Soochipara Falls also known as Sentinel Rock Waterfalls is a three-tiered waterfall in Vellarimala,
Wayanad
Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...
, India. It is surrounded by
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
,
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
and
montane
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
forests. Locally referred to as Soochipara ("Soochi" meaning "Needle" and "Para" meaning "Rock"), the 15-20 minute drive from Meppadi to Sentinel Rock Waterfalls has views of a number of Wayanad's tea estates. The Sentinel Rock Waterfalls is 200 metres (656 feet) and offers a cliff face that is used for rock climbing. The water from Soochipara Falls
later joins Chulika River or popularly known as
Chaliyar River after Velarimala Hills near
Cherambadi (
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
) in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
.
Once people reach the parking area, they have to pass through a security check at the entrance where they make sure you don't carry any plastic. It takes 10-15 minutes walk to the waterfalls and water flow is less during summer, which makes it easy to reach the rocks where water falls.
Gallery
See also
*
List of waterfalls in India
This is a list of waterfalls in India sorted by state. The Indian state of Karnataka has more waterfalls than any other state. Karnataka has 544 waterfalls which are at least 10 metres in height. Maharashtra comes second with 364 waterfalls. K ...
*
List of waterfalls in India by height
The following is a list of highest waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice ...
References
External links
Waterfalls of Kerala
Geography of Wayanad district
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