The name Valparai conjures up images of mountains in South America, but this place is in South India. Being in the equatorial region of the Western Ghats, Valparai has a salubrious climate. The region has miles and miles of tea gardens. The tea grown here has a distinct aroma reminiscent of the famous Darjeeling tea.
Most of the dense rain forests have been cleared to make way for tea plantations. But there are still some tiny pockets of forests, with woodland streams running through them. The quality of water in these streams is suspect, as they flow through tea gardens with their intense pest management.
The boring sight of unending tea gardens is sometimes broken by craggy cliffs where one may come across the Nilgiri Tahr. If you look closely, you can see a Tahr (mountain goat) resting amidst the rocks.
Beautiful wildflowers are found near the woodland streams. A blue Rhynchoglossum.
A wild balsam.
The Langoors are seen everywhere.
Valparai can be reached via Coimbatore. There are many homestays available there.
My thanks to Mrs.Nesbitt, the founder of
ABCWednesday, and also to Roger and his team who are voluntarily continuing it .
Lovely pictures! I especially like the picture of the stream. Makes me miss spring!
ReplyDeleteSamuraiFrog, ABCW
LOVE the running water.
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW
lovely wildflowers
ReplyDelete