Kerala, the paradise of nature lovers, is one of the best places for vacations. No one would miss the opportunity of a
trip to Kerala, ‘God’s Own Country’. It is abound in forests and wildlife. It has some of the best wildlife sanctuaries in India as it gives shelter to some of the threatened and endangered species of animals and birds. Kerala is flanked by the Eastern Ghats in the East and the Arabian Sea in the West. A total area of about 10336 square km is covered under forest in this state which constitutes about 26.6% of the total land area. The famous wildlife parks in Kerala are Silent Valley National Park, Periyar National Park, Eravikulam National Park and Wayanad National Park.
The core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the Silent Valley National Park which is a gifted place on Earth. It was declared a national park in the year 1984 and covers an area of about 89.52 sq km. The best time to visit Silent Valley is between September and March. The park is mainly covered by Malabar Rain Forest which covers over 1000 species of plants. Kunithupuzha River runs through the park and provides water to the wildlife in the park. There are about 25 species of mammals, 170 species of birds and 35 species of reptiles in the forest. Species of animals such as macaque, tiger, leopard, sloth bear, elephant, Nilgiri Langur, Gaur and sloth bear are found in the forest. The major species of birds that are found are Ceylon frog mouth, great Indian Hornbill, Nilgiri laughing thrush, house martin, eagle, hawk edge, shaheen falcon, Indian black-crested baza, bonellis’ hawk short eared owl, peninsular scops owl and Malay bittern.
