Valparai (originally known as Poonachimalai) is a Taluk and hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India.

While major portions of the land are owned by private tea companies, large forest areas continue to be out of bounds.

In 1875, the roads and guest houses were built by soldiers for the visit of England's Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII.

In 1890, W. Wintil and Nordan bought a huge portion of land in Valparai from the Madras State Government under the British Raj.

It is a mid-elevation hill station (Ootacamund is considerably higher) and has an average elevation of 3,914 feet (1,193 m).

[8][9] The Government of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with ITDC initiated the construction of private resort hotels and parks to attract tourists.

Tamil Nadu Government's Chinchona estate and factory are located on the road to Neeraar dam.

This water is brought back from Kerala to Tamil Nadu via a tunnel and then the Contour Canal (சமமட்டக் கால்வாய்) which ends up in Upper Aazhiyaar dam.

TNSTC operates buses from Valparai to Pollachi, Salem, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Udumalaipettai, Dharapuram and Palani.

There will be no animals wandering around during the monsoon period (june), mostly wild boar, gaurs, and lion-tail macaques can be noticed.

[12] The drive to the town from Pollachi passes through the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary noted for Bengal tiger, elephants, boars, lion-tailed macaques, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, and giant squirrels.

These mountain goats inhabit the high ranges and prefer open terrain, cliffs and grass-covered hills, a habitat largely confined to altitudes from 1200 to 2600m in the southern Western Ghats.

The tea plantations are a hindrance to the movement of wildlife, particularly elephants who walk large distances to reach water bodies and feeding areas.