THEKKADY (PERIYAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY) TRAVEL GUIDE

Elephant rides are famous in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. The elephant rides through the spice gardens are arranged by Elephant Junction. This park is situated 4 Km away from Kumily Bus Stand. It offers a rare opportunity to experience the safari on an Elephant through a Spice Plantation where the gentle breeze refresh ones, with the spice scented air.

Elephant Junction is a place where one can actually interact with the elephants getting indulged into activities such as bathing elephant, elephant ride and enjoying getting around with playful elephants. Elephant safaris are equipped with a howdah on the back of the elephant on which two tourists sit, with an umbrella over the riders head. Elephant trainers will be at side, walking along with the elephant.

Package Cost:

30 minutes elephant safari: Rs.350 per person
60 minutes elephant safari: Rs.750 per person
90 minutes elephant safari: Rs. 1500 per person

Elephant Safari Timings: 6 AM to 5 PM.

Several trekking programs are offered in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Short trekking programs are available that cover 4-5 Km and completed in 3 hrs. This is a good option to watch birds, butterflies and some wildlife. The trails often pass through evergreen and moist deciduous forests and grasslands. It costs Rs. 300 per person and a group can have a maximum of 4 persons.

A 12 Km trek (one way) to the ruined Mangaladevi temple in middle of the Periyar Sanctuary is a great option to experience beauty of the park in depth. It is recommended for experience trekkers.

Border Hiking is a conservation oriented hard trek taking up a full day. The trekking starts at 8 AM and ends in the evening. The route passes through undulating terrains. Maximum of 10 tourists can take the programme in two different groups. The trekkers will go with two guides and an armed forest guard.

Tourists can also participate in jungle patrol, which is a night trek programme intended to conserve .....

The tribal heritage programme is intended to provide a glimpse of tribal life to the visitors. It mainly involves a visit to tribal museum and trekking through the tribal hamlet situated within the periphery of Periyar Tiger Reserve accompanied by a tribal guide. Five tribal communities live within the sanctuary. Mannans are among the oldest indigenous group of people to inhabit Periyar Tiger Reserve.

A two hour programme is conducted, where the visitors are taken to a tribal hamlet. The tour also includes a visit to the tribal heritage museum. The tribal heritage museum was built inside the Mannan settlement featuring various types of artifacts related to their ancient agricultural practices, marriage ceremonies, cultural events, dress code, rituals and death ceremonies. The museum has several objects like traditional hunting weapons, armors, cooking vessels, paintings, etc.

Program Timings: 8 AM, 10 AM and 2 PM.

Boat cruise is the best mode in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary to watch the wildlife from a close distance. Boating in Thekkady is arranged by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) in the Periyar Lake and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area. The lake was formed by Mullaperiyar Dam constructed in 1895. The land surrounding the lake is commonly frequented by wildlife.

Elephants are the most common wildlife you can see on the shores of the reservoir. Apart from Elephants, the sight of Wild Boar and Sambar Deer is also possible. The upper deck in the boat is best for wildlife viewing. The tickets for boating is issued at Thekkady Boating Point which is 4.5 Km from Kumily Bus Stand. The boats are mostly crowded and better to come early and allocate good amount of buffer time for boating. Early morning and evening are the best times to spot wildlife.

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The Bamboo Rafting is an interest programme with the mix of rafting and trekking.

The programme starts at 8 AM from the boat jetty. After a couple of hours rafting, tourists are taken for trekking into the forest. The forests are rich in bird life and arboreal animals like giant squirrel and Nilgiri langur. Animals like elephant, gaur and sambar are sighted keeping close to the edges of the lake. Snacks and Lunch will be provided on the way and trekking will be finished by 3 PM. The rafting is continued in the return path and whole programme will be completed by 5 PM.

The programme costs Rs. 2000 per person for full day and Rs.1500 per person for half day. An armed guard and 4 guides will accompany a maximum of 10 tourists. Tea, snacks and packed lunch will be served enroute.

Jungle Safari is a fascinating program which includes Jeep Safari, Jungle Trek, Rafting and Night Camping.

The 40 Km scenic drive program starts at 5.30 AM through the jungle by Jeep. The trail passes through dense forest where truly man meets nature in all its majesty and glory. After crossing Periyar Tiger Reserve by jeep early morning, breakfast will be served at Gavi's forest lodge, followed by a jungle trekking for three hours. Lunch is offered here and you can have canoeing in the Gavi Lake. The visitors are taken to the camping area in the Jeep from the Gavi Lake. The accommodation is provided in tents and dinner is offered here with camp fire. Next day morning after the breakfast, visitors are taken back to Thekkady. The Jeep will arrive at the hotel for picking up the guest at 5.30 AM.

Jungle Safari Day Package is also available. The visitors are taken back to Thekkady after evening tea by 4.30 PM.

Tariff: Rs. 2200 per person.

Day Package: Rs.1000 per .....

Periyar Tiger Trial is a unique programme which has high chances of spotting tigers. The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is also called as Periyar Tiger Reserve and it has rich tiger population with about 40 Tigers. The tiger trail provides tourists with an opportunity to explore Thekkady's wildlife deep inside the forest. One may get a chance to encounter many indigenous Birds and mammals like Nilgiri Langoos, Sambar deer, Wild Boar, Indian Goat, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Elephants etc.

There are two programs - 1N/2D and 2N/3D. It includes 25-30 Km of trekking through the dense forest covering the most beautiful parts of the sanctuary. Tourists will trek along the trail during the day and camp in pitched tents at night in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Vegetarian food is prepared and served en route. This programme is offered only for physically fit tourists. Each group will have 5 tourists, 5 guides and 2 armed guards. All the camping equipment is provided by the forest department.

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At a distance of 13 Kms from Kumily, Mangaladevi Temple (also known as Kannagi Temple) is 2000 years old ruined stone temple located in dense forest at the northern boundary of the Periyar Sanctuary. It is located at an altitude of 1337 meters.

Built in the traditional Kerala style of architecture, this temple is dedicated to Mangaladevi (or Kannagi), the principal character of the Tamil epic Sillapadhikaram. According to the epic, Mangaladevi burnt down Madurai after her husband was mistakenly accused of being a thief and killed.

This temple is open for public only on the full moon day of April-May (Chithra Purnami). Since it's located inside the Periyar Sanctuary, special permission is required to visit the place. Permissions can be obtained from Wildlife Warden, Thekkady.

At a distance of 14 Kms from Kumily, Vandiperiyar is located on the banks of Periyar River on NH220 towards Kottayam. This is a major trade center for coffee and pepper products and it has many tea factories.

Vandiperiyar offers a pleasant atmosphere throughout the year. The Government Agriculture Farm and Flower Gardens are places worth to visit in Vandiperiyar.

At a distance of 15 Kms from Kumily & 5 Kms from Gudalur, Chellarkovil is an Eco Tourism destination located between Anakkara and Gudalur. This place is blessed with rich natural beauty provides spectacular views of surrounding valleys.

There is a watch tower located here to catch the views of the beautiful hills. Other activities here include Border Trekking, Spice & Ayurvedic Garden Tours, Spice Shopping, etc.

This place can be reached from Gudalur by private vehicles. Gudalur is connected by frequent buses from Kumily.