Sispara

Sispara Peak is in the core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Location is coord|11|12|N|76|28|E| at the northeast end of Silent Valley National Park [Hunter Sir William Wilson (1887) Sispara, The Imperial Gazetteer of India, retrieved 6/9/2007 [http://books.google.com/books?id=n9wMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA24&dq=Sispara p. 24,] ] and the southwest end of Mukurthi National Park. The Sispara peak is the abode of the Toda tribes people ancestral spirits and is the second highest peak in the core area of Silent Valley at an altitude of convert|2206|m|ft|0|lk=on, Anginda peak at convert|2328|m|ft|0|lk=on, being the highest. a new trekkers' shed was built on the old site. coord|11|12.04|N|76|26.59|E|

From Sispara peak there is a panoramic view of deep valleys packed with dense vegetation. The Sispara pass leads down into Silent Valley, is enveloped in foliage and remains hidden even from the top of the peak.

Robert Wight, a surgeon turned botanist, was the first foreigner to venture into this area in the middle of the 19th century. In the process, Wight discovered seven new species from Sispara and the adjoining jungles and as many as 122 Indian plants have been named after him. ["Silent Valley: Trekking through the Amazon of India" Corporate House Journal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited Vol. XXXXI No. 8 August 2004 [http://www.iocl.com/news1/newnews/IOCNews_August_2004.pdf Silent Valley: Trekking through the Amazon of India] ]

The Sispara Day Gecko is found here.

The endangered plants Youngia nilgiriensis, Memecylon sisparense, Pavetta hohenackeri, Melicope indica and Pogostemon paludosus are endemic to the Sispara area. [Threatened Plants of Tamil Nadu [http://www.wii.gov.in/nwdc/threatened_plants_tamil_nadu.pdf Threatened Plants of Tamil Nadu] ]

Notes