Valparai

History

Earliest records of this area are from the year 1846 when K. Ramasamy 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 G. A. Carver 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.

Geography

Valparai is located at . It is a mid-elevation hill station (Ootacamund is considerably higher) and has an average elevation of . It is close to the border with Thrissur district of the Kerala state. Valparai has a mild tropical monsoon climate (Am) with a short dry season and a long rainy season. It is one of the wettest places in Tamil Nadu.

Most-observed species

• Red-whiskered Bulbul

  Pycnonotus jocosus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,911
• White-cheeked Barbet

  Psilopogon viridis (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  5,523
• Malabar Whistling-Thrush

  Myophonus horsfieldii Vigors, 1831 · Aves
  4,396
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  3,651
• Oriental Magpie-Robin

  Copsychus saularis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,393
• Gray Junglefowl

  Gallus sonneratii Temminck, 1813 · Aves
  3,128
• Jungle Myna

  Acridotheres fuscus (Wagler, 1827) · Aves
  2,991
• Nilgiri Flowerpecker

  Dicaeum concolor Jerdon, 1840 · Aves
  2,940