Description of the attraction
A national park with the wonderful name "Quiet Valley" is located in the Blue Mountains (Nilgiri Hills), which are located in the state of Kerala in southern India.
There are several theories as to where the name of the area came from. According to one, it was called "quiet", because there you can not hear the singing of cicadas, which is usual for this territory. And according to another theory, the name appeared due to the fact that the valley is inhabited by a special species of macaques - vanderu (Latin macaca silenus, and English “silent” means “quiet, silence”).
The first scientist who turned his attention to this place was the British botanist Robert Weight in 1847. It was thanks to him that already in 1914 this valley acquired the status of a protected area, which, however, did not prevent the authorities in 1928 from establishing a small hydroelectric power station on the Kunthipuzha River flowing through this area.
Today, this unique place with an area of more than 237 sq km, which is completely covered with tropical and evergreen forests, has become a habitat for many mammals, birds and reptiles. Among the most common species are the lion-tailed macaques (the aforementioned vanderu), which are practically endangered. It is because of this species of primates, which are on the verge of extinction, that this park was officially created in 1980, and in 1983 the Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi gave it national status.
Since 2001, there have been fierce disputes around the park, as some government officials want to develop and expand the existing power plant in the park. What environmentalists and ecologists oppose, arguing that such an intervention in the ecosystem of the valley will entail irreversible changes and lead to the death of the vander and other inhabitants of the park.
However, in 2007 the dam project was approved.
