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Top 6 Famous Rainforests You Can Visit In India

Top 6 Famous Rainforests You Can Visit In India

India is a species-rich land with a wide variety of flora and fauna.

The lush greenery and the balanced ecoregions are a gift of nature and are loved by wildlife enthusiasts worldwide.

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There are several rainforests in India that you can explore. Here you can find out more about the creatures residing in them.

In this article, you will get to know about the following rainforests to visit in India,

  1. Western Ghats Rainforests
  2. Brahmaputra Valley
  3. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  4. Assam Rainforests
  5. Northeastern Rainforests
  6. Odisha Rainforests

Let’s see each of these in detail.

Famous rainforests in India

1. Western Ghats Rainforests

The western ghats rainforest covers the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It is located at an elevation of 3281 ft to 8842 ft. The region is rich in biodiversity and jackets an area of 22,600 sq. kilometers. It is home to several endemic species.

There are numerous protected national forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves inside the envelope of the western ghat rainforest. About 35% of plant species are endemic to this ecosystem and are influenced by the climate, microclimate, and the area’s elevation.

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The rainforest is rich in various orchids and canopy trees, like Mesua ferrea, Cillenia Exarillata, Gluta Travacorica, and many more. There are also different patches of trees and shrubs dwelling in this forest.

If we see the endemic fauna, there are Nilgiri tahr, broad-tailed grassbirds, eight endemic reptiles genera with 90 species, and six amphibian genera with 139 mammals. There are also more than 500 bird species, 5000 flowering plants, 179 amphibians, and 288 freshwater fish.

The western ghats are considered the biggest biological diversity hotspot in the world and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Research is still going on to discover new species of flora and fauna.

2. Brahmaputra Valley

Brahmaputra valley is solely located in Assam and covers an area of 71516 sq. kilometers. It has the most fertile and productive soil in the world. The ecosystem surrounds almost 57,000 sq. kilometers of land and is overflowing with lush biodiversity.

To date, 122 fauna species and 370 Aves species have been discovered in this valley. Swamp Deer, Asian elephants, greater one-horned Rhinos, and many other animals are under high threat, and the Bengal florican is the largely endangered species in this ecosystem.

There are several species of flora covering the rainforest from the ground to the height of the sky. The variety of growth in this alluvial soil is tremendous.

3. Andaman and Nicobar Islands

It’s a tropical moist broad leave rainforest that has given rise to multiple numbers of distinct fauna, flora, and other endemic species due to its detachment from the mainland.

There are many rare species of flora and fauna covering the ecosystem. It is believed that they came from land masses like Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Thailand. About 2200 varieties of plants, over 2500 species of flowering plants, and a large variety of fauna are recorded in this forest.

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It’s a storehouse of biodiversity, and it’s crazy how this island holds so much life, and there is still more to explore and discover. Much of the land is under preservation, and so is the biodiversity.

4. Assam Rainforests

This rainforest is situated mainly in North Assam and bits and pieces in Mizoram, Manipur, and Tripura.

The Assam rainforest is the inhabiting place of Assamese macaques, pig-tailed, capped langur, and many other animals. It’s filled with a large population of fauna, Aves fauna, and vast diversity of flora, including orchids, wild bananas, climbers, arums, and a lot more.

The territory is home to a large population of wild elephants, and the low-lying hills provide significance to the region’s biodiversity.

Important trees include Mekai, Nahar, Hollong, Ou-Tenga, etc. The herb and shrub layers cover the surface of the forest.

This dense, isolated rainforest has significance in balancing the ecology of the environment. It is also a prominent part of the Indian subcontinent.

5. Northeastern Rainforests

Elevated at an altitude of 900 meters, this rainforest covers the states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and traces in Arunachal Pradesh.

The forest is covered with grasslands, riparian and moist deciduous forests, and swamps.

The region receives an average rainfall of 1750 to 2068 mm and is rich in numerous wildlife.

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The lush green forests shelters 122 mammals, including tigers, one-horned Rhinos, wild water buffalos, Jaguars, sloths, Tapirs, and Asiatic Elephants, 370 species of Aves, and several flora species like Syzygium, Cinnamomum, Shorea Assamica, etc.

These areas are not yet affected by the human population and are well protected, including all living species.

6. Odisha Rainforests

The tropical moist broad leaf forest covers an area of 8600 sq. kilometers. This forest region covers Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, puri, Chhatrapur, Bhadrak, and Kendrapara.

The ecozone consists of several large mammals, including Tiger and Asian elephant, Dhole, Chousingha, and sloth bear. The Aves fauna in Odisha includes a total of 215 species which is known to date.

The flora species is split into three subsequent layers. The first consists of Bridelia tomentose, Artocarpus Lakoocha, and Michelia Champaca. The second layer consists of Aphanamixis, Polystachya, and Polyalthia spp, and the last one is composed of canes and herbs.

These are some of the famous rainforests in India.

It’s truly fascinating how this blissful world inside the rainforests is thriving with the days going by, and so many more are yet to be discovered and known about.

The best part is you can enjoy these rainforests by taking tours, as they are under the wildlife sanctuary and national parks. The beauty is mesmerizing, and the raw nature will be in front of your eyes.

The areas are getting well preserved to save nature and retain as much as possible.


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