many of the endangered species residing here. Most commonly seen here are elephant, tiger, lion-tailed macaque, gaur, wild pig, panther and sambar. Some other species of wildlife have also been recorded here including 15 species of invertebrates, two fishes, and two amphibians.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary has a total of 26 species of mammals and 120 species of avifauna, many of them considered endangered. Apart from these, there are 11 species of snakes, 19 species of amphibians, and nine species of lizards in the park.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: How to Reach

By Air
Airport - Peelamamedu Airport, Coimbatore (155 km from the Silent Valley National Park)

Coimbatore is the nearest airport and there are regular flights to Chennai, Kozhikode, Mumbai, and Madurai of the Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.

By Rail
Railway Station - Olavakkode Railway Station, Palghat (75 km from the Silent Valley National Park)

The nearest railway station is Palghat connected to all the metros and most of the other important cities of the country by regular trains.

By Road
We at indianvisit.com can provide you all tourist permit car/coach, for the city and intercity drives and can look after all your travel related services.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Where to Stay

Rest houses are available in Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary to stay in, though not many facilities are available. One can also stay at Palghat, which has a good number of accommodation options available. It is difficult to get food inside the park except for the local eateries so one should arrange in advance for food.

Silent Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: Links to outside world

STD/ISD and postal facilities are available in Mannarghat. Internet facilities are available at reasonable rates in Palghat.