Anamali Hill - The Monsoon Mountain
I have been planning for one & half year for this tour to one of the bio-diversity hot spot in the heart of Western-Ghat.VALPARAI is a hill-station of Anamali range,64 km away from Pollachi via 40 hair-pin bends of well laid road of Tamilnadu state.This hill station is mainly a tea plantation plateau surrounded by three forests,namely Indra Gandhi WLS,Parambhikulam Tiger Reserve &Vazachal forest.Ranging in altitude from 400m to 2600m in Southern Western Ghat,Anamali is home to some of the rarest & magnificent mammals,birds,plants & amphibians in the world.This area is home to the Lion-tailed Macaque,Nilgiri Langur,Brown Palm Civet,Nilgiri marten,Asiatic Elephants,Tiger,Leopard & lots of other mammals.These forests are also home to more than 400 species of birds out of which many are found only in Western Ghat & no where else.
In last week of September 2012,the climate of the hillstation is very soothing & raining frequently.I have roaming for next 2 days in the hillstation for glimpses of some of the wildlife species in its own habitat.I have booked my lodging & fooding at Valparai through a web-portal,Valparaionline.com. The scenic beauty of the hillstation is magnificent and two nice dam situated in two end of Valparai ,namely-The Aliyar Dam & Sholiyar Dam.
I have reached valparai at about 1pm and shifted to my home stay -The Hornbill Crest.In afternoon after completing my lunch,I went for sightseeing.In late evening i found a herd of 10-15 Indian Bison with calf in Parry-Agro tea estate and spoted some birds,malabar giant squirrel & Nilgiri Langur. On next day in early morning I went to the Puthuthottam Estate to see The Lion-tailed Macaque and lucky enough to see this endangered endemic primate and also seen another Endangered endemic The Nilgiri Thar.
- The Lion-Tailed Macaque(Macaca silenus) is a endangered(IUCN status) monkey of southern india and its key feature is shorter tufted tail that looks like a lions tail.Its moves in a characteristic slow motion style on tree topand sounds like a "coyeh" or "coo".This is a medium- to large -sized macaque,which is very arboreal in its natural habitat but its main conservation threats are habitat loss & poaching( only 3000 left in the wild).
- The Nilgiri Thar (Hemitragus hylocrius) is closely related to its cousin Himalayan goat but endangered ( IUCN status) endemic wild goat of southern india.the short ,greyish-brown coat of the females and young bucks is dark brown tending to blue-black in adult males,with a whitish saddle-shaped patch across the shoulder & back.The throat and abdomen are white,the horns of both sexes are parallel and curve backwards.Montane grassland and rocky crags,interspersed with shola forests are home of this wild antelopes and habitat destruction & poaching are threats the species( only 2500 left).
Main birds species sighted there are -Malabar grey hornbill,Scarlet minivet,Rufous babler,Red whiskered bulbul,Malabar blue whistling thrush etc.There are plenty of leeches in the primary forest patches all over the area.
There are many staying options at Valparai from luxurious bunglows to budget hotels & home stay.Valparai town is situated at the heart of hill station & host many shops,hospitals &; bus terminals.
Other places of Interest : ( a)aliyar Dam,( b)Sholyar Dam,(c)Balaji Temple.(d)Monkey falls.(e)Grass Hills.(f)Athirapally Falls.
Important facts about Valparai :(a)How to Reach:Well connected by road from Coimbatore & from Kochi.Both routes are very good ,road condition is excellent but Via Pollachi is little bit better.Route1:Coimbatore - Pollachi -Aliyar dam- Valparai(approx 3hrs drive)
Route2:Kochin-athirapally falls-Chalakudi-Vazachal forest-sholyar Dam-Valparai(approx:4hrs30min drive)
(b)Climate :Summer-32-22 C & winter-25-10 C.Heavy rainfall throughout the year,3000mm precipitation/year.
(c)Best time to visit : Oct-May.But most beautiful in rainy season,Jun to Aug.
