Silent Valley National Park in Palakkad

The eerie silence, emphasised by the missing Cicadas that gave Silent Valley its name, may make you feel and hear things you could never have imagined. A few centuries ago, before humans reached the Silent Valley, this reserve of tropical rainforests stood undisturbed and tranquil like a perfectly hidden diamond.

Located in the Northeast corner of Palakkad district, Silent Valley was named a National Park only in 1984. It was called ‘Sairandhrivanam’ as it was here that Sairandhiri (the secret identity donned by Panchali, from the epic Mahabharata) is believed to have hidden along with her five husbands, the Pandavas, while escaping their cruel cousins, the Kauravas. The Kunthippuzha River which feeds the entire forest was named after Kunthi, mother of the Pandavas. It is shielded by the Nilgiri Plateau to the North and the Mannarkkad Plains to the South. It constitutes the centrepiece of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, an integral part of the Western Ghats, christened a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012.

The flora and fauna found here make one wonder if this ecosystem has survived since the very beginning of time. From tigers, leopards, elephants, snakes, Lion-Tailed Macaques and Malabar Giant Squirrels to moths, bugs and toads, the diversity in fauna is breathtaking. Along with them, one can view over 1,000 species of flowering plants and another 110 species of orchids that enchant all who see them. Over 400 species of moths and 200 species of butterflies have been catalogued here. The 128 species of beetles deserve special mention since 10 of them were previously unknown to mankind.

Many have passed through here since then but none have been able to put to words the exact feelings or detail the emotions evoked by the experience these forests have to offer. It is something to be observed first-hand, this absolute gift of nature, with secrets that mankind is yet to truly understand.