Valparai
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| Valparai வால்பாறை | |
|---|---|
| Hill Station | |
 | |
 
Valparai
| |
| Coordinates: 10.37°N 76.97°ECoordinates: 10.37°N 76.97°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Coimbatore |
| Government | |
| • Municipal Chairman | Dr.K.Balamurugan |
| Elevation | 1,193 m (3,914 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 94,962 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 642127 |
| Telephone code | 04253 |
| Vehicle registration | TN 41 |
Valparai is a Taluk and hill station in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu,India. It is located 3,500 feet above sea level on the Anaimalai Hills range of the Western Ghats, at a distance of 100 km from Coimbatore and 65 km from Pollachi.There are 40 hairpin bends on the way to Valparai from Azhiyar. While major portions of the land is owned by private tea companies, large forest areas continue to be out of bounds.[1] The Government of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with ITDC initiated Tourism promotion through infrastructure development including Resort hotels and Amusement parks to attract tourists.[2]
Contents
[hide]Geography[edit]
Valparai is located at 10.37°N 76.97°E. It has an average elevation of 1193 metres (3914 feet).[3]
Demographics[edit]
As of the census of India 2001, Valparai had a population of 95,107 comprising 46,961 males and 48,146 females, making the sex ratio (number of females per thousand males) of the town to 1,025. A total of 10,769 people were under six years of age and the child sex ratio (number of females per thousand males under six years of age) stood at 987. The town had an average literacy of 80.31%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. A total of 51,661 comprising 61.25% of the population belonged toScheduled Castes (SC) and 1,217 comprising 1.44% of the population belonged toScheduled tribes (ST). There were are total of 24,235 households in the town. As of 2001, Valparai had a total of 40,943 main workers: 291 cultivators, 434 agricultural labourers, 166 in house hold industries and 40,052 other workers. There was a total of 7,609 marginal workers: 51 marginal cultivators, 277 marginal agricultural labourers, 38 marginal workers in household industries and 7,243 other marginal workers.[4]
History[edit]
Earliest records of this area are from the year 1846 when Ramasamy Mudaliyar started coffee plantation here. In 1864 Karnatic Coffee Company began their coffee plantation here. But they could not make it profitable. Hence they sold some 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 fromMadras 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 250rupees. Carwer Marsh was hardworking and built a close relationship with the local people. He was later known as The Father of Anamalais. A statue of Carwer Marsh has been erected Kavarkal Estate.[5]
Route[edit]
Pollachi is the nearest town from Valparai. It is about 64 km from Pollachi, another Taluk in Coimbatore district. It has 40 Hair Pin Bends from Pollachi to Valparai.
It takes about 1 hour 30 mins to reach Valparai from Pollachi on road State Highways 78.
Valparai is connected to Athirampalli falls by road, but it is a complete Ghat Section. You can travel only in day between 9 AM to 6 PM through this route. This route is a complete adventurous trip as you could see wild animals on the way. It is almost 130 km from Valparai to Chalakudi. But it takes around 4 Hours on roads as it is a Ghat Section.
Places to Visit[edit]
- Solaiyar Dam
- Balaji Temple
- Pancha Mugha Vinayakar Temple
- Monkey Falls
- Aaliyar Dam
- Athirampalli Falls
- Estates at both sides of the road
- chinnakallar dam
- nallamudi poonjolai
- koolangal aaru
Economy[edit]
The economy of Valparai depends on plantation crops. Valparai has a high concentration oftea and coffee estates. Most of the people living here work in these estates. Some of the major Plantation Companies are :[6][7]
- Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation (TNTPC)
- The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation (MUDIS Group)
- Tata Tea Estates Ltd (Tata Tea)
- Tea Estates India Ltd (TEIL)
- Woodbriar Ltd (Stanmoore Group)
- Parry Agro Ltd
- N.E.P.C Tea Ltd
- Jayshree Tea Industries Ltd (Birla Group)
- Periya Karamalai Tea Estates Ltd
- Puthuthottam Tea Estate Ltd
- Waterfalls Tea Estate Ltd
Wildlife[edit]
Valparai is a mid-elevation hill station (Ootacamund is considerably higher). The tea plantations are surrounded by evergreen forest. The region is also a rich elephant tract and is known to have many leopards.[8]
The scenic drive to the town from Pollachi passes through the Indira Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary noted for elephants, boars, lion-tailed macaques, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, andGiant Squirrels. The area is also rich in birds, including the great hornbill. Water bodies at Monkey falls and Aliyar Dam are also seen en route. A famous place of worship, Balaji Temple also attracts pilgrims. Valparai receives among the highest rainfall in the region during the monsoons (around June).
The Valparai range is also habitat the Nilgiri Tahr, an endemic wild goat. 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.[9]
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.[10]
On the way to Valparai you can see many wild animals like lion tailed monkeys, elephants, deer, wild goats. Natives of Valparai are often attacked by leopard and tiger, there are some attacks from the elephants also.
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