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