Valparai

Earliest records of this area are from the year 1846 when K. Gopalsamy 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 Carwer 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]

Valparai is located at 10.37°N 76.97°E / 10.37; 76.97. It is a mid-elevation hill station (Ootacamund is considerably higher) and has an average elevation of 3,914 feet (1,193 m).[4]

According to the 2011 census, Valparai had a population of 70,859 with a sex-ratio of 1,013 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[1] A total of 5,007 were under the age of six, constituting 2,564 males and 2,443 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 59.68% and 1.75% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.47%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[1] The town had a total of 19,017 households. There were a total of 38,440 workers, comprising 107 cultivators, 4,828 main agricultural laborers, 173 in household industries, 29,338 other workers, 3,994 marginal workers, 71 marginal cultivators, 341 marginal agricultural laborers, 62 marginal workers in household industries and 3,520 other marginal workers.[5] As per the religious census of 2011, Valparai had 82.84% Hindus, 13.51% Christians, 3.47% Muslims, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists, and 0.15% following other religions.[6]

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.[7][8] The Government of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with ITDC initiated the construction of private resort hotels and parks to attract tourists.[9] 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 (சமமட்டக் கால்வாய்) which ends up in Upper Aazhiyaar dam.

Winding ghat roads at Valparai

Valparai is at a distance of 64 kilometres (40 mi) from Pollachi; 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Udumalaipettai;110 kilometres (68 mi) from Coimbatore;115 kilometres (71 mi) from Dharapuram; 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Tiruppur; 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.

The Valparai assembly constituency is a Scheduled Caste constituency and forms part of Pollachi Lok Sabha constituency.[10]

Valparai receives among the highest rainfall in the region during the monsoons (around June). The plantations in the town are surrounded by evergreen forests. The region is an elephant tract and is known to have many leopards.[11] The drive to the town from Pollachi passes through the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary noted for Bengal tiger, elephants, boars, lion-tailed macaques, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, and giant squirrels. The area is also rich in birds, including the great hornbill, and hosts seasonal migrant birds such as the grey wagtail.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

• Monkey Falls
• 9th Hairpin Bend View SH 78, Tamil Nadu 642101
• Attakatti Check Post-Kadambarai View
• Upper Azhiyar Dam
• kadamparai Dam
• Sirukundra koozhangal Aaru
• Nirar Dam
• Chinna Kallar Dam
• Chinna Kallar Falls
• Karumalai Velankanni Church
• Karumalai Balaji Koil
• karumalai Iraichiparai Falls
• Akkamalai Grass land
• Vellamalai Tunnel
• Sholayar Dam
• Nallamudi View point
• Vaagamalai Number parai View point
• Maanaampalli

Valparai will be opening two new tourist attractions for public visitors by Jan 2021, a botanical garden and a house boat.[15]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valparai.

• Valparai - The Unexplored Wonder!

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Valparai.