Valparai

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?Valparai Tamil Nadu • India
Valparai
Coordinates: 10°22′N 76°58′E / 10.37, 76.97
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 1,193 m (3,914 ft)
District(s)	Coimbatore
Population	94,962 (2001)
Codes • Pincode	• 642127

Coordinates: 10°22′N 76°58′E / 10.37, 76.97 Valparai is a Municipality in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. Valparai is located 3,500 feet above sea level on the Anamalai Hill Range of the Western Ghats.

Though popularly known as Cherrapunji of South India, Valparai remains somewhat untouched. Owned mostly by private tea companies, a large part of the area is out of bounds for tourists.^[1] Interestingly, the Govt. of Tamil Nadu with the assistance of the Govt. of India has taken initiatives to promote tourism and develop infrastructure such as hotels, amusement parks etc to attract visitors.^[2]

1 Demography
2 Wildlife
3 Places to visit
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Demography

Valparai is located at 10.37° N 76.97° E. It has an average elevation of 1193 metres (3914 feet).^[3]

Dwindling ghat roads at Valparai.

According to the Census of India 2001, the population of Valparai is about 94,962. Males making up 49% of the population and females 51%. Valparai has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%.^[4]

Valparai in concentrated with Tea and Coffee estates. Most of the people in Valparai work in these estates. Valparai can be accessed either from Pollachi or from Chalakudy, Kerala located on the western side of Anamalai Range. The climatic condition prevailing is most suitable for cultivation of Tea, Coffee, Cardamom, Cincona trees. ^[5]

[edit] Wildlife

Valparai is one of the highest mid elevation hill resort in the country. The tea plantations are surrounded by evergreen moist evergreen forest a rich elephant tract and a panther (leopard) prowl.^[6]

The Valparai range is also the habitat of another endemic mammal — the Nilgiri Tahr. These wild mountain goats inhabit the high ranges and prefer open terrain, cliffs and grass-covered hills, a habitat largely confined to altitudes from 1200 to 2600m. 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 Anamalais.^[7]

The human-elephant conflict, a very delicate issue prevails at Valparai. The tea plantations are a hindrance to the movement of wildlife, particularly elephants who prefer shade because they cannot stand heat; their massive bodies do not have sweat glands to control body heat. If they wish to move from one forest to another they would have to cut across the tea estates, where the terrain and the people are equally inhospitable. The confrontation leads to conflicts, material loss and deaths at times.^[8]

[edit] Places to visit

Monkey Falls :- It is 65 km from Coimbatore and 27 km from Pollachi on Coimbatore-Pollachi-Valparai Highways.

Nirar Dam :- It is 15 km from Valparai. It has very high rainfall in the months of June and July.

Solaiyar Dam :- It is 15 km from Valparai. The Solaiyar Dam is the second largest rock dam in Asia. Its length is about 20 km.

Sidhi Vinayagar Temple :- It is 5 km from Solaiyar. A statue of Vinayagar weighing about 3.5 kg is located in this temple. It is constructed with a single rock.

Balaji Temple :- This temple is in Valparai. On Saturday and Sunday each week, a large number of tourists arrive to worship. Bus, taxi and van facilities are available to visit this temple