Valparai

Valparai sits at around 1,060 metres on a plateau in the Anamalai hills, reached by a road of forty numbered hairpins climbing through the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, and the plateau itself is almost entirely tea, planted from the 1890s. Fragments of rainforest survive between the estates, and they hold lion-tailed macaques, an endangered Western Ghats endemic; conservation work here has included canopy rope bridges over roads to stop them being killed by traffic, and the local population has been studied for decades. Elephants move through the estates regularly, and hornbills, Nilgiri tahr and leopards live in the surrounding reserve.

History

The place was originally known as Poonachimalai, and the earliest records go back to 1846, when K. Ramasamy Mudaliyar started a coffee plantation here; the Karnatic Coffee Company followed in 1864. In 1875 soldiers built roads and guest houses for a visit by the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, which was cancelled, and in 1890 W. Wintil and Nordan bought a large tract from the Madras government, cleared it and planted tea and coffee (Wikipedia, Valparai).

The landscape

• The forty hairpins - the ghat road climbing through the tiger reserve.
• The tea plateau - estates covering most of the high ground.
• The lion-tailed macaques - endemic monkeys using canopy rope bridges.
• The elephants - herds moving through the estates and roads.

When to go

September to March; the monsoon brings heavy rain and landslides, and the ghat road closes at night year-round to protect wildlife. Macaque and hornbill sightings are best early.

Good to know

The ghat road closes to traffic after dark. Elephants on the roads are a genuine hazard and cause deaths locally. Accommodation is limited to estate bungalows and small hotels.

Nearby

Pollachi lies below; Athirappilly is west in Kerala.