When we think of the wildlife of India, we often think of the iconic roaring tigers of Kaziranga or the famous dense mangrove maze of the Sundarbans, but for us, in addition to these recognized names, there exists another India, which persists in remote obscurity, in mist-covered valleys, dense rainforests and forgotten wetlands… another ‘wild,’ worlds that barely make the travel plans, but are no less filled with the pulse of life, beauty and wonder.
Take for example Silent Valley National Park located in the Nilgiris Hills – this is one of the last remaining pockets of preserved tropical evergreen forest left in India. The park appears peaceful, which, for the most part it is, but it is filled with its usual chorus of sound – including the distinct whinnies of voiced lion-tailed macaques, the chattering of giant squirrels and the drumming of woodpeckers. The essence of Silent Valley lies not in the beauty and density of its green cover, but rather the fact that it is simply a wild, rather than a ‘disneyfied’ wild. The majority of other forests in India or elsewhere have been altered or transformed, human presence impacting the functioning of that ecosystem for centuries… to some degree or another. Silent Valley differs because species and ecosystem functions remain approximately as they have been hundreds of years ago.
Tourists may not recognize the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary as a good destination because most people go for the beaches and party scene. But there is an ancient forest beyond the beach tourism that is habitat for leopards, Gaurs, Malabar giant squirrels, and amazing species of butterflies. One reason the Western Ghats is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is because it is older than the Himalayas. And the Western Ghats has species that are only present in limited range that was first colonized in this part of the earth.
In conclusion, the northeast also has Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh, a case of a living Heritage. This area is one of the most remote living sites where you can find 4 big cats the tiger, the leopard, the clouded leopard, and the snow leopard co-existing in the same ecosystem. Picture a single space in a matter of hours going from tropical rainforest to snow capped alpine slopes, this is Namdapha, raw, remote, and spectacularly diverse.
To the south, the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve is located which is one of the most biodiverse regions of the Western Ghats, where mythology and nature merges in its own way, where the hills are named after Sage Agastya, and where the forests contain over 2,000 species of plants, 300 of which are on verge of endemic. The Agasthyamalai range is home to some tribal communities, who have lived in the forest for generations watching over its delicate balance between nature and humans.
To the east lies Simlipal National Park in state of Odisha; another preserve that is less familiar to many people as beautiful and mysterious as the previous example. Simlipal features dense sal forests, lush rolling meadows, and breathtaking waterfalls to enhance its rich population of elephants, tigers, and rare melanistic (black) tigers which are rare to be seen or heard. Its remoteness has provided opportunities for both biodiversity and indigenous culture to thrive, moving in concert with nature to produce beautiful rhythms.
These remote places stand as a reminder of the incomprehensibility of India’s natural heritage, something of a place or moment that is beyond representation in a natural history documentary or travel advertisement. The valleys, the bits of forest, the wetlands all serve some biological value somewhere in the landscape. They are silent custodians of balance; Taking up carbon, feeding rivers, and housing species that may never come face to face with a human, and yet, provide the foundation of existence.
Maybe we should honor our own corners of quiet too, to recognize their endurance and resilience and what they can teach us about peacemaking and respect for stories of place, where we can observe evidence of our stewardship for natural resources. Because nestled within the layers of India’s unencumbered natural heritage is the narrative of persistence for no less than our own story as we are all constantly evolving.