A thick, velveteen canopy that shuts out the sun in layers of foliage, creepers, ferns and lichen making up the thick undergrowth that carpets the ground beneath, the Silent Valley is a natural wonder—an 89 sq. km tropical rainforest at the heart of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in the Western Ghats in Kerala’s Palakkad district and a repository of hundreds of rare varieties of flora and fauna. Long before the destruction of the Amazon rainforest became a global cause celebre, environmental activists, poets, journalists and concerned citizens united to save this ecological hotspot from the jaws of ‘development’.
This story is from the December 30, 2024 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the December 30, 2024 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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