Valparai History|Geography | Economy | Transport | Wildlife |
Valparai Geography :
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Valparai is located at an average elevation of 3,914 feet
(1,193 m). It is close to the border with Thrissur district of the Kerala state.The
typical temperature range in Valparai is 25 °C (max) to 15 °C (min) in summer
and ( and 15 °C (max) to 10 °C (min) in winter.
Chinna Kallar is one of the places in Valparai which
receives the highest rainfall areas in India.
Valparai Economy :
The economy of Valparai largely depends on plantation
crops. Valparai has a high concentration of tea and coffee estates. Most of the
people living here work in these estates.
The Government of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with ITDC
initiated the construction of private resort hotels and parks to attract
tourists.Valparai is surrounded by many dams and hydro electric power plants.
Aazhiyaar Dam is at the foothill of this cluster of
mountains. As we go up Upper Aazhiyaar dam is located off the road(which branches
off from the main road to Valparai) to Kadampaarai.
In Kadamparai there is Kadamparai Dam and beneath the
mountain a special kind of power station of TNEB (now TANGEDCO) is located. The
road to this Kadamparai Pumped Storage Hydro Electric Power Station branches
some 2 miles before and goes through a tunnel which ends up in the vast
underground power station complex.
The water from the dam flows through one of the dual
penstocks and after rotating the turbine it is pumped up to the dam with a
powerful motor through the other penstock. Lower Neeraar Dam and Upper Neeraar
Vier are located beyond Kadamparai near Kerala border.
Tamil Nadu Government's Chinchona estate and factory are
located on the road to Neeraar dam. Chinchona is used in the medicine to cure
malaria. Sholayaar Dam is located on the western side near Kerala border.
It has one power house at the bottom of the dam and the
second power house is located few miles away at Manompolli. The water which
rotates the turbines goes through the forests in to Parambikulam Dam in Kerala.
This water is brought back from Kerala to Tamil Nadu via
a tunnel and then the Contour Canal which ends up in Upper Aazhiyaar dam.
Valparai Transport :
154 kilometres (96 mi) from Munnar; 107 kilometres (66
mi) from Chalakudy; 129 kilometres (80 mi) from Nelliampathi; 110 kilometres
(68 mi) from Palakkad; 153 kilometres (95 mi) from Thrissur.
The road from Pollachi to Valparai has 40 hairpin bends.
It takes about 2 hours to reach Valparai from Pollachi on State Highway 78.
TNSTC operates buses from Valparai to Pollachi, Coimbatore, Tiruppur,
Udumalaipettai, Dharapuram and Palani.
Valparai is connected to Athirappilly Falls by road and
is 107 km from Valparai to Chalakudi. It was 597 kilometres from chennai to
valparai (by making halt in coimbatore).
Valparai Wildlife :
The area is also rich in birds, including the great
hornbill, and hosts seasonal migrant birds such as the grey wagtail.The
Valparai range is habitat to the Nilgiri tahr, an endemic wild ungulate.
These mountain goats inhabit the high ranges and prefer
open terrain,Their territory extended far and wide all along these hills in the
past, but, because of hunting and large-scale habitat destruction, they now
exist only in a few isolated sites like the Anaimalai Hills.
The human-elephant conflict here is a delicate issue. The tea plantations are a hindrance to the movement of wildlife, particularly elephants who walk large distances to reach water bodies and feeding areas.
Valparai receives among the highest rainfall in the region during the monsoons (around June). There will be no animals wandering around during the monsoon period (june), mostly wild boar, gaurs, and lion-tail macaques can be noticed.
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