Valparai

Valparai (originally known as

Earliest records of this area are from the year 1846 when K. Ramasamy Mudaliyar started a coffee plantation here. In 1864, the Karnatic Coffee Company began their coffee plantation here but they could not make it profitable, hence they sold part of their land. In 1875, the roads and guest houses were built by soldiers for the visit of England's Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. Soldiers were posted here and horses and elephants were used for this purpose. However, the visit was eventually cancelled. In 1890, W. Wintil and Nordan bought a huge portion of land in Valparai from the Madras State Government under the British Raj. Wintil deforested the area and planted tea and coffee. He was assisted by Carver Marsh, an experienced planter for a salary of 250 rupees. Valparai receives rainfall throughout the year. 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.^[3]

Geography

Valparai is located at 10°22′N 76°58′E / 10.37°N 76.97°E / 10.37; 76.97. It is a mid-elevation hill station (

Valparai has a mild tropical monsoon climate (Am) with a short dry season and a long rainy season. It is one of the wettest places in Tamil Nadu.

Demographics

According to the

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.^[8][9] The Government of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with ITDC initiated the construction of private resort hotels and parks to attract tourists.^[10] Valparai is surrounded by many dams and hydro electric power plants. Aliyar Dam is at the foothill of this cluster of mountains. As we go up Upper Aliyar 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 (சமமட்டக் கால்வாய்) which ends up in Upper Aazhiyaar dam.

Transport

Valparai is at a distance of 64 kilometres (40 mi) from

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. The plantations in the town are surrounded by

The Valparai range is habitat to the Nilgiri tahr, an endemic wild ungulate. These 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 in the southern Western Ghats. 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

Tourist attractions

• Monkey Falls
• Sholayar Dam

Valparai will be opening two new tourist attractions for public visitors by January 2021, a botanical garden and a house boat.^[16]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valparai.

• Valparai - The Unexplored Wonder!
• Valparai - Tourism
• Valparai - Tourism Information

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Valparai.